[ALSC-Forum] At-Large Organizing Committee

[Denise Michel ALSC]

Here are the details on the proposed "At-Large Organizing Committee."  I
will, of course, keep you apprised as the Committee is formed and begins its
work.  To help keep you updated on At-Large organizing efforts, a website,
announce list, etc. will be established at www.at-large.org (not yet
operational), and the mailing lists that are being compiled also will be
used to distribute information.

Denise Michel
dmichel@atlargestudy.org

At-Large Organizing Committee

Purpose:  Guide and encourage bottom-up efforts to organize At-Large
mechanisms for meaningful, informed participation in ICANN by a full range
of Internet users as recommended in the ALSC report.

Composition:  The ALOC will include geographically diverse representative(s)
from At-Large structures built upon bottom-up, self-organized, local
Internet community institutions or existing organizations that involve and
represent individual Internet users on issues that fall within ICANN's
mission.  These structures should:

- meet the general criteria of openness, participation, and
self-sustainability
- engage in outreach to, and education of, individual Internet users about
ICANN and ICANN issues
- involve individual Internet users, aggregate views, and identify relevant
Internet user priorities
- work with other ICANN stakeholders to address issues and develop positions
on Internet policy issues that fall within ICANN's mission.

The ALOC also will include some volunteer members of the former At-Large
Study Committee (ALSC) and the former NGO and Academic ICANN Study (NAIS)
group to help jump start activities.  ALSC members will bring a general
knowledge of At-Large and an understanding of the ALSC recommendations
endorsed in part by ICANN's Board, and the arguments and trade-offs that led
to their adoptions by the Committee. The NAIS group members will bring
additional perspectives on At-Large and a separate history of At-Large
involvement. As further At-Large structures are formed/identified, their
representative(s) will be invited to join the ALOC.  For example,
Icannatlarge.com, which recently elected an interim Steering Committee, will
be invited to have members on the ALOC.

Activities:  The ALOC is intended to be a temporary, informal committee to
guide, encourage and help with preliminary At-Large organizing efforts.
Their work will be public, facilitated by Denise Michel, conducted primarily
via email and a website, and will focus on:

. Conducting outreach, identifying individuals/groups worldwide
(individuals, academic institutions, businesses, non-commercial/consumer
groups, and other non-governmental organizations) interested in relevant
Internet user issues and At-Large organizing;

. Managing surveys and discussions on specific relevant issues, as
determined by user indications of interest or ICANN's policy-making
activities.

. Identifying common (and conflicting) objectives and interests relevant to
Internet users and ICANN's mission.

. Establishing mechanisms for coordination and cooperation and policy
development among At-Large structures and with ICANN stakeholders, including
supporting the Board's directive on At-Large, which stated that "the Board
Committee on Restructuring, working in conjunction with the President and
staff, is instructed to ensure that their ongoing efforts at crafting a
blueprint for ICANN reform include (a) workable mechanisms and procedures
that enable meaningful opportunities for participation by the full range of
Internet users, including individuals, academic institutions, large and
small businesses, non-commercial entities (including consumer groups), and
other non-governmental organizations, (b) an appropriate role for those
interests in ICANN's coordinating and management structures, and (c)
appropriate mechanisms to minimize disruption during the reform
implementation process." (See
http://www.icann.org/minutes/prelim-report-14mar02.htm)

Please email questions to dmichel@atlargestudy.org.