From 21-23 June, the ICANN Board will hold its fourth Board workshop of the calendar year, just ahead of ICANN65 in Marrakech, Morocco. ICANN65 will be a policy forum, dedicated primarily to interaction between the ICANN community’s constituency groups, as well as key policy work. To this end, the workshop schedule allows time to ensure that the Board is up-to-date on some of the primary issues that will arise throughout the meeting week.
During the workshop, we will hold a public Board meeting and a public update on the status of the Board’s FY19 priorities. Information on how to dial-in to these listen-only sessions is available here.
Friday, 21 June, will begin with my brief opening remarks and then Avri Doria will lead a session about the prioritization and affordability of ICANN reviews. After Avri’s session, I will lead a session on the conditions upon which the successful implementation of our three major plans depend. These are the FY21-25 Strategic Plan, FY21-25 Operating and Financial Plan, and Governance Plan. Next, Brian Cute, facilitator for the work to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of certain aspects of ICANN's multistakeholder model of governance, will join us to share recent progress, so that the Board is up-to-date on the efforts going into ICANN65.
After lunch, we’ll hold a discussion with ICANN CEO Göran Marby about his goals and priorities for ICANN org. Then, Becky Burr will update the Board on any developments related to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We will end the day with a discussion, led by an external facilitator, on the criteria we will use to select the next Chair of the ICANN Board, as my term ends next November, at the conclusion of ICANN66 in Montreal, Canada.
Saturday, 22 June, will begin with an update from Maarten Botterman on the progress made against the Board’s FY19 priorities. This will be a public session, and I encourage you to listen if you have the opportunity. Following this discussion, Maarten will facilitate another session dedicated to developing the Board’s FY20 priorities. Next, Göran will update the Board on the renewal of some registry agreements.
After lunch, Avri will lead a session aimed at bringing the Board up-to-date on the latest status of the Curative Rights Policy Development Process.
Next, Becky will lead a Board Governance Committee (BGC) update on its work to develop a deeper understanding of the important skills needed by the Board, identify any gaps, and develop a plan to fill those gaps. After this session, Lito Ibarra will present the Board Risk Committee Report on the ICANN enterprise risks and mitigating actions. Sarah Deutsch will hold a meeting of the Anti-harassment Board Working Group, and the Security Stability and Resiliency Review (SSR2) Caucus Group will meet with the SSR2 Team.
Sunday, 23 June, the last day of the workshop, will begin with time set aside to review resolutions, prior to the Board meeting. We’ll then hold a public Board Meeting, followed by a briefing by the ICANN org’s Policy Team on the primary issues that will likely be discussed during ICANN65. In the afternoon, Becky will lead a meeting of the Board Governance Committee (BGC), Leon Sanchez will lead a meeting of the Board Accountability Mechanisms Committee (BAMC), and Akinori Maemura will lead a meeting of the Board’s Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) Working Group.
In parallel with the committee meetings, Göran, Chris Disspain, and I will meet with the chairs of ICANN’s Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees (SO/ACs) in a roundtable discussion to prepare for the week ahead. Some members of the Board will also attend a session with the Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT3).
We have a lot to cover before the start of ICANN65, but I’m sure that these sessions will fully prepare the Board to engage with the community during our time in Marrakech. Safe travels to all who are attending in person – see you there.