APRALO (FY17) Outreach Strategic Plan DRAFT

APRALO Outreach and Engagement Strategy for FY17

Introduction

APRALO has much appreciated the opportunities that ICANN has offered to encourage our ALS members, Internet users in the Asian, Australasian and Pacific Islands Region, to expand their understanding of and participation in ICANN activities. FY17 will be used to create further opportunities for outreach, capacity building and mentoring as well as to continue to encourage members of our regional organization to fully participate in At-Large activities that will contribute to the multistakeholder policy development process within ICANN for the benefit of end-users globally.

APRALO Successes during FY16

During FY16, several highlights of APRALO’s annual programme included CROPP and other funded activities which not only enhanced our aims to build capacity among existing ALSes but also created opportunities to build connections with potential member groups as well as to maintain the relationships we have established with regional organizations that assist us to carry out our responsibilities. We have greatly appreciated the support of our partners - APNIC, APTLD and DotAsia. APRALO also continues to maintain a cooperative relationship with the APAC Hub with whom we have produced series of webinars to both inform and up skill our At-Large community. We trialed live captioning to encourage English as a second language participants to read along with the presenters, and created eBooks in an attempt to increase participant understanding of the subject content and context. Because eBooks required voluntary time and effort, their production has been slow but they are necessary to enable the At-Large community to be able to access webinar information in their own time and space. We are ever mindful that APRALO come from diverse backgrounds of languages, cultures, knowledge and experience, as well as time zones which may preclude attendance of webinars in real time. 

Five members of the APRALO Leadership Team attended the APTLD/ APRICOT/ APSTAR meetings which were held in Auckland in February 2016. Three members attended the first National IGF in Armenia. Two leaders attended the Global IGF in person (one participated remotely in two sessions organized by APRALO members). As communication within the region is important, APRALO continues to encourage ALSes to notify the regional community of events in their areas, on the APRALO outreach calendar. Regional leadership updates and eBooks have been added to our APRALO.wordpress.com website, and during the year, ICANN has involved the leadership team in the development of the APRALO page on the new At-Large Beta Website. APRALO also holds a regular monthly meeting. We would like to encourage more members to attend these online meetings, although we are aware of connectivity and time zone constraints. It is through these various media that we disseminate information to regional members about policy issues and policy development processes as well as about working groups, regional ALS activities and public consultation activities.

The highlight of the APRALO year was the successful application of a very unique organization, the Internet Society of China, to become the region’s 44^th ALS. A visit to China by three members of the leadership team was sponsored by the ISC to attend and participate in their Global Internet Development Trends and Technological Innovation Forum, as well as to learn more about the organizational operations of the ISC. It was a very successful visit where information about ICANN and the engagement of young end-users in policy discussions, is being facilitated by the staff of the ICANN office in Beijing via China’s very popular social media app - WeChat.

APRALO proposes to continue to encourage and support the information needs of our current ALSes by whatever way possible to increase their engagement and participation. At the same time, the Leadership Team will continue to network and build relationships in order to increase the number of ALSes in our region towards our goal of at least one ALS per country.

Funding Requests for Attendance of FY17 Regional Activities

Funding for the Global IGF was agreed to by the FY17 Budget Committee on condition that the proposed session that has been submitted, is accepted by the IGF MAG.

At the Helsinki meeting, the Senior Manager of the APAC Hub, Jia-Rong Low, and his Oceania GSE colleague, Save Vocea, confirmed the categories of events which the APAC Hub and GSE will fund. The three categories include: five x CROPP (4 days 3 nights) to attend regional non-ICANN events; any funding requests accepted by the FY17 Budget; GSE funds for ICANN events. It is assumed that the RALO will find other sources of funding for outreach within the region.

The events on which APRALO will focus on during FY17 are as listed:

1. APrIGF, Taiwan (July 27-29, with event co-sponsor DotASIA holding its Board meeting 30-31 July)
2. APNIC42, Bangladesh (29 Sep-6 Oct, APNIC is the event sponsor), APSTAR meeting (to be Co-chaired by Maureen Hilyard – sponsored by APNIC)
3. APTLD, Thailand (15-16 Sep with event co-sponsor DotAsia holding its Board meeting 17-18 Sep)
4. India SIG, TBC (based on ICANN Hyderabad dates)
5. Global IGF, Mexico (6-9 Dec)
6. APRICOT, Vietnam (20^th Feb – 2 March 2017)

An important purpose of choosing these particular activities, is that the non-IGF activities relate to APRALO regional partners (APTLD, APNIC and DotAsia) and APRALO wishes to support our partners and their events, as they already support and often provide part-funding in order for APRALO personnel to attend, network and participate. CROPP and any available GSE funding will also enable APRALO leaders to attend as small teams to enhance the presence of the RALO at regional events.

CROPP Funding Requests

It is proposed that CROPP applications will be made for:

1. Maureen Hilyard (4 nights’ accommodation for the APrIGF and 2 nights’ accommodation for the APTLD meeting. Airfares will be covered by DotAsia)
2. Kaili Kan (full CROPP funding – 4 days & 3 nights including airfares and accommodation– to attend APNIC42
3. Full CROPP funding for three APRALO participants (including airfares and accommodation) to attend the APRICOT meeting in Vietnam.

