Letter to ALAC on At-Large New gTLD WG charter item 2

(Final version sent to Olivier Crepin-Leblond on 20 August 2012)

 

Dear Olivier,

I am sending the following request as an approved text of the At-Large New gTLD Working Group (AngWG).

Charter Item 2 in the At-Large New gTLD Wg (ANgWG) is:

"Applicant Support Issues: With the JAS report complete, that group will be winding down but it will be necessary for At-Large to monitor its acceptance and implementation (to the extent that it is accepted and implemented)"

With the end of the application period and the beginning of the SARP review the initial work on this work item is completed.  In fact, except for monitoring of how the SARP process is actually applied, one could consider the work completed.

It is relatively undisputed, that the Applicant Support Program was a failure.  What is still under active discussion are the reasons for this failure.  Several reasons are given such as:

                • Lack of a credible outreach for both new gTLDs and the Applicant Support Program to the appropriate populations

                • Cost remained too high

                • Program was established too late to be of much help. 

        •  Language issues, e.g translation of the Application Guide Book (AGB) or application tools

                • The developing world does not need or want gTLDs, they have more important needs

In most conversations the issue of Applicant Support is closely linked to the issue of the low number of applications from the developing regions of the world.  The GAC communique from Prague contains the following:

• to review and plan action for the next round to ensure there is no repetition of the low uptake in applications from developing countries.

The ANgWG has discussed the possiblity of continuing its work on Applicant Support with two goals in mind:

                • To study the reasons for the low uptake of applications from the developing regions

                • To propose ways in which this failure can be remediated in future rounds.

Since this would be an essentially new work item for the ANgWG, the WG is requesting approval from the ALAC on this charter extension.   It is to be expected that this process will be time consuming and probably would not reach full speed until the end of the objection period during which the ANgRG volunteers are otherwise occupied.  An intial report on possible remediation solutions would be scheduled for September 2013.

Thank you very much for the consideration.

Avri Doria

Chair, ANgWG

 

(proposed draft)

Dear Olivier,

I am sending the following request as an approved text of the At-Large New gTLD Working Group (AngWG).

Charter Item 2 in the At-Large New gTLD Wg (ANgWG) is:

Applicant Support Issues: With the JAS report complete, that group will be winding down but it will be necessary for At-Large to monitor its acceptance and implementation (to the extent that it is accepted and implemented)

With the end of the application period and the beginning of the SARP review the initial work on this work item is completed.  In fact, except for monitoring of how the SARP process is actually applied, one could consider the work completed.

It is relatively undisputed, that the Applicant Support Program was a failure.  What is still under active discussion are the reasons for this failure.  Several reasons are given such as:

• Lack of a credible outreach for both new gTLDs and the Applicant Support Program to the appropriate populations;
• Cost remained too high;
• Program was established too late to be of much help;
• Language issues, e.g translation of the Application Guide Book (AGB) or application tools
• The developing world does not need or want gTLDs, they have more important needs

In most conversations the issue of Applicant Support is closely linked to the issue of the low number of applications from the developing regions of the world.  The GAC communique from Prague contains the following:

• to review and plan action for the next round to ensure there is no repetition of the low uptake in applications from developing countries.

The ANgWG has discussed the possiblity of continuing its work on Applicant Support with two goals in mind:

• To study the reasons for the low uptake of applications from the developing regions
• To propose way in which this failure be remediated in future rounds.

Since this would be an essentially new work items for the ANgWG, the WG is requesting approval from the ALAC on this charter extension.   It is to be expected that this process will be time consuming and probably would not reach full speed until the objection period during which the ANgRG volunteers are otherwise occupied.  An intial report on possible remediation solutions would be scheduled for September 2013.

Thank you very much for the consideration.

 

Avri Doria

Chair, ANgWG