ICANN|ARCHIVES

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

>>STEVE CONTE: We're about to begin this. Can we have some quiet, please.

>>VINT CERF: Ladies and gentlemen, would you please be seated. If you want to continue talking, would you kindly leave the room.

We need to get on with the signing of these RALOs. Thank you.

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: Good evening, everyone, I'm Jacqueline Morris, chair of the At-Large Advisory Committee, and welcoming you to the At-Large Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony.

ALAC's mandate, as stated in Article XI, Section 2, of the bylaws, is to consider and provide advice on the activities of ICANN insofar as they relate to the interests of individual Internet users.

The interim ALAC was appointed by the board with a task to set up structures that allow for interaction with and representation of the individual Internet users.

Now, with the formation of the RALOs, we have formal structures that allow us to obtain input into ICANN policy processes from Internet users in four regions as well as potential Internet users through some of the ALSs that work in the sphere of narrowing the digital divide and getting more and more global citizens to join the Internet community.

The regional organizations give the ALAC, and by extension, ICANN, greater legitimacy in the eyes of the world.

The RALOs represent the users to a much greater extent than previously existed, and through their elected representatives, give the users of the world a real voice in ICANN processes.

As chair of the ALAC, I am thrilled today to be here at the formalization of the three latest RALOs: Africa, Asia/Australia/Pacific, and Europe.

Vint.

[ Applause ]

>>VINT CERF: First of all, I have to admit to you that I am due at the University of Lisbon shortly. So I am going to keep my remarks brief. And when you see me escape from the room, it is not because I have no interest in this. In fact, this is one of the most exciting developments in the at-large community for ICANN since we were formed in 1998.

It's been a long struggle to bring the at-large community into the structure of ICANN in a way that can channel information from that community to the board and to the policy development processes, and also as a way of delivering information to that community and propagating it through the at-large structures that make up each of the RALOs.

So for me, and I'm sure for all the others, especially the ALAC, this is a time of great celebration.

I look forward to seeing this structure bloom and take its place in the activities of the ICANN policy-making process. So I want to congratulate whoever has worked very hard to make this happen, and I look forward to seeing the photographs that will be taken in my absence as you sign each one of these documents.

Thank you very much.

[ Applause ]

>>PAUL TWOMEY: I agree with everything he said.

And I also think it's fantastic we're at this stage. Having had one RALO come to fruition with great fanfare in Sao Paulo, we now have three coming in to even greater fanfare here.

So perhaps I'll just ask the representatives for the Africa region RALO to come forward. And I'll let -- Are you calling names? You're calling names.

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: I'm going to call names.

First we'd like Alice, the at-large representative for Africa, to come and give us some comments on the importance of the Africa RALO

>>ALICE WANJIRA-MUNYA: Thank you very much.

Pierre and Clement -- they are our outgoing interim committee members -- and I would like to congratulate the new ALSs and the newly elected committee members, Hawa, from Mali, and Mohamed, from Sudan, and also the AFRALO secretariat representative, Didier, from the Democratic Republic of Congo. For (inaudible) formation of the African RALO is a useful and welcome addition to the already existing networks and organizations that bring together the various African Internet communities. It's also a valuable addition to the various liaise which already have been contributing to building and strengthening the African Internet community, alongside AfriNIC, AfNOG, the AFTLD, among others.

We hope that the RALO will serve as an additional forum for knowledge-sharing and common positioning of African issues, and, by extension, increasing Africans' contribution to ICANN's policy development process. Thank you.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: Now invite you to sign the MOU. You sign.

I will now call each signing representative to the stage. And could you please all stay on stage after signing for a group photograph.

From ISOC Morocco, Mr. Abderrahim Jamari.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: From the Sudan Internet Society, Mr. Mohamed El Bashir.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: From ISOC Mali, Mrs. Hawa Diakite.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: From ISOC --

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: From ISOC South Africa, Mr. Calvin Browne.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: From ISOC BENIN, Mr. Yaovi Atohoun.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: From the Internet Society of the Democratic Republic of Congo, sir Didier Rukeratabaro Kasole.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: From CAFEC, Mr. Baudouin Schombe.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: And from JUSTA-AFRICA, Aloyce Simon Menda.

[ Applause ]

>>PAUL TWOMEY: So that's -- we should celebrate this, everybody with a big photograph of --

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: Just two more names to go.

