[ALAC] ALAC & At-Large involvement in GNSO activities

[Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond]

Dear Jean-Jacques,

thank you very much for your kind message which I very much agree with.

I wanted to respond to specific points which you have made and have
therefore cut/pasted the paragraphs in question, with my answers in-line:


On 09/02/2013 06:08, JJS wrote:
> *
> *- Third, I posit that the period before us is quite unlike the previous
> one. In the past, gaining acceptance as an AC has sometimes required us to
> relinquish inconvenient principles for the benefit of short-term
> practicality. But the challenge the ALAC now faces is quite different: how
> to effectively introduce, or better acclimatize, the fundamental notion of
> the global public interest, in an organization where commercial interests,
> the lawyer class, and the satellites gravitating around them, have gained a
> dominant position. This is not to say that the latter are illegitimate; but
> it is a question of setting the balance right.*

I do not think that at any time, the ALAC has relinquished inconvenient
principles for the benefit of short term practicality.
The ALAC might have had to adopt shortened procedures in order to keep
its response on-time and this is possible by the very Rules of Procedure
which the ALAC runs by. As for the content of the message, I would like
to be pointed to example of statements where our principles were
relinquished.

Concerning the introduction of the fundamental notion of the global
public interest, I note that whilst a while ago this notion was
completely foreign to many parts of ICANN, recent events point to the
direction that things are improving and the notion itself is gaining
acceptance. This is partly due to the change in ICANN leadership, both
in Staff and on the Board, but also due to the ALAC's insistence on the
term, sharing its point of view on the matter at every opportunity at
ICANN meetings, starting with meetings with the GAC and with the Board
and I must thank you for your work and the work of others on the ALAC
for putting the point across so eloquently that the Global Public
Interest is on its way to become part of ICANN's DNA.

With an evolving ICANN, I believe that whilst there was a time when
commercial interests peaked, the pendulum is currently swinging in the
other direction. More than just setting the balance right, we need to
seize that opportunity to make sure the global public interest is firmly
etched into ICANN's DNA.


> *
> *
> *- Fourth, if my analysis is not completely wrong, I would suggest that the
> ALAC can now afford to concentrate on wider issues, on fostering principles
> which may have been neglected, while at the same time pursuing its valuable
> work on responding to the Board and neighbours in the ACs and SOs. I admit
> this is an important choice, but I believe now is the right time to
> formulate the question squarely, and to act accordingly.*

I have always supported this, starting with the creation of the At-Large
Future Challenges Working Group.
However, the ALAC's mission is listed in the ICANN bylaws and we
therefore must not forget performing those duties.
I'll respond to Rinalia's message next.

Kind regards,

Olivier