Background
In May 2022, the APF Fireside Chat was introduced as new initiative of the APRALO Policy Forum aimed at allowing it to vary its modus operandi to attain the following goals and within set parameters:
- To simplify engagement for/by APRALO members;
- To allow for ease of understanding of policy issues and deliberations undertaken by the At-Large community;
- To increase opportunities for discussion of those policy issues; and
- By supporting the activities within the At-Large Consolidated Policy Working Group (CWPG) while avoiding duplication of such efforts.
Further, the APF Fireside Chat:
- Can be an avenue for APRALO members to take up organising or speaking roles, allowing for wider participation in producing events under the APF banner; and
- In their recorded form, can be added to the APF’s pool of knowledge resources, much like the way the At-Large has contributed resources to ICANN Learn
Format
In order to simplify the intended engagement, to allow for ease of understanding of selected policy issues, and to increase opportunities for discussion of those issues, the APF Fireside Chat:
- Must be informal, incorporating an easy-going conversation between (ideally not more than) 2 people, being a moderator and a guest (respectively, “the Moderator” and “the Guest”)
- Should ideally run for 45 minutes but not more than 60 minutes
- Must envisage and introduce the subject matter at a basic level, highlighting a small number of key concepts or problems and how they might impact either (i) the interests of individual internet end users, or (ii) the work of the ALAC and/or the At-Large Community (“the Narrative”)
- Should focus on the Narrative but still allowing for spontaneous responses / reactions between the Moderator and the Guest
- Should envisage and encourage participation from audience / participants through consideration of, where relevant, pre-submitted questions or off-the-floor comments and/or questions
- Must not take on a seminar/webinar-type nature, therefore use of any form of conventional handouts/projection of slides is strongly discouraged
- Should be seen, as far as possible, as an opportunity for participants to interact with the Guest, notwithstanding in a lightly moderated fashion
Identified Topics
These topics were identified for these chats in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
| When | What | Why | Moderator | Guest | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 26 May 2022 at 06:00 UTC | Let's Talk About GNSO PDP 3.0 |
| Justine Chew | Cheryl Langdon-Orr |
| 2. | 08 June 2022 at 07:00 UTC | Let's Talk About Closed Generics |
| Olivier Crépin-Leblond | Holly Raiche |
| 3. | 29 June 2022 at 07:00 UTC | Let's Talk About Transfer Policy |
| Jonathan Zuck | Steinar Grøtterød |
| 4. | 19 September 2022 at ICANN75 | Converted to an ICANN75 At-Large Policy Session |
| Justine Chew | Edmon Chung Sarmad Hussain Jonathan Zuck |
| 5. | 7 December 2023 at 06:00 UTC | Let's Talk About Internet Fragmentation |
| Justine Chew | Jia-Rong Low |
| 6. | 25 April 2024 at 06:00 UTC | Let's Talk About Internet Fragmentation & Multistakeholder Internet Governance |
| Amrita Choudhury | Anriette Esterhuysen Chris Buckridge Pablo Hinojosa |
Volunteers, Suggestions Welcomed!
The APF welcomes volunteers to help with the production of Fireside Chats. Suggestions are also welcomed on topics, moderators and guest speakers. Please contact At-Large Staff who can put you in touch with the Program Lead, Justine Chew.
1 Comment
Justine Chew
From the exit polls conducted at each of the Fireside Chats on PDP 3.0 (on 26 May 2022), Closed Generics (on 8 Jun 2022) and Transfer Policy (on 29 Jun 2022), the indications from among the respondents who participated in exit poll questions are as follows:
a) >90% found Zoom as a good, acceptable technology to run the chats;
b) 92% like or really like the informal style of the chats, with a balance 8% indicating ambivalence;
c) 95% found the chats to be either very useful or useful in presenting an overview of each topic, with a balance 5% indicating sufficiency;
d) 95% found the Guest Speakers to be either very helpful or helpful in sharing knowledge and addressing questions on the respective topics, with a balance 5% indicating sufficiency;
e) A majority 65% have been involved in the ICANN Community for at least 5 years; while 35% have been involved between 0 to 5 years -- this implies that the chats are attracting more seasoned participants than not; and
f) An overwhelming 69% do not think interpretation is necessary.
The average number of attendees is 27 and the average participation on the exit polls was 67%.