ICANN|ARCHIVES

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

>>PATRICK SHARRY: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE'LL START IN THREE OR FOUR MINUTES. WE'RE ACTUALLY HOPING THIS SESSION WILL BE MUCH MORE INFORMATIONAL AND WILL BE INTERACTIONAL. AND TO ASSIST THAT, I'D LIKE TO YOU MOVE TOWARDS THE FRONT. THERE ARE KEYBOARDS ON VARIOUS ROWS OF CHAIRS. IF YOU COULD COME CLOSE TO THE FRONT WHERE THE KEYBOARDS ARE BECAUSE WE WILL BE ASKING YOU TO USE THE KEYBOARDS TO GIVE US SOME INPUT, AND THERE IS NO EXTRA CHARGE FOR THE SEATS AT THE FRONT OF THE ROOM.

>>PATRICK SHARRY: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE THESE LITTLE KEYBOARDS AND WE WILL USE THEM. THEY HAVE, HOWEVER, ONE REALLY SIGNIFICANT PERIL. THEY ARE NOT THE ONES I NORMALLY USE AND THEY HAVE ON THEM A POWER BUTTON. THE POWER BUTTON IS ACTUALLY COMPLETE AND TOTAL POWER IN THE SENSE THAT IF YOU PRESS THE POWER BUTTON ON THE KEYBOARD, YOU'LL TURN ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING OFF.
WE WILL BE REQUIRING YOU TO USE THE KEYBOARDS IN A LITTLE WHILE, BUT PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, DON'T TOUCH THE POWER BUTTON.
IT WORKS, AND SOMEONE'S JUST DONE IT, SO I'LL JUST POWER UP AGAIN.
VINT SAYS FOR ALL THE ENGINEERS, BEHAVE YOURSELVES.
COMPLETE POWER.

NOW, JUST AS SOON AS BILL GATES LETS ME, I'LL GET MY SLIDES UP ON THE SCREEN.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: WHILE WE'RE WAITING, AND PARTLY UNFORTUNATELY BECAUSE I'M TRIPLE BOOKED FOR SOME MEDIA, I WON'T BE ABLE TO STAY FOR ALL OF THIS, BUT I WANT TO REINFORCE THE MESSAGE I THINK PATRICK OR OTHERS WILL MAKE DURING THIS SESSION. THERE IS A PROCESS THAT'S BEEN OUT FOR CONSULTATION, WE'VE DISCUSSED WITH MANY PEOPLE WHEN WE'VE POSTED, FOR DOING THE CONSULTATION PROCESS IN DEVELOPMENT OF THE RELATIVE STRATEGIC PLAN THROUGH TO THE END OF THE YEAR. AND THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES IN EVERY MONTH FOR PEOPLE TO -- INDIVIDUALS AND SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMITTEES AND OTHERS TO GIVE INPUT. AND IN PARTICULAR, IN OCTOBER -- IS THAT RIGHT?
>>PATRICK SHARRY: YES.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: IN OCTOBER, ESPECIALLY FOR THE SOS WHO WILL BE COMING BACK FOR A SPECIAL WORKSHOP TO GO THROUGH THE PRINCIPLES AND A BASIC REPORT ABOUT WHETHER -- I'VE FORGOTTEN THE EXACT WORDS WE'VE USED BUT THE KEY PRIORITIES, THE KEY PRIORITIES, AND THEN THE TRANSFORMATION OF THAT INTO AN INITIAL PLAN SO THAT WE HAVE A SPECIFIC OCTOBER DATE FOR THAT WORKSHOP.
THERE AS ALSO OBVIOUSLY DATES FOR THE BOARD TO HAVE A RESPONSE TO THE THINGS THAT ARE EMERGING AS WELL.
