•  Accept As-Is
•  Accept With modification
•  Reject

Rationale:

MK: accept as is.

LG: Accept with modification.  I would suggest expanding to include the establishment of performance measures to evaluate effectiveness of initiatives to reduce barriers to newcomers.  (Key Performance Indicators-KPIs, targets, phasing),  If Rec.1 is intended to address this, then consider adding a clarification.

9

Paul Diaz

gTLD Registries Stakeholder Group

(Support) This should be a continuous improvement goal for the GNSO. The biggest barriers to newcomers are likely already known so it would be helpful to summarize those and search for cost-effective ways to reduce them. It should be kept in mind though that some barriers are beyond GNSO control (e.g., excessive workload) so efforts should be focused on those barriers where the GNSO may be able to impact ICANN and the GNSO should always strive to reduce perceived and actual barriers to entry for newcomers to participate in the ICANN community. That said, there is very little information in the report setting forth those barriers. In addition, barriers to entry can also be largely social in nature, as in any group of people who are experienced in working on projects together as well as those that have experience and expertise on the particular issues involved. Some barriers to entry are also inherent in the nature of the work being done by the applicable working group. For example, knowledge of the subject matter and willingness to compromise to find solutions could be considered natural barriers to entry, but by themselves should never be discouraged. The RySG supports barrier reductions that can be accomplished through cost effective outreach efforts provided that the above natural barriers to entry which are beneficial to the operation of the GNSO and the policy development process in general are maintained.

46

Osvaldo Novoa

ISPCP

(Support) Full support but metrics should be established to monitor the success of each approach and steer future activities. There need to be agreed objectives for the initiatives in order to have the metrics.

114

Will Hudson

Google

If adopted would improve the diversity of working groups and their openness to newcomers so that the policy development process is more reflective of all stakeholders

166

Laura Covington, J. Scott Evans, Marie Pattullo

Business Constituency

The BC fully agrees that we should continue initiatives that aim to reduce the barriers to newcomers. We are fully committed to diversity which can only bring benefits.

201

Stephanie Perrin

NCUC/NCSG

Of course this is an excellent suggestion, the problem is the how.  Not all initiatives may be worth the money.

242

Greg Shatan

IPC

(Not Sure) It is unclear what is meant by this recommendation, apart from monthly open house newcomer webinars, the PDP Membership Onboarding Program, and the addition of a “mailing list observer status.” It may prove more beneficial to identify such incentives with particularity.

280

Amr Elsadr

Full agreement. The quarterly open house newcomer WG webinars are particularly valuable.

316

Olivier Crepin-Leblond

ALAC

(Support) The ALAC fully supports this recommendation as it is directly in line with the ALAC’s 2nd At-Large Summit Recommendation #19 (see https://community.icann.org/x/LsPhAg).

386

Michele Neylon, https://buenosaires53.icann.org/en/schedule/tue-rrsg/transcript-rysg-rrsg-23jun15-en

RyRr SG

I think there is some very interesting, very important points raised in the report particularly around language barriers which I think is something that needs to be addressed. But I think we’ve got a bit of back and forward (unintelligible) though there probably isn’t a simple solution and, you know, some of the recommendations they might be things that people would look at as being something to aspire to as opposed to  something that would have to be achieved at all costs because, you know, in terms of saying getting diversity in workgroups. Part of the recommendations is to talk about diversity and gender, diversity in language, diversity in culture and, you know, in some workgroups you’re lucky to get two or three people turn up regardless of anything else. So unless you can kind of sort of say to people well no you can’t participate because even though you’re the only person who cares about this topic you don’t fit the demographic.

