2015 APRALO ALT Candidate Questions and Answers Workspace

Raf Fatani

1. Over and above the responsibilities of every ALAC member as described in the ALAC Rules of Procedure (http://tinyurl.com/ALAC-RoP-2013-04), Section 4 and the ALAC Rules of Procedure Adjunct Document 01 - Position Description for ALAC Members, Liaisons and Appointees (http://tinyurl.com/ALAC-RoP-AdjDoc1-2013-06), ALAC Leadership Team Members have additional responsibilities as described below.   Do you agree to carry out these responsibilities diligently?
   1. Members of the ALT support and collaborate with the Chair in the overall administration and management of the ALAC. In this capacity, an ALT Member agrees to a time-commitment significantly in excess of that of a regular ALAC member. (RoP 6.1)
   2. ALT Members are expected to participate in all ALT meetings, both face-to-face and teleconferences, and to the extent that such participation from time to time may not be possible, provide advance notice of the planned absence where practical. (RoP 6.7)
   3. An ALT Member who agrees to occupy the roles Vice-Chair agrees to take on a heavier workload than the untitled ALT Members. (RoP 6.8) [Not applicable given current ALT nominations, since two people have already been nominated for Vice-Chair and neither is opposed.]

It humbles me that I have been nominated along with Holly for the AP ALT spot. I say this as I genuinely admire Holly's work, and, if designated,  I would be filling the shoes of a capable person. I wholeheartedly appreciate how much she has given to the ALT in the past, and wish her the best of lucks in this process.

To answer the first question, I agree to carry out the additional ALT responsibilities diligently. I would also like to highlight the value in bringing in fresh blood to the ALT team, and humbly call upon all ALAC members’ confidence and trust by casting their vote for me. 

In the past, some within other parts of ICANNs eco-system have argued that the same ALT candidates seem to enjoy the revolving ALT door policy, and this on occasion has been used to point a finger of criticism towards the ALAC. Whilst I understand it is important to maintain the status quo for those that do a good job, I equally believe there is merit in giving others the opportunity to step to the mark while continuing to have open doors for those who have proven their value to the community as Holy has done outstandingly. I believe the ALAC  is currently thought of a toothless AC, and if I have the honor of being selected for this role, my priority will be to attempt to change this perception and empower it within ICANN.

I believe I am qualified for this position not only because of the several years of involvement in ICANN since 2008, but also due to my involvement within the wider Internet governance eco-system having participated at almost all the UN IGFs, all the regional Arab IGFs, many EURODIGs and through the running of the UK IGF secretariat for many years.

Whilst I am the first ALAC member from the Gulf region, my raison d'être within ICANN extends beyond ALAC. I am part of numerous regional outreach working groups and capacity building sub-committees within ICANN, as well as being a trainer and facilitator for ICANNs Middle East and Adjacent Countries Summer School on Internet Governance.

Being bi-lingual and from the politically sensitive Middle Eastern region, I have been very active in my region and I have been invited to give talks regarding Middle Eastern Internet policy concerns frequently, as well as written numerous reports and edited books on various Internet governance issues in the region. 

From a policy issue perspective, I hold an interdisciplinary PhD in Internet governance from a top ten UK university and my masters InternationalAffairs dissertation was titled “The Global Governance of the Internet: Context, ICANN and the Case Study of the Alt Domain Name System Root and China”. This said, my interest in Internet governance developed at a much earlier stage when I was doing my bachelor’s degree in Internet Engineering. I am continuously following the global Internet policy debate, and attend in person most of the curtail meetings, and I feel this would help the ALAC’s outreach.

I know many of you have already made your minds up, and are not voting on the merits and achievements of either candidates or their abilities – regardless of what either of us has to say here. I also know the temptation to stick with what one knows is appealing. However, I would urge you to take a gamble on me and favor me with your confidence. 

Many of you have already informed me that my gender will disadvantage me, as the ALAC ALT attempts to maintain a gender balance image. Whilst this is something I cannot change, I also do not feel should put me at a disadvantage. I believe that in the process of allowing new blood to take up these kinds of roles can only help the process, by allowing the development of fresh ideas that will inevitably allow our voices to be better heard.  

I appreciate that the ALT brings with it new challenges, responsibilities and time commitment. I have weighed these up, and it would honor me if I were given the opportunity to serve our community and the ALAC in this role. 

I leave you with one reminder - these votes are anonymous, and the only favor you owe the community are those to the end-users you represent in order to empower the system we represent.

1. Over and above the responsibilities of every ALAC member as described in the ALAC Rules of Procedure (http://tinyurl.com/ALAC-RoP-2013-04), Section 4 and the ALAC Rules of Procedure Adjunct Document 01 - Position Description for ALAC Members, Liaisons and Appointees (http://tinyurl.com/ALAC-RoP-AdjDoc1-2013-06), ALAC Leadership Team Members have additional responsibilities as described below.   Do you agree to carry out these responsibilities diligently?
   1. Members of the ALT support and collaborate with the Chair in the overall administration and management of the ALAC. In this capacity, an ALT Member agrees to a time-commitment significantly in excess of that of a regular ALAC member. (RoP 6.1)
   2. ALT Members are expected to participate in all ALT meetings, both face-to-face and teleconferences, and to the extent that such participation from time to time may not be possible, provide advance notice of the planned absence where practical. (RoP 6.7)
   3. An ALT Member who agrees to occupy the roles Vice-Chair agrees to take on a heavier workload than the untitled ALT Members. (RoP 6.8) [Not applicable given current ALT nominations, since two people have already been nominated for Vice-Chair and neither is opposed.]

My answer to the first question is clearly yes.

I would be honoured to be selected as the ALT Member representing Asia, Australasia and the Pacific Islands.  I believe I am qualified for this position because of the several years of my involvement in ICANN and the variety of ways in which I have been priviledged to represent the APAC region.

I first became involved with ICANN in 2009, attending ATLAS 1 in Mexico, representing the ALS, the Internet Society of Australia (its Executive Director). I continued my involvement, becoming Vice Chair of APRALO and, with the resignation of Charles Mok, acting Chair - then being selected as Chair in my own right.  It was both an honour and challenge to reach out to and respond to ALSs in largest RALO area of the five. Moving onto the ALT team meant I stepped down from my position as APRALO Chair in order to have the time to devote to the ALT and its different set of challenges.

ALAC is ICANN's voice of the user and it must be the responsibility of all ALAC members to not only reach out to their own communities, but to bring the voice of users to ICANN tables.  The first Working Group I was involved with from 2009 on worked through the many proposed amendments to the RAA -  culminating in the important amendments  approved by the Board in 2013. Since that time, I have been involved in many of the discussions around Whois Accuracy and the Accuracy Specification approved by the Board. I am now also member of the GNSO WG on the privacy/proxy services specification - one of the documents approved by the Board as part of the RAA amendments.  The Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy WG - part D is the other WG of which I am a member and regularly attend those meetings - again putting the user voice into the discussion.

For the third ICANN meeting in a row, I have also organised the Multi-Stakeholder Forum, inviting members from other SO/ACs, to foster cross-ICANN dialogue on issues of importance to users.  I also help organise and present to ALAC policy discussions, and have 'held the pen' on ALAC statements including responding to the RAA amendments, to the Wois Review Team Final Report, the suggested 'pics' and draft reports of the ITRP-D WG.

I would be honoured to continue to be part of the Executive team that underpins ALAC as it listens to and brings the voice of the Internet users to ICANN tables.