SO I WANT TO REINFORCE THAT THERE IS LOTS OF OPPORTUNITY HERE FOR INPUT. AND THERE IS OBVIOUSLY GOING TO BE DISCUSSION ABOUT TIMING BUT THE GENERAL FRAMEWORK I THINK IS SOMETHING WE HAVE TO STICK TO IF WE'RE GOING TO HIT A JANUARY DEADLINE FOR THE RUNNING PLAN TO BE APPROVED SO WE CAN MOVE INTO THE OPERATIONAL PLAN IN A WAY WHICH I THINK MEETS BETTER SOME OF THE EXPECTATIONS THAT PETER AND OTHERS PUT THIS MORNING IN THE BOARD -- IN THE PUBLIC SESSION.
SO JUST TO REINFORCE THAT. AND YOU'LL SEE THAT SLIDE A LITTLE LATER.

>>PATRICK SHARRY: WE'RE STILL ON. OKAY.
WINDOWS WILL BEHAVE ITSELF IN A MOMENT AND WE'LL HAVE SOME SLIDES SOON.
WHILE THAT'S COMING UP, LET ME TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENED THIS WEEK.
YOU WILL RECALL THAT ON SUNDAY EVENING MANY OF US WERE IN THIS ROOM AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS, WHERE WE HAD GOT TO SO FAR, SOME QUESTIONS THAT REMAINED UNRESOLVED, AND WHAT WE WOULD DO GOING FORWARD IN TERMS OF STRATEGIC PLANNING.
DURING THE WEEK WE'VE DONE EXACTLY WHAT WE SAID WE WOULD DO. WE'VE RUN CONSULTATION SESSIONS WITH QUITE A LARGE NUMBER OF GROUPS, AND LET ME JUST TALK YOU THROUGH THAT VERY QUICKLY.
WE'VE RUN A SESSION WITH THE REGISTRIES, A SESSION WITH THE REGISTRARS, A SESSION WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF ALAC MEMBERS, A SESSION WITH THE CCNSO COUNCIL, A SESSION WITH THE GNSO COUNCIL AND SOME FRIENDS. WE HAVE ALSO RUN SESSIONS IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, AND FRENCH.
THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THAT LAST GROUP WAS THAT WE HAD AN ENORMOUS TOTAL OF ONE ENGLISH PARTICIPANT. PEOPLE OBVIOUSLY FEEL THAT THEY CAN CONTRIBUTE IN ENGLISH THROUGH THEIR NORMAL ORGANIZATIONAL CHANNELS.
WE DID, HOWEVER, HAVE ABOUT 15 FRENCH SPEAKERS AND ABOUT 10 SPANISH SPEAKERS TO THOSE SESSIONS.
I FOUND THEM ENORMOUSLY POWERFUL. ONE OF THE PIECES OF FEEDBACK I HAVE RECEIVED FROM ONE OF THE PEOPLE FROM THE FRENCH SPEAKING SESSION WAS THAT THEY HAVE BEEN COMING TO SEVERAL ICANN MEETINGS NOW, BUT IT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT THEY HAVE REALLY UNDERSTOOD THE ISSUES BECAUSE THEY WERE ABLE TO TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT THEM IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE.
AND I THINK THAT IF WE'RE FACILITATING THOSE CONVERSATIONS, THAT'S A GREAT THING.
BOTH THE FRENCH AND THE SPANISH SESSIONS, PERHAPS BY THE NATURE OF THE PARTICIPANTS OR OTHERWISE, I'M NOT SURE, HAD A LOT MORE ENERGY THAN THE ENGLISH SPEAKING ONES AND A REAL DYNAMISM TO THE CONVERSATION AND THAT'S A GOOD THING. THE FEEDBACK I GET FROM THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WHO ATTENDED THEM IS THEY WERE ENORMOUSLY USEFUL AND THAT WE SHOULD TRY TO DO SOME SIMILAR THINGS IN THE FUTURE.
WAS THERE ANYONE WHO WAS AT ONE OF THE FRENCH OR SPANISH SESSIONS WHO WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT THAT?
OKAY. IT'S LOOKING AWFULLY LIKE MY COMPUTER HAS FROZEN AGAIN. SO THIS COULD BE A LOT LESS VISUAL THAN I HAD HOPED.
