[NA-Discuss] Global At-Large Summit

[Evan Leibovitch]

Hello Jean,

> Not to dissuade you on the idea of an at-large summit-- but before we 
> get too far on the idea of doing it in Los Angeles--we should see if 
> there is difficulty in getting a visa to the US these days. My 
> understanding is that (at least recently) ICANN has been loathe to 
> have meetings in the US because it's very hard for people to get 
> visas to attend. There may be another upcoming venue that is easier 
> (and possibly cheaper.) Can anyone confirm this or suggest a way to 
> find out?
As has been mentioned elsewhere, the proposed venue is the Europe
meeting roughly one year from now.

While some have suggested that it could or should be done sooner, there
are many compelling reasons for this (not the least of which are your
visa/travel concerns).

The sheer size of the event, which would be a mini-conference alongside
the ICANN meeting, suggests that this requires substantial planning. If
we botch this first one, it'll be a while before anyone has the courage
to do it again.

What are the topics?
Who are the speakers?
Are there separate tracks?
How many rooms does it need?
How big do the presentation rooms need to be?
How much non-travel money does it need?
Frontal presentations, round tables, or (real) hands-on workshops?
What resources (white papers, brichures, multimedia) need to be available?
How will Summit communications (ie, public website) be maintained?
How to keep momentum after the Summit is over?
Whose food can attendees steal? (Sorry.)

All this needs to be planned; and we don't even yet have the formal
buy-in from the RALO of the region that would host the event! (Though we
appear to have the enthusiastic support of its ALAC reps.) Getting this
buy-in is the first step of a long process.

The suggestion that I like is that -- assuming we get support from the
other RALOs -- we should ASAP assemble a working group of people who
want to make this happen, and have the skills to do it. This WG would
meet extensively through virtual means, within itself and with all
relevant stakeholders (RALOs, ALAC, ICANN Staff, meeting hosts, possibly
NCUC and ultimately the Board for budget approval). I would hope that we
will get formal budget approval in LA (as well as an official public
announcement of the Summit) and a conference schedule accepted by
stakeholders at the Asia meeting.

Is this a reasonable schedule? If so, it points to doing the Summit at
the Europe ICANN meeting. Doing so also means that travel costs and visa
headaches are likely reduced (compared to holding it in other regions).

- Evan