Page History

Questions prepared by Tijani Ben Jemaa:

As a Board Director selected by At-Large,

• How would you support the At-Large community?
• What kind of support would you provide the RALOs and ALAC?
• Even if you are not obliged, will you report to ALAC?
• Will you meet with the ALAC and listen to the At-Large concerns and ideas? How often?
• Will you help to implement the At-Large projects and activities? How?
  

Answers from Candidates (in order of the candidates' surname)

Sebastien Bachollet

Staff will publish, I am sure, in a few moments my answers to your questions.

But I you want to see them now or have some direct exchange with me do not hesitate to go to my blog.

 ttp://sebastien.bachollet.fr

Thanks

Pierre Dandjinou

Let me thank you for the questions. Let me also thank all who has put so much effort in Baining that seat no15 which actually is a mark of the many envolements undergone by the ICANN and the Special SO which is the ALAC.

As a Board Director selected by the At Large Community, I understand that my role should be to become a voice of the At Large on the Board . Of course, while the by-laws of ICANN has precise requirements from its Board members who, once elected, should strive to represent the ICANN and not its SO, I do believe there is something special with this new position; thus, one of my constant effort will be to make sure the importance of the users’ voice be understood by my fellow Directors. In this regards, I will take initiatives to further explain why it’s so important that we listen more to the at large community, and that our Policy development strategy further integrate their interests and needs.  This means that I consider myself on a special mission; therefore, I will find ways in which to communicate with and support the at large community.

Indeed, one of the plaguing issue affecting the at large community is the difficulties in outreaching to all our ALS; most of them require more face to face meetings so as to effectively socialize and brainstorm over the many issues that the user at large is dealing with when it comes to Internet development and usage. I will therefore support any budget increase to effectively contribute to more global and regional forums for the ALS. Whenever possible, I should report back  to the community through the bureau of the ALAC, an also will help formalize regular feedbacks from the Board to the ALAC.

More than the past, I will strive to make myself accessible to the community and of course I will support any initiatives and projects deemed useful to the At large community. As a former Chair of the AFRALO, I have some fair knowledge of our problems and would not spare my efforts to help solve them.

Alan Greenberg

The question of supporting the At-Large Community and the RALOs and ALSs is both easy and difficult. A Director is not on the Board to be an advocate FOR the groups that put him or her there. But presumably if selected by those groups, the Director understands the needs and desires of that group, and generally agrees and supports these needs. As such, an At-Large Director (including me if I am selected) is likely to be an advocate for specific initiatives coming out of At-Large. I think that one of the largest contributions that the Director can make is to ensure that the ALAC and RALO leadership understand the perspective with which the Board will approach its decisions. More likely, there will be multiple perspectives since the Board may well be divided on issues. Understanding these positions will allow At-Large to make stronger arguments for what it wants to see happen.

“Reporting back” is probably not the correct term for the interactions between the Director and ALAC. Certainly there will be regular interactions. I think that it is a given that schedules permitting, the Director would participate in some ALAC meetings both at ICANN meetings and teleconferences. Only experience will allow a reasonable prediction of the exact frequency. I am presuming that the Director will be on the standard ALAC and At-Large lists, and will therefore be able to monitor and intervene as appropriate. That has certainly been the case with some GNSO Directors in my experience. It would be foolish for the At-Large Director OR the ALAC to not ensure that there is a regular exchange of issues, and I do not consider either myself or the current ALAC foolish!

I alluded to “helping to implement At-Large projects and activities” above. I do not think that it is the work of the Director to create such proposals, but it may be his or her job to act as an advisor on them. Since actually being an author of a proposal going to the Board could be viewed as a reason that the Director would have to recuse themselves from the Board discussion and vote, this is certainly not the way to go. Participation in At-Large activities is an option that will depend on the specific details.