COULD I GET A TECH HELP, PLEASE. IF NOT, THEN JOHN WILL DO.
(LAUGHTER.)
>>JOHN CRAIN: IT'S BROKE.
(LAUGHTER.)
>>PATRICK SHARRY: YOU'VE GOT TO LOVE A CONCISE ANSWER. THERE YOU GO.
>>JOHN CRAIN: SEE, I TOUCHED IT; IT WORKED.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: THANK YOU.

NOW, MARIA, ARE YOU IN THE AUDIENCE WITH US? NO. OKAY.
THAT'S OKAY, BECAUSE MARIA HAS THE SUMMARIZED FEEDBACK. SO STEVE, IF YOU COULD CHASE HER, THAT WOULD BE A GOOD THING.
ONE OF THE THINGS I HAVE TRIED TO DO DURING THE WEEK IS CAPTURE THE FEEDBACK THAT PEOPLE HAVE GIVEN ME, AND I'VE CAPTURED THAT UP UNTIL TODAY. TODAY WE HAD THREE OF THOSE SESSIONS AND SO I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO UPDATE THEM WITH THAT MATERIAL.
JUST SOME MINE MAPS OF THE BIG ISSUES THAT ARE COMING UP.
IF I -- IF I WAS, FROM MEMORY, TO RECREATE THEM FOR YOU, THE ISSUE AROUND WHICH THERE WAS THE MOST WARMTH, PERHAPS, RATHER THAN HATE, WAS THAT OF INTERNATIONALIZATION. AND THAT CAME UP IN A NUMBER OF WAYS IN A NUMBER OF THOSE FORUMS.
INTERNATIONALIZATION IN THE SENSE THAT PEOPLE WANTED WAYS OF WORKING THAT WASN'T IN ENGLISH, AND THAT'S QUITE CONSISTENT WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF THE FRENCH AND SPANISH SESSIONS. THAT'S ALSO TO DO WITH THE WAY THAT BUSINESS PROCESSES ARE CONDUCTED IN ICANN, AND THAT'S MEETINGS AND THE DOCUMENTS AND TRANSLATIONS THAT MIGHT BE USEFUL FOR THAT. BUT ALSO, THE PROCESSES THAT ARE USED, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR IANA REQUESTS OR THE PROCESSES THAT ARE USED FOR ESTABLISHING TLDS WHERE PEOPLE FELT THAT THE WAY THAT THOSE THINGS ARE CONDUCTED AT THE MOMENT IN ENGLISH ONLY MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR LOTS OF PEOPLE IN LOTS OF PARTS OF THE WORLD TO BE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THAT.
SO I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE.
PROBABLY THE SECOND ISSUE AFTER THAT WOULD BE TO DO WITH TLDS, AND THERE'S STRONG OPINION IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AROUND WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING WITH TLDS.
I'M JUST GOING TO SEE IF WE CAN GET THE SLIDES UP HERE AS WELL.
NO. IT'S STILL WARMING UP.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE NEXT ONE.
AND SOME PEOPLE SAW ALMOST AS A SUBSET OF THE TLDS, AND, IN A SENSE, THE LINK BETWEEN THE TLDS AND THE ISSUE OF INTERNATIONALIZATION, THE ISSUE OF IDNS AND IDN.IDN.
SOME PEOPLE SAW THOSE THINGS FROM A TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE, AS ONE MIGHT EXPECT. A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE SAW THE IDN.IDN AND THE TLD ISSUE AS A KEY PART OF INTERNATIONALIZATION BECAUSE THEY SEE IT AS A WAY OF GETTING PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE GLOBE TO BE PART OF THE INTERNET COMMUNITY.
I'M CONSCIOUS HERE THAT I'M GIVING FAIRLY SIMPLIFIED CONDENSED VERSIONS OF THE CONVERSATIONS, BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO PICK THE MAIN THEMES OUT OF THOSE.
LET ME JUST TRY ONCE MORE FOR SLIDES.
