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Review of the At-Large Advisory Committee
15 June 2009
ICANN appointed Westlake Consulting Limited for the external review of the At-Large Advisory Committee. The report summarizing findings from the independent review and containing proposals for action, published in July 2008 and presented at the Paris ICANN meeting, was then posted for public comments.
The ALAC review working group (WG) has then issued (October 2008) its "initial thinking" on the questions under review following the publication of the external reviewers' report. This Mid-point Consultation Report [PDF, 284K] was based on a series of consultations that the WG had with the ICANN community. This document was presented and discussed at the Cairo meeting, and followed by a public comment period.
The WG continued to consult with the community over the following months, and in March 2009 issued its draft Final Report on ALAC improvements, which was presented and discussed at the Mexico City meeting. A final public comment period was then opened to allow final comments before consolidation of the report.
The WG, taking into consideration various comments received from the Community, finalized then its Final Report on ALAC improvements [PDF, 304K], which is published (June 2009) and submitted to the Structural Improvements Committee for consideration and submission to the Board for decision.
This Final Report reflects the unanimous consensus of all members of the WG. One member of the WG requested that a statement of his personal views be included in the Report. This statement is included in the Appendix with the unanimous agreement of all members of the WG.
ALAC Review Working Group
The Board Governance Committee (BGC) appointed the following individuals to serve on the ALAC review working group (WG): Harald Alvestrand, Karl Auerbach, Vittorio Bertola, Tricia Drakes (Chair), Thomas Narten, Nii Quaynor and Jean-Jacques Subrenat.
The ALAC Review WG was formed to help ensure that the evaluator's final report (independent review) contained the data and information needed to conduct the following work, and (primarily) to advise the Board on whether any change is needed for At-Large. The WG, considering the Independent Reviewer's final report, Board input, and comments from stakeholders and the public, had the purpose to:
- Advise the BGC (now, the Structural Improvements Committee) whether, in general, the ALAC has a continuing purpose in the ICANN structure; and
- If so, consult broadly and advise the BGC (now, the Structural Improvements Committee) whether any change in structure or operations is desirable to improve its effectiveness - and recommend a comprehensive proposal to improve the involvement of the individual Internet user community in ICANN.
Background
In accordance with Article XI, Section 2 of ICANN's Bylaws, the role of the At-Large Advisory Committee ("ALAC") is to consider and provide advice on the activities of ICANN insofar as they relate to the interests of individual Internet users. The ALAC provides important contributions to ICANN's work on such matters as how internationalized domain names (“IDNs”) are implemented, and how additional new top-level domains (i.e. .info, .name, .museum, etc.) are introduced -- to name just two issues. ALAC has also been a leading voice for ICANN stakeholders on Internet governance and issues related to WSIS, and helps raise awareness of key Internet resource issues that affect ICT development.
The ALAC consists of (i) two members selected by each of the Regional At-Large Organizations ("RALOs") (which are described in paragraph 4(g) ); and (ii) five members selected by the Nominating Committee. The Chair of the ALAC is elected by the members of the ALAC pursuant to procedures adopted by the Committee. The ALAC appoints one non-voting liaison to the ICANN Board of Directors.
The ALAC is also responsible, working in conjunction with the RALOs, for coordinating the following activities:
- Keeping the community of individual Internet users informed about the significant news from ICANN;
- Distributing (through posting or otherwise) an updated agenda, news about ICANN, and information about items in the ICANN policy-development process;
- Promoting outreach activities in the community of individual Internet users;
- Developing and maintaining on-going information and education programs, regarding ICANN and its work;
- Establishing an outreach strategy about ICANN issues in each RALO's Region;
- Making public, and analyzing, ICANN's proposed policies and its decisions and their (potential) regional impact and (potential) effect on individuals in the region;
- Offering Internet-based mechanisms that enable discussions among members of At-Large structures; and
- Establishing mechanisms and processes that enable two-way communication between members of At-Large Structures and those involved in ICANN decision-making, so interested individuals can share their views on pending ICANN issues.
For more information about the At-Large structures and process, see http://www.atlarge.icann.org .
Links
- ALAC Review's Final Terms of Reference [PDF, 29K]
- ALAC Review's Request for Proposals (RFP) [PDF, 17K]
- Announcement on Reviewer
- Board Approval of the ALAC Review Working Group
- Board Approval of the ALAC Review Working Group Charter
- Final report of the independent reviewer (Original: EN, available also in AR, DE, FR, ES and ZH)
- ALAC Review WG Communiqué 23 April 2008 Meeting
- ALAC Review WG Communiqué 20 May 2008
- ALAC Review WG Communiqué 12 June 2008
- ALAC Review WG summary of activity at the Paris meeting
- ALAC Review WG Communiqué 24 July 2008
- ALAC Review WG Communiqué 14 August 2008
- Public Comments to the final report of the independent reviewer
- Mid-point Consultation Report (Original: EN, available also in AR, FR, ES, RU and ZH).
- Draft Final WG report on ALAC improvements (original: English):
- English [PDF, 309K]
- العربية [PDF, 499K]
- 中文 [PDF, 662K]
- Français [PDF, 269K]
- Русский [512K]
- Español [PDF, 427K]
- Final WG Report on ALAC Improvements (original: English):
Next Steps
The WG Final Report will be submitted to the Structural Improvements Committee for consideration and submission to the Board for decision.