[At-Large] Proposal: Rotating Chair for ALAC

[Siavash Shahshahani]

Hi Bret,
In principle your proposal is very sound and I think it should be worked
upon to make it or a variation thereof adoptable. For now I see the
following problems:
1. There is a serious problem with the selection of the 'prospective
chair'. It is possible and often the case that of the three potential
candidates two will be either outgoing when their prospective terms as
chair should start or two of the three will be new members. This could
result in a default situation. Similarly, the 'past chair' will often be
an outgoing member of ALAC(unless he/she is again elected or selected by
nom-com).
2. The lack of continuity that the above will entail combined with the new
executive position created for ALAC by ICANN could undermine the power of
ALAC in favor of growing power of ICANN Executive; I'm afraid of ALAC
becoming a rubber stamp for executive decisions.
Still the idea of a regional person representing ALAC as Chair is very
attractive. Perhaps by re-hashing your proposal for the composition of the
Executive Committee a workable and effective solution can be found.
Siavash

> 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
>
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