NO. I THINK IT'S A BAD DAY WITH BILL GATES.

>>VINT CERF: PATRICK, WITH REGARD TO THE TEMPLATES AND FORMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE THING ABOUT NUMBERS IS THAT THEY TEND NOT TO BE RESTRICTED TO ANY ONE LANGUAGE. IF YOU HAD A FORM WHOSE PRESENTATION WAS THE FUNCTION OF THE NUMBER THAT'S IN SOME, YOU KNOW, COLUMN OR ROW, IT WOULDN'T BE VERY HARD TO HAVE SOFTWARE THAT TAKES THE NUMBER AND PRESENTS IT IN WHICHEVER LANGUAGE YOU PREFER.
SO SLOT NUMBER 17 IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE LAST NAME OF THE ADMINISTRATOR, THE ADVICE THAT IT'S LAST NAME OF ADMINISTRATOR COULD BE IN GERMAN, FRENCH OR WHAT HAVE YOU. YOU JUST PICK WHATEVER LANGUAGE YOU WANT AND THE NUMBER 17 IS TRANSLATED INTO THAT. THAT HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR A LONG TIME.
IS THAT THE KIND OF THING THAT YOU'RE LOOKING TO MAKE HAPPEN?
>>PATRICK SHARRY: VINT, I WOULDN'T AT THAT STAGE PROPOSE TO HAVE THE SOLUTION, BUT THAT'S THE PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE, IS EXACTLY THAT SORT OF THING.
SO THAT IT'S --
>>VINT CERF: WHAT YOU WANT IS THAT THE PERSON FILLING OUT THE FORM SEES ALL THE INDICATORS IN THE LOCAL LANGUAGE, BUT BY THE TIME IT GETS TO THE RECIPIENT, THE RECIPIENT CAN CAUSE THAT TO BE PRESENTED IN -- THE FIELD NAMES TO BE PRESENTED IN ENGLISH OR FRENCH OR GERMAN OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
I THINK THE SCARIEST THING ABOUT THIS WHOLE IDEA IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE GET TO IDNS BECAUSE IF WE'RE STARTING TO FILL IN FIELDS USING ESSENTIALLY UNICODE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THEN IT GETS TO BE PRETTY TOUGH ON THE RECIPIENT WHO SEES THE FIELD NAMES BUT DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO READ THE RESULTING IDN STRINGS.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: IT SEEMS THAT VINT WAS RIGHT AND WE DO NEED TO REBOOT.
>>>: SHALL WE HIT THE POWER KEY?
>>PATRICK SHARRY: NOT JUST YET.
OKAY. THE NEXT ISSUE AFTER THAT IN TERMS OF THE HEAT THAT WAS AROUND THINGS ACTUALLY FOLLOWS VERY NICELY ON FROM VINT'S COMMENT, AND THAT WAS AROUND PROCESSES AND THE NEED GENERALLY TO IMPROVE PROCESSES WITHIN ICANN.
THAT WAS WITH -- TO DO WITH ARE IANA, BUT ALSO GENERALLY THE PROCESSES THAT ICANN RUNS NEED TO BE MADE MORE EFFICIENT AND MORE EFFECTIVE. SO THAT WOULD BE POINT THREE.
AND I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T EXPECT TO HAVE TO DO THIS WITHOUT NOTES SO I'M FEELING FAIRLY UNDERPREPARED.
AN ISSUE THAT I MISSED OUT IN TALKING ABOUT THE GLOBALIZATION -- THE INTERNATIONALIZATION ISSUE WAS THAT OF REGIONAL PRESENCES, AND THAT'S AN ISSUE WHERE THERE'S QUITE STRONG OPINION IN A NUMBER OF DIRECTIONS.
THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE, AND THIS WAS VERY STRONG, FOR EXAMPLE, FROM THE ALAC MEMBERS BUT ALSO FROM SOME PEOPLE IN THE REGISTRY COMMUNITY AND OTHERS, THAT THE REGIONAL PRESENCES WERE ACTUALLY A CRITICAL PART OF REALLY REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE WORLD.