410

Tony Harris, https://buenosaires53.icann.org/en/schedule/tue-ispcp/transcript-ispcp-23jun15-en

ISPCP

There’s another observation in the report that is germane to this I believe, which is the culture of the way that working groups and debate in GNSO in ICANN general works is very Euro-centric, I might also say US-centric. It is often quite robust. Disagreement is openly surfaced. Frankly people yell at each other on occasion. It’s - you can almost say it’s a race to the bottom of behavior occasionally although that’s maybe going a little far. But it is - this kind of thing is unacceptable in many cultures. It’s simply not acceptable to have open disagreement around the table in many other cultures. I mean we’re robust kiwis, we cope with it. But we’re trying to broaden this whole thing out and allow people from all these other countries who are filling up the Internet to come and make policy and they don’t like that kind of behavior. And maybe that’s why they run screaming from the room after a single working group.

413

Malcolm Hutty, https://buenosaires53.icann.org/en/schedule/tue-ispcp/transcript-ispcp-23jun15-en

ISPCP

You referred to the challenges for cultural references. And the way in which in some cultures is just simply, you know, unacceptable to have open and let alone robustly express differences of opinion in a public space.Now you also - and you went on to allude some things which I think are beyond that, to things which would amount to essentially breaches of the already published acceptable standards of behavior. I’m - as I think we all are, familiar with the sort of things you’re talking about. I’m a working group where at the moment where there have been some challenges along those lines but - and while some may find that very uncomfortable, where it slips over into - into a breech of acceptable standards of behavior the group has also been quite willing to call that out and to demand, you know, corrective action. So can we set aside that aspect, the - that that goes into, you know, a breech of acceptable behavior?

414

Malcolm Hutty, https://buenosaires53.icann.org/en/schedule/tue-ispcp/transcript-ispcp-23jun15-en

ISPCP

Setting aside that which is recognized within this community as it works at the moment as being a clear breech of that because it happens but no system is ever perfect and certainly from my observation, you know, corrective action is at least expressed in the hopes of the group, that this is not considered within the norms of the group. Consider instead what you’re referring to, the open expression of disagreement and indeed challenge - open challenge to the points that we made, the fact to accuracy the points have been made, the - whether or not the logical - an argument bears up under scrutiny of its logical progression, etc., etc., that kind of challenge. As you say, when expressed in an open context, that is, you know, very difficult for people from some cultures. So what do you propose doing about that? Do you propose us embarking on a precipice of cultural change so that it is not acceptable within the ICANN community to have those kinds of discussions voiced in that fashion? I think just identifies that there are cultural differences and they act as a barrier to participation. Without a proposed approach it’s not necessarily terribly helpful.

415

Akinori Maemora, https://buenosaires53.icann.org/en/schedule/tue-ispcp/transcript-ispcp-23jun15-en

ISPCP

I’m Japanese. I’m really curious how - what kind of the countermeasure to - measure to address the kind of issue the culture difference and language issue or something? I’ve been involved in the  unintelligible) for a long time and then - and that’s Asia Pacific, which everybody says that they’re shy and quiet.  A lot of time I wonder what kind of innovation can be happen there for us to, you know, activate that discussion in Asian fashion or something like that? And then I don’t really - you know, I am not sure if that there is - you know, sorry. It’s a GNSO (unintelligible), that’s why you are now identified program and how to - thinking about how to solve. But you know, such kind of innovation is a not really, you know, suitable for this kind of review process. I’m curious how you will handle that - handle to, you know, produce some suggestions or something like that, that kind of innovative way.

416

Jim Baskin, https://buenosaires53.icann.org/en/schedule/tue-ispcp/transcript-ispcp-23jun15-en

ISPCP

Being from the western culture I see what we do and I realize that sometimes we go overboard and - but I’m having difficulty again because my cultural background does - how do people in these other cultures where they are much more quiet or don’t disagree in public, how do they get things done? And is there a possibility or a necessity to - rather than move too far in a direction that western people would be uncomfortable with to find a way to ring them to the middle. You know, if we can tone ourselves down a little bit more maybe we can also help those that are shier, amp themselves up a little bit and still be comfortable. I’d have trouble I think working in a mechanism as you’ve described might be the extreme of that other end.