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Board Activities and Meetings

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Minutes | Special Meeting of the ICANN Board 27 August 2020

A Special Meeting of the ICANN Board of Directors was held telephonically on 27 August 2020 at 21:30 UTC.

Maarten Botterman, Chair, promptly called the meeting to order.

In addition to the Chair, the following Directors participated in all or part of the meeting: Becky Burr, Sarah Deutsch, Chris Disspain, Avri Doria, Rafael Lito Ibarra, Danko Jevtović, Göran Marby (President and CEO), Akinori Maemura, Mandla Msimang, Ihab Osman, Nigel Roberts, León Sánchez (Vice Chair), Matthew Shears, and Tripti Sinha.

The following Directors sent their apologies: Ron da Silva.

The following Board Liaisons participated in all or part of the meeting: Harald Alvestrand (IETF Liaison), Manal Ismail (GAC Liaison), Merike Käo (SSAC Liaison), and Kaveh Ranjbar (RSSAC Liaison).

Secretary: John Jeffrey (General Counsel and Secretary).

The following ICANN Executives and Staff participated in all or part of the meeting: Mandy Carver (Senior Vice President for Government and Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) Engagement), Samantha Eisner (Deputy General Counsel), John Jeffrey (General Counsel and Secretary), Aaron Jimenez (Board Operations Specialist), Vinciane Koenigsfeld (Senior Director, Board Operations), Elizabeth Le (Associate General Counsel), David Olive (Senior Vice President, Policy Development Support), Lisa Saulino (Board Operations Specialist), Amy Stathos (Deputy General Counsel), and Theresa Swinehart (Senior Vice President, Multistakeholder Strategy and Strategic Initiatives).

  1. Main Agenda:
    1. ICANN Pandemic Internet Access Reimbursement Program Pilot
    2. AOB

 

  1. Main Agenda:

    1. ICANN Pandemic Internet Access Reimbursement Program Pilot

      The Vice-Chair, León Sánchez, introduced the agenda item and read the proposed resolution into the record. Léon thanked ICANN org for its efforts to provide a pilot program for ICANN69. The program provides a meaningful opportunity to community members who have constrained access to Internet bandwidth to participate in ICANN Public Meetings during this COVID-19 pandemic.

      Léon moved and Avri Doria seconded. The Chair called for a vote and the Board took the following action:

      Whereas, members of the community expressed concerns about increased hardships with constrained access to Internet bandwidth, limiting participation in ICANN Public Meetings during this COVID-19 pandemic.

      Whereas, ICANN President and CEO Göran Marby directed ICANN org, with the support of other Board members, to explore options to facilitate the support of bandwidth connectivity limitations and address fiscal challenges for community members to participate in ICANN Public Meetings for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

      Whereas, ICANN org has developed the ICANN Pandemic Internet Access Reimbursement Program Pilot that provides reasonable financial support to eligible community members to support and facilitate their active participation in ICANN69.

      Whereas, ICANN org intends to run this pilot program for ICANN69, and will evaluate the viability of continuing this program for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

      Resolved (2020.08.27.01), the Board acknowledges and supports ICANN org's efforts to provide a pilot program for ICANN69, which addresses the hardships of those community members who have constrained access to Internet bandwidth that limits their ability to participate in ICANN Public Meetings during this COVID-19 pandemic.

      Fifteen members of the Board voted in favor of Resolution 2020.08.27.01. Ron da Silva was unavailable to vote on the Resolution. The Resolution carried.

      Rationale for Resolution 2020.08.27.01

      The Board's support of ICANN org piloting a limited and low-cost bandwidth reimbursement program furthers ICANN's ongoing mission of fostering active and meaningful community participation and is therefore in the public interest. This goal is especially important during these challenging times, with many community members balancing increased responsibilities while also contributing to the important work done within the ICANN community.

      The scope of the program is limited to active members of a Supporting Organization (SO) or Advisory Committee (AC) who have been ICANN funded travelers within the 18 months prior to ICANN69. Applicants who do not meet these criteria must have been selected to participate in the current ICANN69 Fellowship or NextGen programs to be eligible.

      There will be a limited fiscal impact of approximately USD 51,000 or less, depending on participation level of eligible participants. This program is intended to be a pilot only, which will be reviewed and extended as required to address the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on community participation. This will not have a direct impact on the security, stability or resiliency of the domain name system.

      This is an Organizational Administrative function that does not require public comment.

    2. AOB

      No resolutions taken.

    The Chair then called the meeting to a close.

Published on 11 September 2020

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