THE COUNTER TO THAT IS THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD SEE THE DANGER IN THE REGIONAL PRESENCES BEING THAT THEY WOULD DUPLICATE CHANNELS, FORUMS, GROUPS, WORK THAT ALREADY EXISTS IN THOSE AREAS.
THERE'S A THIRD GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD SAY THAT AT THIS STAGE THEY ARE UNABLE TO MAKE UP THEIR MIND, AS OPPOSED TO AMBIVALENT, ABOUT THE ISSUE OF REGIONAL PRESENCES BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT REALLY SURE WHAT IT IS THAT THEY WOULD BE SET UP TO DO, AND THEREFORE, THEY ARE UNABLE TO MAKE A CALL AS TO WHETHER THEY ARE USEFUL OR NOT.

>>JOHN CRAIN: THAT YOU'LL WANT TO REMEMBER.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: IT'S THE SAME AS MY BANK ACCOUNT, IT'S ALL RIGHT.
>>VINT CERF: I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU WANT TO DO THIS? DO YOU WANT TO TAKE QUESTIONS?
>>PATRICK SHARRY: I'M TRYING TO DO AS MUCH AS I CAN UNTIL THIS --
>>VINT CERF: TEMPORIZING UNTIL THIS DUMB THING WORKS.
ON REGIONAL PRESENCES, OF COURSE IT APPEARS TO HAVE BECOME A LOADED TERM AND I THINK IT'S AWFULLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO DISTINGUISH A FAIRLY BROAD SPECTRUM OF WAYS IN WHICH ICANN MIGHT HAVE, I DON'T KNOW, ELEMENTS OF ITSELF IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD BESIDES BRUSSELS AND MARINA DEL REY.
PAUL HAS SAID FROM TIME TO TIME THAT HIRING OF A STAFF MEMBER IN SOMEPLACE OTHER THAN MARINA DEL REY HAS PROVED TO BE USEFUL BECAUSE THE STAFF MEMBER IS IN A PARTICULAR TIME ZONE AND IS ACCESSIBLE TO PARTIES THAT NEED TO INTERACT WITH ICANN LOCALLY. AND I DON'T THINK IT WAS INTENDED FOR THAT TO BE MORE THAN A STAFF MEMBER IS IN THAT PARTICULAR PLACE AS OPPOSED TO WE JUST ESTABLISHED A REGIONAL OFFICE.
SO TRYING TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE TWO, MAYBE WE NEED TO DO SOME MORE WORK ON DEFINITIONS SO THAT IT IS CLEARER THAT STAFF MEMBERS IN A PARTICULAR PLACE DON'T NECESSARILY CONSTITUTE AN OFFICE, AND "OFFICE" MIGHT MEAN A MUCH BROADER RANGE OF FUNCTIONS THAT ARE TRYING TO BE ACCOMPLISHED THERE.
THIS IS NOT TRYING TO WEASEL WORD ANYTHING. IT'S TRYING TO MAKE ICANN POSSIBLE TO HAVE STAFF IN PLACES THAT ARE NOT THE HEADQUARTERS WITHOUT HAVING A HUGE DEBATE OVER WHETHER WE HAVE JUST BROKEN THE REGIONAL PRESENCE BARRIER.
I'M UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE EQUATION OF A STAFF MEMBER SOMEWHERE AS A REGIONAL PRESENCE BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S NOT THE INTENT.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: AND I THINK THE OTHER DIMENSION TO THAT, VINT, IS THAT IT SEEMS FROM THE CONVERSATIONS TO NOT BE A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL SOLUTION. THAT THE WAY ONE MIGHT GO ABOUT DOING THOSE THINGS IN ONE PART OF THE WORLD MAY BE DIFFERENT THAN THE WAY ONE WOULD GO ABOUT DOING IT IN ANOTHER PART OF THE WORLD.
