ICANN participation

Interpretation into EN, ES and FR provided.

Organiser: Max Senges

Format: Short presentations followed by Q&A

Description: ICANN's mandate and mission is to coordinate the infrastructure and functioning of the Internet. While the organiser agrees that the central stage for Human Rights online is on the services, content and social layer, he believes that there are at least two aspects of ICANN's work that need to ensure compliance with Human Rights standards:  (a) directly when developing its policies and conducting its business (e.g. regarding privacy and whois, or freedom of expression and domain name allocation policy - such as the triple-x-case - or new top level domains); and (b) indirectly as ICANN has to consider what impact it's policy choices have on internationally agreed Human Rights standards and protection efforts. In this session participants will learn about and discuss the political relevance as well as the practical consequences of Internet Rights and Principles to ICANN's work:  how are ICANN topics like whois or extended namespace for top level domains touching on user privacy and freedom of expression; where are the connections and interdependencies between user rights and infrastructure services as provided by ICANN; and where is it practical and reasonable to stratify the political domain in order to have effective and solution oriented deliberations among the relevant stakeholders? Session participants will learn about the current work done on Internet Rights and Principles and will have an opportunity to discuss with experts about it's consequences for: ICANN related discourses, and how multi-stakeholderism and Internet Rights and Principles are being promoted to ensure basic users and Human Rights.

Invited presenters include: Max Senges  - Committee for a Democratic United Nations & Chair of the Internet Rights and Principles Coalition; Wolfgang Kleinwaechter - University of Aarhus; Carlos Affonso Pereira de Souza - Fundação Getulio Vargas; Wolf Ludwig - Comunica-ch / EURALO; and Vittorio Bertola -  ISOC Italy & Ex-ALAC Chair.

Background: What is the "At-Large Summit

The Mexico City meeting is a landmark for ICANN's At-Large community ("At-Large" is the name used for the individual Internet user community participating in ICANN).

The whole At-Large community will be meeting together face-to-face in the 'At-Large Summit'. Approximately 90 representatives of At-Large organisations (called "At-Large Structures") are already confirmed. You will be able to spot them easily, as each will have a ribbon indicating their status as a Summit delegate attached to their ICANN meeting badges.

The Summit is being held 28 February through 5 March 2009 at the Mexico City Sheraton and also at the nearby Melia Mexico Reforma Hotel. All ICANN meeting attendees are invited and encouraged to attend the sessions, all of which are open to everyone.

As proposed by the At-Large community, the Summit has the following objectives:

• Develop the community's capacity for engagement in ICANN by increasing its knowledge and understanding of the key issues confronting ICANN and ICANN's roles and responsibilities;
• Provide an opportunity for the community to finalise and present its advice on some of the most important issues facing the ICANN community today; and last but not least,
• Highlight the successes of the community in recent years and build upon them to ensure that the interests of the world's more than 1 billion individual Internet users are well represented in the development of Internet name and number policy.

Instructions on how to participate remotely may be found at this URL:
https://st.icann.org/alac-docs/index.cgi?alameda_3_remote_participation

Chatroom: http://icann.na3.acrobat.com/internetrights/

Summit Microsite: The At-Large Summit microsite has complete information at: http://www.atlarge.icann.org/summit.