[ALAC] Acceptance of Chair Nomination

[Alan Greenberg]

It was pointed out that although I implied it, I did not formally 
accept the nomination.

I accept.

Alan

At 26/08/2016 10:26 PM, Alan Greenberg wrote:

>Thank you for the nomination and thanks to all those who publicly or 
>privately have sent messages of support.
>
>It is extremely important that end-users have a real and strong 
>voice in ICANN. Users are the ultimate reason that the Internet 
>exists. It is end users who patronize online commerce sites, read 
>(and write) the near infinite number of blogs, cause YouTube videos 
>to go viral, communicate with friends, relatives and colleagues with 
>e-mail and social media, and sadly, respond to spam and phishing 
>attacks. The needs of these users must be considered in the 
>development of Internet policy. The ALAC and At-Large serve as the 
>advocates of end users and represent their best interests within ICANN.
>
>I have been involved in user and usability issues for all of my 
>career, and have now spent close to ten years working with At-Large. 
>Working collaboratively with my ALAC and At-Large colleagues, we 
>have transformed the ALAC and At-Large Community into a serious 
>force within ICANN. However, there is more to do.
>
>I am currently completing my 2nd year as ALAC Chair. My focus over 
>the last 22 months has included the following critical areas:
>
>    * ALS Effectiveness: We have been very successful at increasing 
> the number of ALSes. Over the last two years, although we are still 
> actively recruiting ALSes, much of our focus has changed from just 
> outreach to outreach and engagement, with the intent of increasing 
> ALS effectiveness, both in telling their communities about ICANN 
> and where applicable, having them contribute to our policy 
> activities. Capacity building and briefings on subjects of current 
> importance (such as the IANA transition) are important parts of 
> this, as are the regular monthly distributions of understandable 
> information (in multiple languages) that we are currently 
> discussing. I have no doubt that the ongoing At-Large Review will 
> play an important part in this.
>    * Policy Development: We now have more ALAC and RALO members and 
> leaders actively involved in ICANN policy development and related 
> ALAC activities. This needs to continue to grow. There are steep 
> learning curves but it is encouraging that the number of At-Large 
> members on cross community and GNSO working groups is growing, and 
> increasingly, people are not just listening but contributing.
>    * ALAC Chair Viability: As the ALAC transitioned from the 
> original ?Interim ALAC? to the current model with RALOs, the Chair 
> position became substantially more than a full-time job. That 
> effectively means that the only person who can meet the demands is 
> someone who is retired and/or willing to put most of the rest of 
> their life on hold. This is not a sustainable model. We have made 
> improvements over the last two years, but there is more to do in 
> reducing the Chair?s involvement through process changes, 
> transferring responsibility to ALT and ALAC Members and, as 
> appropriate, to Staff.
>    * The ALAC in ICANN: When I started in ICANN, the ALAC was to a 
> large extent considered a joke (and not a good one) and a poor use 
> of ICANN funds (or registry and registrar funds as they are ICANN 
> main sources of income and those groups generally considered it 
> ?their? money instead of that of the registrants who actually 
> provided it). Through the concerted efforts of past Chairs, others 
> in the ALAC and At-Large and myself, that is no longer the case. If 
> it was still a perception of some in the community, the recent 
> CWG-Stewardship and CCWG-Accountability clearly showed that we were 
> a force to be contended with. It will take constant work to ensure 
> that we continue to live up to the reputation we now have as a 
> critical and respected part of the ICANN ecosystem.
>
>Good progress has been made on these fronts, and in a range of other 
>areas, but not nearly as much as I had envisioned when I became 
>Chair. This is largely due to the (unexpected) overwhelming workload 
>associated with the IANA transition and accountability efforts that 
>has occupied both the ALAC and me over the past two years.
>
>All of these areas will require further efforts and if I am 
>reappointed, they will be among my priorities. In addition, I am 
>committed to working to ensure that ICANN understands the value of 
>At-Large volunteers, arguably the only group within ICANN that has 
>no self-interests (and along with it no external funding), and 
>reduce the barriers to such continued participation.
>
>I hope that the ALAC will find that I have served it well over 
>during my first term and allow me to continue as Chair for another year.
>
>I am available to discuss any of this further. You can contact me 
>via e-mail at 
><mailto:alan.greenberg at mcgill.ca>alan.greenberg at mcgill.ca or to chat 
>on Skype at alangreenberg-mtl.
>
>Alan
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