[ALAC] [ALAC-Announce] VOTE ANNOUNCEMENT: At-Large Vision Statement as Proposed by the At-Large Improvements Taskforce

Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond ocl at gih.com
Wed May 23 17:14:16 UTC 2012


Dear ALAC members,

I wanted to follow-up on the vote announcement to provide a few more
explanations, based on the questions I have heard during the Tuesday 22
May 2012 ALAC monthly call.

On 23/05/2012 04:44, ICANN At-Large Staff wrote :
> Dear All,
>
> Olivier Crépin-Leblond, Chair of the ALAC, has asked that a vote be held by the ALAC on the proposed "At-Large Vision Statement as Proposed by the At-Large Improvements Taskforce<https://community.icann.org/x/esPbAQ>."
>
> *****
> Question: Do you support the ratification of the At-Large Vision Statement as Proposed by the At-Large Improvements Taskforce<https://community.icann.org/x/esPbAQ>?
>
> The At-Large Vision Statement as Proposed by the At-Large Improvements Taskforce is as follows:
>
> The ALAC, building upon the experience and views of the At-Large community, catalyzes and facilitates inclusive, meaningful participation of general Internet users world-wide, aggregates their input and brings their voice to bear in all ICANN matters.
> *****

Q. Why do we need a "vision statement"?
A. This is one of the recommendations made in the ICANN Bylaw-mandated
At-Large Review process. I remind you that this started with the
community review as well as an external consultant review several years ago.
As a result, the At-Large Improvements Work Team C created an action
item: "to articulate ALAC's and At-Large's vision and mission."

The At-Large Improvements Task Force followed up with the recommendation
and worked to draft a vision statement:
https://community.icann.org/x/esPbAQ

You might not agree fully with the wording of the vision statement. But
ultimately, you should be reassured that the words that make-up this
vision statement were debated by all participants in the WG. They might
not have been 100% ideal, but they are the best that the working group
has managed to choose, given the choices of words possible.

The Vision statement in English will be the basis for vision statements
in Spanish and French. Of course, if the statement does not translate
well, the translator will have the discretion to adapt the statement to
their mother tongue.

As part of the improvements process, the ALAC needs to present a final
report to the Board Structural Improvements Committee (SIC). If we do
not ratify the vision statement made here, we will not be able to ratify
the At-Large/ALAC improvements report. We plan to present our final
report, in time to have the SIC make a decision in Prague.

Q. Why is this not a "mission statement"?
A. The ALAC already has a mission statement, as described in Article XI,
Section 2.4.a:

"The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) is the primary organizational
home within ICANN for individual Internet users. The role of the ALAC
shall be to consider and provide advice on the activities of ICANN,
insofar as they relate to the interests of individual Internet users.
This includes policies created through ICANN's Supporting Organizations,
as well as the many other issues for which community input and advice is
appropriate. The ALAC, which plays an important role in ICANN's
accountability mechanisms, also coordinates some of ICANN's outreach to
individual Internet users."


> Additional information on this Statement can be found on the At-Large Vision Statement as Proposed by the At-Large Improvements Taskforce Workspace<https://community.icann.org/x/esPbAQ>.
>
> Please note that the poll will be open from 22-May-2012 23:59 UTC to 24-May-2012 23:59 UTC.

Q. Why only a 3 day vote?
A. That's because we only have about 4 weeks until the Prague meeting
but the deadline for sending this report to the SIC and letting them
make decisions, is much shorter. 5 days would have been better, but the
ALAC then also needs to vote on the complete report to the SIC -- and 5
days will be given for this too. Add the week-ends and a deadline for
sending this to the Board SIC of early June and we're running out of time.

Q. Is this really so important? Aren't we wasting time on this?
A. Yes, it is important, because it is part of our bylaw-mandated review
process. It is an inherent part of our improvements. Finalising it now
will save us time in future ALAC Reviews.
No, we're not wasting time. It was asked of the community. The community
has spent a lot of work to put this together. It's important that it is
done correctly.

Warmest regards,

Olivier MJ Crépin-Leblond
ALAC Chair




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