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>>MICHAEL PALAGE: AND, AGAIN, PART OF THIS CONFUSION, I THINK, IS IF YOU READ THE STRATEGIC PLAN, I THINK THERE'S REFERENCES TO REGIONAL HUBS.
SO WE HAVE OFFICES, PRESENCE, HUBS, EMPLOYEES.
AND, AGAIN, WHAT I'D LIKE TO LOOK AT IS, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE OLDER EMPLOYEES WITHIN THE ICANN COMMUNITY IS GLEN DE SAINT GERY, WHO'S BEEN A BEDROCK OF THE GNSO.
SHE LIVES IN FRANCE.
SHE SUPPORTS THE GNSO ON A GLOBAL BASIS.
DO I CONSIDER ICANN TO HAVE A PRESENCE IN -- I MEAN, DO WE CALL THAT A PRESENCE, AN OFFICE, A HUB, THE FACT THAT SHE'S WORKING OUT OF HER OWN THING?
I GUESS THE POINT I'M TRYING TO RAISE IS, IT'S THE TERMINOLOGY, "PRESENCE," "HUB," "OFFICE."
AND MAYBE THROUGH THIS CONSULTIVE PROCESS THAT PATRICK HAS ENGAGED MAYBE WE CAN TRY TO SHED SOME LIGHT ON THESE VARYING DEFINITIONS AND WORK ON HOW ICANN -- AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S ABOUT ICANN DOING OUTREACH AND ICANN WORKING WITH ITS STAKEHOLDERS TO ACHIEVE ITS MISSION.
SO I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT THE COMMUNITY IN HOW WE BEST CAN SUPPORT THEM IN MAKING ICANN WORK.
>>VINT CERF: SO -- THANKS, MIKE.
THIS IS A DEFINITIONAL PROBLEM.
THE PLACE THAT I STRUGGLE WITH BECAUSE OF THE VARYING TERMS THAT HAVE BEEN THROWN AROUND IS THAT IF WE HAVE A STAFF MEMBER SOMEPLACE, THAT MIGHT -- I DON'T KNOW THAT WE SHOULD EVEN NECESSARILY TREAT THAT AS OUTREACH, IF BY "OUTREACH," IT'S A MAJOR PROGRAM OR, YOU KNOW, WE'RE -- THAT'S -- YOU KNOW, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE I WOULD BE VERY HAPPY AS A BOARD MEMBER TO THINK THAT AT LEAST ONE CATEGORY OF THING THAT ICANN COULD DO IS TO HAVE A QUALIFIED STAFF MEMBER SOMEPLACE SO THAT THAT STAFF MEMBER IS IN A TIME ZONE THAT'S CONVENIENT FOR LOCAL INTERACTION, WHETHER IT'S OUTREACH OR NOT, TO PERFORM THE FUNCTION THAT THAT STAFF MEMBER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, AND NOT TO HAVE A HUGE DEBATE AS A CONSEQUENCE SIMPLY BECAUSE THE STAFF MEMBER DOESN'T HAPPEN TO BE IN MARINA DEL REY.
SO THAT'S WHERE I WOULD HOPE TO COME TO RESOLUTION.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: I THINK WE NEED TO GO BACK EVEN A LEVEL ABOVE WHAT YOU TWO GENTLEMEN HAVE SUGGESTED AND, ACTUALLY, BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT'S THE ISSUE, PROBLEM, CHALLENGE, OPPORTUNITY THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIND A SOLUTION FOR BEFORE WE GO INTO LANGUAGE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IS IT A HUB, IS IT AN OFFICE, IS IT A WHATEVER.
BUT ACTUALLY TO BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THE CHALLENGES THAT WE WANT TO ADDRESS AND THEN MOVE INTO THE SOLUTION MODE.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IN PUTTING THIS PLAN TOGETHER WILL ACTUALLY BE TO GET CLARITY AROUND THAT PART OF IT.

>>MILTON MUELLER: YEAH, PICKING UP ON YOUR LAST POINT, I'M A LITTLE BIT CONFUSED.
