Caribbean ALS 20.01.2011 Summary Minutes

Discussion Notes for Caribbean ALS Call 20 January 2011

Participants: Dev Anand Teelucksingh, Cintra Sooknanan, Jean Marie Ackbarali, Jean Marie Altema, Olivier Crepin-Leblond; Roosevelt King
Staff: Heidi Ullrich, Marilyn Vernon

1. Roll Call

2. Current Latin-American ALS Participation in LACRALO (All) (20 minutes)

DT: Currently there are 36 ALSes in LACRALO. But only 9 are from the Caribbean Islands. Among the 9, there has been limited participation. What have been the barriers that have prevented you from participating?

RK: We are quite busy here. But monitoring takes a lot of time. Also, language is an issue. The language tends to be too technical.

CS: Agree that language is difficult. The translation on the mailing lists is very poor, so even the translation from ES/EN and vice-versa is poor.

HU: Gave update on translation tool.

OCL: Has been following LACRALO calls. Hope new translation tool will be an improvement.

CS: We shouldn't limit our contribution to who we think is better suited. We need to start somewhere. My first meeting was amazing because I didn't know anything! Now I am joining WGs.

OCL: Agree with RK on the learning curve that is steep. There are so many acronyms, so many priorities. I joined in 2008, although I knew how ICANN worked from an outsider, I dove into At-Large. We've recognized this. This year we will be working on improving communication. Scott Pinzon will create material that is accessibile to the end user.

HU: Mentioned Beginner's Guide on the DNS, and non-Lawyer's Guide to the RAA.

Jean Marie: We in Haiti need to get involved. We are trying to form an ALS.

3. Way Forward for Improved ALS Participation (All) (20 minutes)

CS: I don't know if there is document that explains how to join a WG, etc.

HU: Noted that two starter kits are being developed: 1) At-Large; 2) ICANN

OCL: I would encourage new participants to join a WG. This is a good start to get to be involved in the process. You get to feel that you are part of the bottom up decision-making process.

DT: Support idea of joining WGs. Suggest At-Large Improvements (see link in chat)

OCL: Agree with DT.

OCL: The first step might be just to join a call. You can listen before committing to join.

RK: I'm kind of the opposite of OCL - I started off following and then got lost along the way! It was the amount of traffic that was too much. 1) Joining WGs, read e-mail lists.. There must be a way to get through to the end user. Who is to say that the option I choose, is the correct option?

HU: Discussed the monthly Policy Update

Action Item: At-Large staff to send Policy Update to regions on a monthly basis

OCL: Reviewed his discussion with Scott Pinzon and Evan Leibovitch during the ICANN Meeting in Cartagena. There is a recognized need to make ICANN's communictions (website, etc) more clear. There is also a plan underway to create an ALS Showcase on the At-Large website (web-magzaine, podcast, etc) whatever the best way to get the word out. Asked for suggestions.

DT: We need to submit a request for FY12 budget submission, so could submit an educational project.

OCL: The ALAC statement on the ICANN Strategic Plan for 2011-2014 was recently submitted. One of the suggestions was for funding to be made available for At-Large to conduct capacity building courses in their regions.

DT: Are there ideas for outreach briefing calls? On education?

4. Discuss possible LACRALO Bylaw Modifications to Address Participation (Andrés)(20 minutes)

RK: Nationalization and democracy.

CS: It is necessary that we as a region, get people who are serious about these issues.

RK: If you penalize them, you'll have less participation. The average end-user don't need details. They just want to uHnderstand what is happening.

DT: The concept that has been sorted is that if there has been lack of participation according to certain criteria (say , after one year), then they are considered inactive. Then they can't participate in votes. Then they have another year to participate again. If they do, they will become an active ALS again with full voting rights.

RK: What is the rationale behind this?

RK: If the objective is to get input from end-users, then they should not be penalized.

DT: The problem is when we have ALSes that don't participate and we don't get quorum on a call, so can't take a policy decision.

RK: As an end-user, I should be able to offer a comment at any time.

DT: The thinking behind this was the ALSes that don't participate.

5. Discussion on Possible Regional Balance of ALAC representatives (Andrés)(20 minutes)

DT: Provided background of Board Director selected by the At-Large community. Asked for opinion re one elected ALAC representive from each region.

RK: Seems this is a question of balance. Need to ask what the objective is. If business is conducted in a bottom up process...if you don't include people you really need.....This items needs a fair discussion and fair decision.

CS: I understand the issue of representation of end-users.

DT: There are four Caribbean regions that have ALSes. There are 15 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America that have ALSes out of 30.

DT: There was a unanimous vote for the Director, when there was a clear difference in view from the two regions.

OCL: Provided background of EURALO vote. It was a short vote, but we had two calls. The chair then e-mailed all ALSes and even called them. Out of 25 ALSes, 23 voted.

DT: There was a high turn-out in the election. 29 ALSes voted.

CS: It also is because the ALAC reps are supposed to represent all of us. In the case of the Latin American representatives, we should assist them if they need English language. I feel that if there is a Latin American representative, they should have strong English skills.

RK: Have there been ALAC represenatives in the Caribbean?

DT: Yes. Carlton was the LACRALO secretariat. He is currently the NomCom appointed ALAC rep on LACRALO.

Next Steps:

DT: I'll be in touch with all of you. Would like to follow up on topics for briefings.

OCL: Thanks for chairing. It was interesting to see the problematics in each region. You are not the only region with these issues. Hopefully we can solve them together.