[At-Large] Selection of At-Large Members For Travel Support for the Kigali Meeting

[Carlton Samuels]

The ALAC leadership proposed withholding travel support from five named
members, including direct representatives of end users, for the upcoming
ICANN meeting in Kigali. This decision allegedly is a preview of
considerations for determining who receives travel support to ICANN
meetings forward and is grounded on attendance history at ALAC meetings and
online policy discussions as well as subject matter expertise in current
policy matters.

Additionally, the draft communique from the ALAC leadership mentions the
basis for this posture as "*a more flexible and utilitarian travel policy*"
requested by the previous Ombudsman.  I believe the At-Large membership is
entitled to know the basis of the complaint and who was the complainant in
this situation.

*For the record, travel support is not and may not be construed as a
benefit**. It is a means to enable volunteers to participate fully in ICANN
meetings**. It is egregiously misbegotten to conflate travel support as a
benefit of participation to an At-Large ICANN volunteer.* Excluding or
disadvantaging any internet user from participating in ICANN At-Large
events is contrary to the multistakeholder principles upheld by ICANN, the
organisation.

It may be a peculiar view. But those of you around since 2006 know this is
my position. I dissented when the messaging used to recruit volunteers
advertised travel support as such and will not retreat from this position.

The odd volunteer as a tourist is an existential risk. Personally, I have
travelled on aeroplanes enough times to have accumulated almost 3 million
air miles in reward. I have personally co-invested - yes, co-invested! - in
travel support using air miles and actual dollars to upgrade steerage class
travel. I have worked for organizations where any travel over 4 hours
merits a business class seat. It is insulting for anyone to suggest that I
slave 13 hours nonstop in steerage on an aeroplane and mark it a benefit!

The notion of selecting "*African VIPs...*" for travel support is an
example of convergence of policy with politics and raises more questions
than answers on the criteria for selection and what other external entities
might be required to make those selections.

A diverse group of individuals from various backgrounds and experiences
peoples the ALAC, as a *Committee of the Whole*. The practical meaning is
discernible from the fact that policy advice to the ICANN Board from ALAC
does not begin with “*Herewith, the advice of these eight halfwits who
voted…!*” While not every member may actively contribute to a specific
policy advice, each member plays a role in transmitting the At-Large
position to the ICANN Board. Therefore, any action that suggests
exclusivity within the ALAC undermines its purpose as a representative body.

The ALAC we have, transformed from the interim ALAC, was always intended to
be ecumenical. To paraphrase the mother of that great American philosopher
Forrest Gump, “*the ALAC is like a box of chocolates. You never know what
you're gonna get.*” ALAC members will come with different sets of skills,
experiences, interests, attention span and deficits, English language
proficiency, analytic capacities, value systems, writing skills. Some may
turn up for every meeting and not offer a word, remaining mute as if with
malice. Some may even troll recordings of meetings and discussions to
inform themselves before they speak with colleagues.

Not every member may vote or ever vote in favour of an advice. Some may
very well be considered dead weight on certain policy matters and could be
jettisoned for cause without a loss of buoyancy; either because they are
disengaged, simply because they may judge an issue not to be of interest in
the constituency they represent, or is deemed by peers as unlikely subject
matter experts. Regardless, their names are mentioned in rooms they may
never enter and collectively transmit the At-Large position to the ICANN
Board.

I have had the privilege to volunteer and work with persons who, in my
opinion and for the skillsets I witnessed in action, eminently qualified to
be ALAC members in every season. Alan Greenberg for sure. Ditto Lance Hinds
and Dev Anand Teelucksingh. Because of the many skills - writing and
listening being among the top ones - experiences and forthrightness he
brings to bear in context of the role of the ALAC to ICANN, perhaps the
most engaging of all to my mind is Evan Leibovich.

Interestingly, persons deemed subject matter experts actually exemplify the
situational and existential threats for the At-Large enterprise.  There was
a time At-Large membership was predicated on an ever-increasing supply of
volunteers. We would serve for a few rounds and cede the field to new
others who would come and join the fray. That was wishful thinking.

I have been a participant in At-Large activities since 2006. I can name and
count on one hand the number of active At-Large [end user] volunteers I
have witnessed from the United States (population approx. 333M); Canada
(population approx. 38M), Brazil (population approx. 215M); the United
Kingdom (population approx. 67M), France (population approx. 68M); Russia
(population approx. 148M), Mexico (population approx. 127M), China
(population approx. 1.42B) and India (population approx 1.41B).  The
Caribbean with the relatively minuscule counts of likely recruits have not
done so badly in comparison.

The bottomline is those labeled as ‘*lifers*’ are here for cause. The
longer you stay the greater the investment in learning and the deeper the
impact of knowledge acquisition.  The fig leaf of multistakeholder
engagement offered the ICANN enterprise by the At-Large lifers – even the
retreads! - has become that much more threatened by a blowing breeze of
change….or burnout.

It is imperative for the ALAC to uphold principles of transparency,
inclusivity, and accountability in its decision-making processes. Excluding
individuals from participation based on arbitrary criteria - and I count
attendance as useless in determining participation if quality is
contemplated! - whether at the regional level or at ALAC level, is
antithetical to the multistakeholder model championed by ICANN, the
organisation.

I am unanimous.

Carlton Samuels

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

*Mobile: 876-818-1799Strategy, Process, Governance, Assessment & Turnaround*
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