Hi all,

This message is especially directed to those of you who attended San Juan but, I’m sure, may be of interest to others. While in San Juan, we came up with a list of “Next Steps”, including some work that some wanted done at the LA Meeting for outreach and education. You can find it at:

https://st.icann.org/naralo/index.cgi?planning_next_steps_for_na_ralo

We had to come up with this in a VERY rushed manner as we were told that staff needed to start planning a budget for this year and if we wanted to have any say in it, we needed to have something in prior to the end of the San Juan meeting. So, we all squished into a business centre and came up with this. What we didn’t know, is that to push this forward we needed to also do up a formal proposal to ICANN using their forms. So, that didn’t get done. So, that means that nothing that we came up with has been brought forward within ICANN.

So, first of all: I’m very sorry that I didn’t know the processes that were in place within ICANN in order to push this stuff forward. As Secretariat, I should have, but this is all news to me. These were processes that were in place before I came onto the scene and I was completely unaware of them. This problem will not be repeated.

Secondly: For ICANN to actually approve stuff like this, they need to see action on the list or on telephone conferences. It doesn’t cut it to say, “Well, lets get together in LA and discuss this stuff.” They want to see the discussion happening virtually, and then would likely be willing to pay for travel if it means putting the final bits all together. What they seem to REALLY balk at is all of the inactivity in discussing things on-list or on telephone-conferences and then sudden expectations of travel with very little to show for it. Hey, if it was your money, you might feel the same way.

Thirdly: Nick and I have had INNUMERABLE discussions off list, on the phone, on a telephone conference that I had to pay for, etc. etc. I am still battling the lack of transparency thing with ICANN, the lack of timely telling us what we need to do to make things happen, etc. etc. That has gone on off list as I’m sure nobody needs more crap lining their in-boxes.

So, basically, that is what is happening on my end and I hope that this provides an explanation to any/all who were wondering about the LA meeting.

Take care,

Darlene A. Thompson

Community Access Program Administrator

Nunavut Department of Education/N-CAP

c/o P.O. Box 1000, Station 910

Iqaluit, NU X0A 0H0

Phone: (867) 975-6531

Fax: (867) 979-8870

dthompson@gov.nu.ca