On Monday, 12
November 2001, the ICANN Board will host a 2-hour Public Forum
on the Final Report of
the At Large Study Committee (ALSC). The Board encourages ICANN
meeting attendees to read the Final Report and to participate in the
public forum.
The bylaw
that enabled the ALSC contemplated that there would be opportunity
for community feedback on the ALSC Final Report between the time of
submission and the time of any action by the Board. Therefore, the
Board at its upcoming meeting on Thursday, 15 November 2001 must decide
what action it should take, particularly to ensure adequate opportunity
for public comment over the coming weeks and months before taking
any final action. To help inform that decision, a Public Forum has
been scheduled for Monday, November 12, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Marriott
Hotel, Marina del Rey, California, USA in conjunction with the other
ICANN meetings. The ALSC will present its final report at that time,
and there will be opportunity for public comment, both in person and
online.
Background
At its meeting on 22 January 2001, the ICANN Board
of Directors approved resolution
01.11 that led to the formation of the At
Large Study Committee. The ALSC was chartered to "seek input
from all interested parties and work to achieve a broad consensus
on effective means by which the diverse global Internet communities
and stakeholders may participate in ICANN's policy development, deliberations,
and actions."
The ALSC was established in response to Article
II, Section 5 of the ICANN Bylaws that provides for a comprehensive
study of the concept, structure, and processes relating to an "At
Large" membership of ICANN. The Bylaw intended that the final
report of the ALSC be submitted at the second quarterly ICANN meeting
of the calendar year 2001 (that took place in June
2001 in Stockholm, Sweden) with a view to the Board taking final
action on the Committee's recommendations at the fourth quarterly
meeting (the Annual Meeting in November 2001)
following extensive consultation with the ICANN Supporting Organizations
and the community. The ultimate objective was to facilitate the holding
of elections for new At-Large Directors in time to assume their seats
when the terms of the current At-Large Directors expire in November
2002.
The At Large Study Committee was formed in April
2001 under the chairmanship of Carl Bildt. Its members
are Carl Bildt (Chair), Chuck Costello (Vice Chair), Pierre Dandjinou,
Esther Dyson, Olivier Iteanu, Ching-Yi Liu, Thomas Niles, Oscar Robles,
and Pindar Wong (Vice Chair).
The ALSC has now presented its Final
Report. This is on a somewhat later schedule than originally intended
because of the late schedule in forming the Committee. This final
report follows the presentation of a draft
report to the ICANN community in August 2001, that was extensively
discussed by and with ICANN constituent units at the ICANN
meetings in Montevideo, September 2001.
