[ALAC] Acceptance of Chair Nomination

Carlton Samuels carlton.samuels at gmail.com
Sun Aug 28 18:04:49 UTC 2016


Alan has outlined the At-Large achievements succinctly and framed the
challenges yet ahead with a certain clarity.   Mark me a +1: chairing the
ALAC has become more than a full time job.  And by some measures, a
thankless one.

I confess I'm a policy wonk with a great personal interest in most of the
issues we are called to address in the ALAC. But it still steams me when we
are treated as unloved third cousins from the countryside, constantly under
pressure to hold our place and entitlements.

>From the instigation that was ALAC 2.0, Alan has worked tirelesdly to
advancethe enduser sgenda. Since his first term as ALAC Chair, he has done
yeoman work to hold the line on our common achievements and has worked
doubly hard to advance the At-Large agenda.  He should be reelected.

I urge the electors to vote and assert your confidence in Alan's leadership.

-Carlton


==============================
*Carlton A Samuels*

*Mobile: 876-818-1799 <876-818-1799>Strategy, Planning, Governance,
Assessment & Turnaround*
=============================

On Fri, Aug 26, 2016 at 9:26 PM, Alan Greenberg <alan.greenberg at mcgill.ca>
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 alan.greenberg at mcgill.ca or to chat on Skype at
> alangreenberg-mtl.
>
> Alan
>
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>
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