>>PAUL TWOMEY: Two more names to go? Well, they've got nowhere to sign.

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: The representative of the Tunisian Internet Society, Mr. Khaled Koubaa, was unable to be present, but has signed the MOU in advance. In addition, the representative of CPVI from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mr. Arnold Mulenda Yamukandu, was signed electronically, as he was unable to be in Lisbon.

>>PAUL TWOMEY: Congratulations to all of them, and we really look forward to the great work that continues. That's really good.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: And we'd also like to announce the newly elected officers of AFRALO, Mohamed El Bashir and Hawa Diakite, on the At-Large Advisory Committee, replacing Pierre Dandjinou and Clement Dzinonu, the previous ICANN board appointees. And as secretariat, Didier Kasole, from ISOC Democratic Republic of Congo.

[ Applause ]

And now the European RALO.

Could the five European representatives come on stage, please.

>>WOLFGANG KLEINWAECHTER: Okay, welcome. Europe is multicultural. This is diversity and this is pluralism. And, as always -- and it's also EURALO. That's why we decided to create the European global community in different European languages.

(Speaking in different languages.)

>>WOLFGANG KLEINWAECHTER: This is the EURALO. We want to bring more value to the global Internet community. We are only here members from the European union. But EURALO should be larger than the European Union. We are hoping to do outreach and get communities from non-EU member states and also establish the EURALO as soon as possible and to clear the open issues in our bylaws, in the membership and cooperation, as soon as possible. Thank you.

[ Applause ]

(Speaking in different languages.)

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: Time for to you sign again.

>>PAUL TWOMEY: It's great. It's good. It's a good thing. We should have it.

So well done. And that's a marvelous initiative. And I appreciate what Wolfgang said is there's still a bit of work to be done, but I think the initiative of bringing it all together and finalizing today is just a really good experience. And it's excellent that it could happen here in a European meeting. So well done. Very good.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: Okay. Now I'll call each signing representative to the stage. If you can please stay on stage after for a group photograph.

Internet Society, Bulgaria, Dragoslava Pefeva.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: Medienstadt Leipzig E.V., Wolfgang Kleinwaechter.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: Internet Society, Belgium, Rudi Vansnick.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: Internet Society Luxembourg, Patrick Vande Walle.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: ISOC France, Sebastien Bachollet.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: Societa Internet, Stefano Trumpy.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: ISOC Catalan, J. Francesc Gras.

[ Applause ]

.

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: The following --

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: The following representatives were unable to be present today, but have signed electronically. Eye son Finland, Mr. Timo Kiravuo; Christophe Bruch, from the German civil liberties union; and Annette Muehlberg from network new media.

[ Applause ]

>>PAUL TWOMEY: Very good.

So, please join me in congratulating these people for bringing together a European RALO.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: Thank you.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: Asia, Australia, Pacific Islands have concluded their MOU with ICANN. The formal signing ceremony will take place at the ICANN annual general meeting to be held in Asia in October. However, the ALSs and ICANN have agreed to be pound and a public comment period has been held, and the MOU will enter into force shortly.

Regional elections have been held and the leaders elected are Spring, chair of APRALO, Pacific Islands ISOC, Bilal Beiram, vice chair of the APRALO, Arab knowledge management society, secretariat Edmon Chung, from ISOC Hong Kong, and the At-Large Advisory Committee representatives are Izumi Aizu and Cheryl Langdon-Orr.

>>PAUL TWOMEY: Good.

[ Applause ]

>>JACQUELINE MORRIS: So can we have all signers from the two regions who are here plus the entire ALAC to come on stage for a group picture and toast.

>>PAUL TWOMEY: While everybody's coming up to the stage, and a toast and a photo, can I just say I'm certain on behalf of the board, certainly the staff and the broader ICANN community, that bottom-up coordination is easy to say, but it's hard to do. And I certainly recognize the effort, the difficulties, the sort of negotiations, the discussions that have had to take place in all the regions to help develop the RALOs. I know it's been a long journey. So you have your particular thanks both for the efforts you've made in doing that but I think also because you stand for what we stand for. And by doing this and bringing together from the bottom-up such a group of organizations and such a structure, you've really lived out the sort of ICANN spirit.

So thank you very much.

[ Applause ]

>> Bravo!

[ Applause ]