IANA Stewardship Transition Cross Community Working Group (CWG) on Naming Related Functions

Chairs' Statement on Frankfurt Face-to-Face Meeting

Lise Fuhr & Jonathan Robinson

The Cross Community Working Group (CWG) on Naming Related Functions met for a face-to-face in Frankfurt, Germany on 19 – 20 November 2014. The highly diverse CWG is one of the three groups submitting a proposal to the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) as part of the overall IANA Stewardship Transition process. As noted in the CWG Charter [DOC, 132 KB], the IANA stewardship transition process is taking place alongside a parallel and related process on enhancing ICANN accountability.

The CWG began its work in October 2014, with regular weekly virtual meetings and a face-to-face meeting at ICANN 51 in Los Angeles, California. In addition to ICANN supported regular weekly CWG virtual meetings, and at the request of the Chairs, ICANN agreed to support a two- day face-to-face meeting to advance the work of the CWG. The CWG will produce a proposal for the ICG in response to the ICG Request for Proposals [PDF, 84 KB]. The Frankfurt face-to-face meeting was an essential step towards finalizing a consensus-based draft proposal to be issued for Public Comment on 1 December.

The CWG has structured its work in eight subgroups based on sections of the ICG Request for Proposals. Going into the Frankfurt face-to-face meeting, 5/8 subgroups had begun drafting and developing their sections of the Draft Proposal. 18 members (or their alternates) and 12 participants, collectively deriving from within and outside the ICANN community, attended the meeting. In addition, there was significant online participation. The meeting was conducted over two full days, including an evening session. Discussions were intense and substantial, as people shared different perspectives and proposals. The issues covered, including the diversity of views on them, are considered to be complex and challenging but, nonetheless, were addressed in a collegial and constructive manner.

Key Developments from the Frankfurt Meeting

The meeting focused on responding to the ICG RFP, broken down into its constituent parts or sections, inline with the approach the CWG has taken to date. These sections were further developed during the meeting, and will now be synthesized into a preliminary draft proposal for further review by the full CWG.

The first three components, which are the basis for the preliminary draft, are nearly complete and are available on the CWG Wiki.

Given the progress, the CWG concluded with reasonable optimism that the proposal will be developed sufficiently close to the ICG's target deadline.

The 19 – 20 November meeting was fully recorded and transcribed, as are all meetings of the CWG. To view the material from the meeting, including the publically archived mailing lists, please see the CWG Wiki meeting pages.

The CWG will conduct webinars on the Draft Proposal following its posting on 1 December.

Upcoming Dates & Opportunities for Engagement

Below is a list of upcoming dates for public engagement with the CWG and its work:

• 1 December: expected publication date for Draft Proposal for Public Comment
• 1 – 23 December: given the short timeframe ahead, the CWG developed a timeline with the minimum 21-day Public Comment period, and hope that interested parties will endeavor to submit comments on the Draft Proposal within the designated period
• 4 – 6 December: the CWG will host 3 public webinars to present the Draft Proposal and engage with broader community about progress to date
• 19 January: submission of CWG Final Proposal to chartering organizations
• 31 January: CWG planned submission of Final Proposal to ICG

About the CWG

The CWG consists of 119 people, organized as 19 members, appointed by and accountable to chartering organizations, and 100 participants who do so as individuals. The CWG is an open group. Anyone interested in the work of the CWG can join as a participant. Participants may be from a chartering organization, from a stakeholder group or organization not represented in the CWG or currently active within ICANN, or self-appointed.

Of the 119 CWG members and participants, there are 41 countries represented. The regional representation is as follows:

• 38 Asia/Asia Pacific
• 34 Europe
• 26 North America
• 11 Latin America
• 10 Africa

Of the 119 CWG members and participants, the stakeholder group representation is as follows:

• 40 (no affiliation)
• 27 GNSO
• 18 ccNSO/ccTLD
• 17 At-Large
• 15 GAC
• 2 SSAC

In addition, there are 6 ICG members who participate in the CWG.