[atlarge-discuss] last draft from the ALOC

[Vittorio Bertola <vb@vitaminic.net>]

This, in fact, is the most up-to-date draft, posted a few hours ago by
Hans Klein, incorporating changes suggested by him, me, Peter Shane
and Esther Dyson.


-----
VERSION 3.0 (Proposed Final Draft)

At-Large Organizing Committee (ALOC)
Submission to the ICANN Evolution & Reform Committee
On the Design of 
An At Large Advisory Committee (ALAC)

25 July 2002



PREAMBLE

The At Large Organizing Committee (ALOC) was set up by ICANN to guide
and encourage bottom-up efforts to organize At-Large mechanisms for
meaningful, informed participation in ICANN.  The membership list of
the ALOC can be seen at: http://www.at-large.org/at-large-members.htm

This interim report offers recommendations on the organization of an
At Large Advisory Committee (ALAC). 

The ALOC finds itself faced with an inherent contradiction, and
therefore the ALOC comments are organized in two parts.  On the one
hand, the ALOC offers comments on how to implement certain features of
the Evolution and Reform Committee's Blueprint for ICANN reform.
However, the ALOC does not support all portions of that Blueprint,
especially the elimination of the elected At Large directors.  There
is widespread support in the ICANN community for elected At Large
Directors.  Pending final resolution of the election issue, however,
the ALOC offers advice on what the Evolution and Reform Committee
should do and how it should operate within ICANN now.

With ICANN's authority over the DNS up for review and renewal in
September 2002, we hope that a way can be found to preserve the
representation of users.  User representation will ensure a foundation
of legitimacy for ICANN to enable it to survive and prosper as an
institution.

We urge the ERC and ICANN to proceed on these issues along a timetable
that permits sufficient time for the At-Large Structures within ALOC
to engage in genuine deliberation with their constituencies on these
important issues.
 

PART I
SUPPORT FOR THE TERMS OF INTERNET PRIVATIZATION 

The At Large Organizing Committee (ALOC) supports the original terms
of Internet privatization, most notably the principle of balanced
representation of users and industry experts on the ICANN board.  The
ALOC also supports the implementation mechanisms developed for At
Large users, most notably the direct elections of directors.  

This support has been articulated in numerous documents, including: 
·	Esther Dyson's letter of 6 November 1998 to the US Dept. of
Commerce on behalf of the ICANN board.  That letter noted that the
ICANN Board has an unconditional mandate to create a membership
structure that will elect nine At Large Directors.
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/ICANN111098.htm)
·	The NGO and Academic ICANN Study, which concluded that ICANN
should retain balanced representation of users and industry experts on
its board and should continue to employ global elections.
(http://www.naisproject.org/)
·	ICANN's At Large Study Commission, which found that ICANN's
policies affect users and that users should be elected to the ICANN
board. (http://www.atlargestudy.org/)

The ALOC therefore prefers that ICANN not implement the
recommendations in the ERC Blueprint and instead work to implement the
conditions of privatization.  Only an ICANN whose legitimacy is beyond
dispute can work in the long run.

 

PART II
WORKING WITHIN THE ERC BLUEPRINT

Whether the ERC blueprint will be the basis for a new ICANN will not
be known before the end of this year.  Despite the reservations about
that Blueprint, we offer here some suggestions about how its terms
might be implemented.  

1.	Background
a.	Need for At-Large: ICANN needs a mechanism for individual
users' participation in ICANN.  This provides a formalized role in the
policy development process for users that ensures that user views are
seriously taken into account.

2.	Role and Responsibilities
a.	ALAC is a standing advisory committee of the Board 
b.	Provides advice and guidance to the Board and to other
organizations within ICANN on the needs of, and the impact of proposed
policies on, the Internet's individual users - addressing pending
issues and introducing new issues relevant to Internet issues and
within ICANN's purview.
c.	Serves both as a resource for ICANN to pursue specific
issues/questions and solicit user information, and as a meeting point
for individual Internet users and their organizations.
d.	All ICANN policy-making entities will provide ALAC with
appropriate notice of upcoming and pending policy discussions and
impending policy decisions to ensure adequate opportunity for At-Large
input 
e.	Through At-Large Structures, ALAC will engage in outreach to,
and education of, individual Internet users about ICANN/ICANN issues
and will involve users and their representatives in decision making,
aggregation of views, and identification of relevant Internet user
priorities 
f.	ALAC will work with other ICANN stakeholders to address issues
and develop positions on relevant issues 
g.	ALAC will use on-line mechanisms as focal points for
discussions and information dissemination, ensuring broad public
access to ALAC activities
h.	

3.	Structure/Membership
a.	Should be structured so as to:
i.	Provide effective, broadly inclusive mechanism for involving
and representing individual Internet users in ICANN's policy and
decision-making activities
ii.	Demonstrate that the organizations of which the ALAC is
composed actually do represent the populations they claim to
represent. 
iii.	Have membership that is geographically diverse, and is
selected through a process which includes each At-Large Structure
(group) that meets specified criteria. 

4.	Involvement w/ Board, other entities 
a.	ALAC should have a liaison seat on the ICANN Board
b.	It should have liaisons to other ICANN policy-making bodies as
appropriate [To be defined.]
c.	Appointment of four delegates to the Nominating Committee

5.	"At-Large Structures" Criteria - new or existing organizations
that:
a.	Are open, participatory, and self-sustaining
b.	Engage in outreach to, and education of, individual Internet
users about ICANN and ICANN issues
c.	Involve individual Internet users in policy and
decision-making and activities related to involvement in ICANN,
including soliciting opinions of their members and having
participatory mechanisms for the discussion and/or development of
policies, aggregating views, and identifying relevant Internet user
priorities concerning ICANN
d.	Maintain transparent and publicly accessible processes for
input, policy development, and decision-making
e.	Post current information about the organization's aims,
structure, membership, working mechanisms and current leadership 
f.	Are open for new individual members 
g.	Are able to maintain themselves without requiring funding from
ICANN
h.	Are able to guarantee and demonstrate the real identity of
their members and to provide the relevant anagraphical data in
electronic form.

6.	At-Large Structure Designation/Development  
a.	ICANN should post and distribute a call for At-Large
Structures, providing organizations with an appropriate period of time
apply to be eligible to participate in the initial ALAC. 
b.	Organizations fulfilling the criteria can apply to become
At-Large Structures at any time and participate in the ALAC as
appropriate (immediately or during next selection cycle depending on
process). 
c.	It will be the ALAC's responsibility:
i.	to alter or update the admission criteria for new Structures;
ii.	to exclude from itself any Structure which, after appropriate
verification, fails to meet the current criteria;
iii.	to state whether any prospective Structure meets the criteria
and thus can be accepted in the process.
Deliberations of type i) and ii) require a majority vote of 2/3 of the
ALAC.
d.	At Large Structures will not be required to fund ICANN or the
costs of the ALAC, even if partially.
 
7.	ALAC Composition (options)  
a.	(Variable membership) One member from each At-Large Structure 
b.	(Fixed membership) Fixed number from each region (ICANN has
traditionally addressed geographic diversity based on five regions of
the world) (the "Alexander plan")
c.	Fixed membership, half appointed and half elected.

8.	ALAC Funding and Staffing ALAC (options)
a.	The ALAC could be funded either by its members, by ICANN, or
by some combination of the two.

-- 
vb.               [Vittorio Bertola - v.bertola [a] bertola.eu.org]<------
----------------------> http://bertola.eu.org/ <--------------------------

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