Promoting ICANN At-Large

Who are the people that can be part of At Large? This is a question we hear often and are always happy to answer given the unique nature of the At Large community within ICANN.

If you are a person or belong to a group that follows, cares and is enthusiastic about Internet Governance issues (such as Digital Divide, Net Neutrality, Privacy and Security) as they affect end users, then your place is within the At Large Community. Example of groups include professional societies; academic and research organizations; community networking groups; consumer advocacy groups; Internet Society chapters; Computer user organizations and Internet civil society groups.

The At-Large Community represents the interests of Internet end users in ICANN activites as they relate to the domain name system (DNS). These include policies that 

•  govern how people can register and use domain names,
• ensure local languages are available as domain names
•  govern your country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) and
•  govern how generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) are made available worldwide

By being a part of the At-Large Community, you can help shape these policies being developed by ICANN's multistakeholder community that affect current and future Internet users. 

To see a summary of ICANN policy issues and why end users should care about these policy issues please see our https://atlarge.icann.org/advice_statements/9895.

By being in the "room" where these policies are being formulated and discussed, you can make your voice heard as to how these policies impact Internet end users.

There are no application or membership fees to be part of the global volunteer At-Large community.

You can become a member of this vibrant community that helps shape the internet's future with opportunities to collaborate regularly online through virtual working group and sub committee meetings. You can also attend the face to face  meetings which are convened three times a year across the five regions of Africa,Europe, Latin America and Caribbean, Asia and Australasia and North America. 

 

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Civil Society

There are lots of opportunities within the At Large for the Civil Society and more information can be found here.

Academia

At Large welcomes students studying Internet Governance issues and those teaching it. Of recent is an Outreach activity to a University in Marrakech in which students were also invited into the ICANN meeting in Marrakech with designated mentors to attend various sessions on Policy and Policy Advice. The At Large community also boasts of various At Large Structures (ALSes) in academia some of which can be found here. ICANN also offers opportunities to those in academia through the NextGen program, where students are funded to attend ICANN Face to Face meetings. 

Consumer/End User ICT groups

End User ICT Groups such as ICT Associations, ISOC Chapters and Consumer groups play a big role in At large with a high number of our At Large Structures made up of these groups. At Large is a voice for end users and who better to make these voices heard than from the grassroots. Thus the pertinent need for such groups within At Large in line with what the Multistakeholder Model is all about. 

Individuals that care about Internet Governance issues

If you are a person that follows, cares and is enthusiastic about Internet Governance issues such as and not limited to:

• Digital Divide
• Net Neutrality
• Privacy
• Security

then your place is within the At Large Community. At Large welcomes both individual and groups in its midst and is the one committee within ICANN that embraces all sectors regardless of professional affiliation and or interests. If you use the internet, you are an END USER and thus eligible to be an At Large member. Join the diversified world of At Large !!!!