[At-Large] Proposal: Rotating Chair for ALAC

[Bret Fausett]

Dear Colleagues,

A few years ago, before the RALOs were formed, I proposed an idea to  
the then-ALAC that I think is worth reconsidering.

It occurred to me at ICANN's meeting in Mar del Plata, Argentina,  
while listening to our very good and very Italian Chair, Vittorio  
Bertola, address the Board, that it would have been a nice thing had  
our *Argentinean* ALAC member, Sebastian Ricciardi, been the Chair  
and ALAC spokesperson for the Mar del Plata meeting *in Argentina.*  
This was nothing at all against Vittorio, who was a very good Chair  
for us at that time, but more a feeling that we could be doing more  
to highlight the international nature of the ALAC by rotating the  
Chair among the five regions, in step with ICANN's meeting calendar.  
In recent discussions with ALAC members, I proposed the idea again,  
and because it was well received, I wanted to propose it formally on  
the list. As long as we are revising our internal working rules, this  
is worth discussing.

Here's the idea. At the end of every ICANN meeting, the members of  
the region that will host the *next* ICANN meeting select one of them  
to act as Chair from that point through the last day of the next  
meeting. This will have a couple of positive effects. First, it will  
take the burden of acting as Chair off of a single individual and  
allow the ALAC to share the work among its members. Second, it will  
give each region a chance to have one of its members serve as Chair,  
providing greater perspective and diversity to our work. It also will  
assist us in our outreach efforts, as this rotation will highlight  
for the regions the international nature of the ALAC.

The downside of the proposal, as I presented it in Argentina, was  
that we would lose some continuity at a time when we were trying to  
get the RALOs formed and get the ALAC up and running. Even though we  
are past the formational stages of the ALAC, I can still see the  
continuity issue. Fortunately, one of my North American colleagues  
told me about the way the European Union handles *its* rotating  
Chair, and I immediately knew we had found our solution.

If we follow the EU model of rotation, the ALAC would have an  
Executive Committee consisting of the immediate Past Chair, the  
Current Chair, and the Prospective Chair. At the end of every ICANN  
meeting, the Past Chair would drop off the Executive Committee, the  
Current Chair would become the Past Chair, the Prospective Chair  
would become the Chair, and a new Prospective Chair would be  
selected. The "Prospective Chair" would act as Vice-Chair of the ALAC.

If applied to our current ALAC at the present time, the Executive  
Committee would consist of Jacqueline Morris as Past Chair (she was  
Chair in Puerto Rico), a Chair from among the three North Americans  
(NA hosts the October, 2007 meeting), and a Prospective Chair from  
among the Asia Pacific representatives (AP hosts the February, 2008  
meeting). When the ICANN meeting in Los Angeles closes, Jacqueline  
would drop off the Executive Committee, the North American would  
become the Past Chair, an Asian-Pacific Islander would become Chair,  
and a European would be selected as the Prospective Chair (Europe  
will host the June, 2008 meeting).

The nice thing about the EU-style rotation is that it ensures we  
have, at all times, a multinational Executive Committee, and it keeps  
continuity in our leadership, as every person selected will serve a  
year on the Executive Committee.

I think this would work very well, and I hope you will consider it.

          Bret Fausett