[ALAC] ICANN President's Globalization Advisory Groups

[Evan Leibovitch]

On 20 February 2014 09:50, Rinalia Abdul Rahim <rinalia.abdulrahim at gmail.com
> wrote:


> Urgent work on Globalization of ICANN has just been mandated by the board,
> which is timely given the increased international scrunity and pressure for
> change.  The work is critical and will likely require community input.  I
> hope there is sufficient energy left to go around (there are so many
> initiatives running in parallel, all drawing from the same pool).
>


Consider:

   - While the Whereas clauses talk about Globalization, the scope of the
   groups actually mandated includes just about everything and anything.

   - Membership is utterly at the CEO's discretion; it's not like we get to
   pick people to represent us.

   - We haven't even finished with the LAST batch of President's advisory
   panels and are now authorizing the CEO to arbitrarily create -- and
   populate -- a whole set of new ones?


Sorry, but this is now looking more like a diversionary tactic and less of
a real attempt at change. Given the pushback and generally hostile response
ICANN staff have had to significant portions of the ATRT2, there is little
to instil confidence that these are more than a massive waste of time, even
should the groups provide valuable output.

ICANN has plenty of good advice in its hands -- including much that comes
from ALAC -- but chooses to ignore or reject what it has. Asking for more
now has become a diversionary tactic, intended to consume valuable
volunteer energy while encouraging the community to forget about sound
advice already left on the floor.

We should be rejecting this, or at least not wasting time on it, until the
ATRT feedback is properly and thoughtfully implemented. In any case, since
we have no say over the number of groups or their composition, there's not
much for us to do here unless someone wants to lobby for membership.

As far as special implications for ATLAS II, I see none. The best we can do
is to continue to mobilize the At-Large Community of ICANN, as we have
already been doing, to advocate measures designed to protect and advance
the Global Public Interest. Such measures are for the benefit of the Board,
the CEO, the staff, and the rest of ICANN ... including any of the new
committees-of-the-month under consideration.

In other words, Eduardo ... IMO, stay the course already set. Don't be
distracted. The Summit already has more than enough to squeeze into the
allotted time.

- Evan