[At-Large] Some thoughts about the draft unaffiliated Individuals Mobilization Working Party Report

Dev Anand Teelucksingh devtee at gmail.com
Mon Mar 15 21:46:54 UTC 2021 

I never saw an interim report nor was part of the WG.

One example of tiered membership : The current thinking in LACRALO is that
individuals will only be allowed to work in RALO WGs, not necessarily
Atlarge ones and cannot vote in LACRALO and cannot be selected/ elected in
LACRALO and At-Large.

I’m tempted to describe this using more provocative terms ; “tiered”
membership is probably the kindest.

You say "RALOs have a lot of say about their members and how they organise
them within their individual RALOs because they can".

However, a key difference is that RALOs do not accredit its members.
An organisation does not join a RALO.
An organisation joins At-Large. RALOs are made up of organisations
accredited by ALAC within an ICANN region.

If we in At-Large want to embrace individuals, we should be striving to
replicate how organisations join At-Large with respect to individuals, not
5 separate and different processes to "join the RALO", with individuals
having different rights and responsibilities solely on the individual's
origin.

Kind Regards,

Dev Anand



On Sun, 14 Mar 2021 at 8:47 PM, Maureen Hilyard <maureen.hilyard at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hi Dev
>
> You have commented on a lot of issues which would have been helpful to
> raise in the many meetings that were held to discuss this issue but I just
> wanted to respond to your comment about RALO Individual members.
>
> Its in the bylaws, but RALOs have a lot of say about their members and how
> they organise them within their individual RALOs because they can. Even now
> not every RALO member in At-Large has the same rights as some in
> other RALOS, but that is what it is, within their RALOs. Every RALO can set
> its own rules within the boundaries of its own RALO - although in an ideal
> world we would like every RALO member to have the same rights and
> opportunities. But that isnt for any other RALO to say.
>
> However, just as this happens already, every person in At-Large from any
> RALO is treated equitably, and positions that are in the domain of the ALAC
> for example are open to all RALO members whether they are ALS or RALO
> individuals  e.g.for membership of working groups inside or outside of
> At-Large.. For these positions, it is to do with their ability and
> knowledge to participate in a particular activity on behalf of At-Large, so
> the appointment choices are generally made by a RALO-constituted
> subcommittee or voted on by the ALAC themselves.
>
> I am not sure what you mean by a tiered membership. I would be most
> unhappy if there was any distinction between individual members, be they
> ALS or RALO, outside of their RALOs..
>
> Maureen
>
> On Sun, Mar 14, 2021 at 1:42 PM Dev Anand Teelucksingh via At-Large <
> at-large at atlarge-lists.icann.org> wrote:
>
>> I must express some concerns regarding the approaches made in the draft
>> Unaffiliated Individuals Mobilization Working Party Report at
>>
>>
>> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uE4ue7roIpYY_OeX_A6-BtrxcKOkq-PcPhXRj8n7YwM/edit
>>
>> At-Large wants to recruit individuals to the At-Large constituency who
>> are not affiliated to At-Large Structures but care about the issues
>> pertaining to ICANN's remit as they impact individual Internet users and to
>> volunteer to participate in policy determinations.
>>
>> However, the proposed report makes for potential individuals to be
>> treated outside of the At-Large Community, as if they aren't "real" members
>> but “lower tier” members of a RALO. Also, based on a person's origin,
>> individuals are given different rights to participate and to be considered
>> for positions in At-Large.
>>
>>
>> The proposals in the draft final report would
>>
>>    -
>>
>>    Add complexity to At-Large processes for individuals to join At-Large
>>    making At-Large even more confusing to outsiders (and even ICANN “insiders”
>>    in other AC/SOs).
>>    -
>>
>>    Doesn’t provide incentives for individuals to join At-Large since
>>    they are given wording that At-Large representatives can do certain things
>>    and be recognized, but as individuals, you do not have those rights and
>>    responsibilities of At-Large representatives.
>>    -
>>
>>    Makes other AC/SOs more attractive since it's easier to understand
>>    and easier to join.
>>    -
>>
>>    Removes check and balances in how individuals in At-Large are even
>>    recognized to participate compared to how At-Large Structures are
>>    accredited.
>>
>>
>> Consider the term “RALO individual members”.
>>
>> It serves to send the message that the “RALO member” can only be involved
>> in RALO activities and not At-Large activities and not part of the global
>> At-Large Community.
>>
>>
>> A better term would be something like “At-Large Individual” which would
>> show that an individual is part of the At-Large Community.
>>
>>
>> Consider the process by which “RALO individual members” join :
>>
>>
>>
>>    -
>>
>>    individual fills out a form designed by the RALO (not a common
>>    At-Large one) so there’s 5 forms with different wording and
>>    requirements (not counting translations)
>>    -
>>
>>    RALO will apply its own procedures for accepting or rejecting
>>    application
>>    -
>>
>>    RALO Leadership (RALO Chair, Vice-Chairs (if any), and Secretariat)
>>    informs Staff whether the RALO accepts or rejects the application.
>>    -
>>
>>    Staff informs applicant.
>>
>>
>>
>> The lack of transparency contrasts with how At-Large applications by
>> organisations are handled. The check and balances by having the ALAC made
>> aware of the RALO advice towards At-Large applications is removed.
>>
>>
>>
>> RALO leadership can make a decision on an individual without even the
>> RALO members themselves not being aware of an individual’s application
>> depending on the RALO procedures. RALO leadership could even discriminate
>> against individuals they perceive as threats to their leadership.
>>
>>
>> There should be a standard process by which individuals anywhere in the
>> world apply as At-Large individuals, similar to how organisations apply to
>> At-Large.
>>
>>
>> Kind Regards,
>>
>>
>> Dev Anand
>>
>>
>>
>>
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