Proposed APRALO involvement in the following FY17 events

• APrIGF- Taipei (27-29 July). Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum will be held at the NTUH International Convention Center. This event serves as a platform for discussion, exchange and collaboration at a regional level, also where possible to aggregate national IGF discussions, and ultimately advance the Internet governance development in the Asia Pacific region. The overarching theme of the event is A New Internet Era – Merging Physical Space with Cyberspace, and the Sub-Themes are (The Future Impact of IANA Transition), (Security), (Human Rights), (Impacts of International Agreements and Policies), (Universality) and (Cyber Connectivity). The local hosts for the event are The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and National Information Infrastructure Enterprise Promotion Association (NIIEPA – An APRALO ALS). Satish and Maureen are on the APrIGF MSG and would be supporting an existing ALS and to encourage participation among the youth leaders who will be attending in a parallel programme at the IGF. Satish has been offered a full APrIGF fellowship to participate in the speakers programme. Maureen has been part of the organization of the event, as well as the Election Committee coordinating the election of a new Vice Chair.

• APTLD Bangkok (15-16 Sep). The APTLD community is set to reconvene in Bangkok, Thailand, for its 70th Members Meeting. APRALO would like to support one of its MOU members by having a leadership team member at this event.  Maureen Hilyard will be in Bangkok to attend a DotAsia Board meeting, and is requesting 2 nights’ accommodation to attend the APTLD event. Another APRALO leader may also apply under a CROPP application.

• APNIC42, Bangladesh (29 Sep-6 Oct): The second APNIC Conference for 2016 will be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh at Le Meridien Dhaka in conjunction with bdNOG6. The workshop sessions will allow network professionals to learn from some of the region's best trainers, while the conference brings together local and international Internet experts to share operational experience, discuss policies, and build industry contacts. bdNOG is a community of Internet operators and engineers who work together to share operational experience, conduct research, and promote local ICT talent, with the aim of building a better Internet in Bangladesh. The event will also host the AP* meeting of regional Internet organisations. Maureen Hilyard will be the International Co-Chair for this meeting (along with a local Co-Chair). Her attendance (airfares and accommodation) will be provided by APNIC. Kaili Kan will be funded by ISC.  Local ALS member, Jahangir Hossain will be running an event to promote ICANN activities – GSE will look into offering some financial support for this local event.

• ICANN57- Hyderabad (3 – 9 Nov) - At short notice, the next ICANN meeting will take place in Asia Pacific region. Unfortunately, due to shift of the location, APRALO will have no opportunity to organize a General Assembly, but we assume that many ALSs will be able to participate on their own or through ICANN Fellowship or NextGen programs. Due to a focus that Satish’s ALS has given to Accessibility issues in the past at the global IGF, a focus for outreach will include an invitation to related NGOs and civil society organizations, not only to address diversity within our region but also to provide a model of inclusiveness with regards to the needs of people with ICT accessibility issues. The Fellowship, Next Gen and Onboarding programmes will provide resourcing and content for youth participation. Additionally, APRALO will provide peer support (and mentorship) for two Indigenous Ambassadors from NARALO who were originally expected to attend the ICANN meeting in Panama.

• INDIA-SIG (Nov dates and venue TBC) – Satish’s ALS has been planning a SIG for India in conjunction with a regional APSIG proposal that is currently being organized for Bangkok, immediately before the APTLD meeting. The Government of India initially agreed to support this initiative, and Satish has asked for a letter to come from APRALO/APAC Hub to the Indian Government to support the local ALS’s request for financial assistance for this event. It is proposed to attach this event to before or after the Hyderabad meeting, so that APRALO leaders will require some additional accommodation costs to support this event and for additional outreach opportunities. APAC Hub have offered to prepare a proposal for private sector partnership to support bringing in prominent speakers (for example, Board member Rinalia Abdul Rahim) to support the INDIA-SIG as a regional pilot. InternetNZ has also indicated their support and would work with the APAC Hub, for a similar initiative in OCEANIA.

• IGF Guadalajara (6-9 Dec). The 2016 Internet Governance Forum (IGF): ‘Enabling Inclusive and Sustainable Growth’, is tentatively scheduled to take place in Guadalajara, Mexico. This event will provide a chance to meet people from various stakeholder groups involved in internet governance to make discussions on public policy issues relating to the Internet. The IGF would also facilitate a common understanding of how to maximize Internet opportunities and address the risks and challenges that arise. An APRALO budget request was approved by ICANN Board to support two people to attend the IGF, if the MAG accepts a submitted workshop proposal.

• APRICOT (20 Feb - 2 Mar 2017). This event will be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The workshops will run from 20^th to 24^th February, while the conference will run from 27^th February to 2^nd March. Due to the successful networking and outreach which resulted from the APRALO Leadership Team having representatives attend the joint APRICOT, APTLD and APSTAR meetings, the Leadership team proposes to use their remaining CROPP openings to again participate in this event in 2017. 

• ICANN58 (11-16 Mar, 2017), Copenhagen

• ICANN59 (26-29 Jun, 2017), Johannesburg

• APRALO Leadership Mentoring Program – July 2016-April 2017

APRALO Leaders are proposing to offer its ALS members a Leadership Mentoring Programme that will help to develop the leadership potential of our ALS members and to encourage them to take an active lead role in their participation in, and continuing contribution to, the work of At-Large within ICANN. The programme is proposed to run over 9 months, with introductory phases of the selection of mentor volunteers and mentees (already identified); a survey to profile participants in order to seek the best matches for partner participants; followed by at least 6 months of directed communication, guidance and support by the mentor for the mentee and a set of expected outcomes by the mentee and on-going assessment and feedback taking place between the partners. Important to this process on everybody involved, will be to ensure that mentors and mentees realize the potential intensity of this involvement in between ICANN meetings. There will be different levels of entry and experience, so that there must be careful matching of mentors and mentees. Vitally important will also be the appointment of a Super-Mentor for the mentors on this programme. There will be a schedule of feedback by 2-3 participants at each APRALO meeting; the programme will conclude with a short evaluation report expected from both sets of participants, and some oral feedback at ICANN Copenhagen in March 2017.  This programme has the potential to showcase succession planning for cross-RALO leadership.

The APRALO Leadership Team, 2016