WE'RE CALLING THIS A STRATEGIC PLAN CONSULTATION, AND SOMETIMES IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE DOING OPERATIONAL PLANNING, AND SOMETIMES IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE DOING POLICY PLANNING.
AND SO I'M COMPLETELY CONFUSED.
IF IT'S STRATEGIC PLANNING, I WOULD TAKE A VERY -- I MEAN, I CAN'T SEE A STRATEGIC PLAN BEING MORE THAN TEN PAGES LONG, HAVING BASIC OBJECTIVES AND MAYBE SOMETHING ABOUT THE METRICS FOR THOSE OBJECTIVES.
AND I DON'T WANT TO BE TELLING -- I MEAN, I KNOW THE ICANN BOARD IS UNPAID AND WORKS REALLY HARD.
BUT IT'S THEIR JOB TO, LIKE, MONITOR WHAT THE MANAGEMENT DOES, AND IT'S THE MANAGEMENT'S JOB TO FIGURE OUT HOW MANY OFFICES WE HAVE AND WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO EXECUTE THIS OBJECTIVE.
SO I JUST WANT TO NOT GET PULLED INTO AN IDEA THAT WE HAVE TO KIND OF CONSENSUALLY, YOU KNOW, DEVELOP EVERYTHING ABOUT HOW ICANN DOES ITS BUSINESS.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: YEAH, I THINK THAT'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
IF WE GO MORE THAN TEN PAGES -- MILTON, IS IT?
>>MILTON MUELLER: YES.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: IF WE GO MORE THAN TEN PAGES, MILTON, I THINK WE'VE ALMOST GOT IT WRONG.
I HAD AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION WITH OUR SINGLE ENGLISH LANGUAGE PARTICIPANT, LESLIE, WHO TOLD ME THAT SHE NOW WORKS WITH WHAT SHE CALLS A PLAN ON A PAGE.
SO SHE PUTS THE ENTIRE STRATEGY FOR HER ORGANIZATION ON ONE PAGE.
AND THAT'S -- WHILE THAT'S A FAIRLY AMBITIOUS GOAL, IT WOULD BE BETTER TO HEAD IN THAT DIRECTION RATHER THAN THE 50, 60, 70, 80, 90-PAGE DIRECTION.
VINT.
>>VINT CERF: SO, PATRICK, SOMETIMES YOU CAN START STRATEGIC PLANS BY STARTING WITH STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES.
AND IT SEEMS TO ME ONE EXAMPLE OF AN OBJECTIVE FOR ICANN IS TO ASSURE THAT IT HAS SELF-SUSTAINING OPERATION.
IF WE'RE NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT A SELF-SUSTAINING ORGANIZATION, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
SO THAT WOULD BE ONE HIGH OBJECTIVE.
THE SECOND ONE, IN MY VIEW, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS AN EFFECTIVELY FUNCTIONING ORGANIZATION.
THAT'S CODE WORD FOR IT GETS THE WORK DONE THAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO DO.
AND IF WE WANTED TO GO DOWN ONE LEVEL, WE MIGHT SAY, AND HERE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE EXPECT IT TO DO.
IT HAS FUNCTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH IANA.
IT HAS RESPONSIBILITIES TO SUPPORT ITS SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS.
IT HAS POLICY DEVELOPMENT THAT IT HAS TO DO.
IF YOU GO DOWN A FURTHER LEVEL, IT MIGHT BE WHICH POLICY DEVELOPMENT IS IT THAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH IN GENERAL, AND THEN WHEN WE GET TO THE OPERATIONAL PLAN, IT WOULD BE WHICH PARTICULAR POLICIES WOULD WE BE LOOKING AT FOR THIS YEAR, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: THAT MAKES VERY, VERY GOOD SENSE.
LET ME JUST GO BACK TO MY LITTLE CHEAT SHEET HERE.
AND I HAVEN'T DONE TOO BADLY.
ACTUALLY, I'M QUITE PLEASED.
THE ONLY ONE I MISSED OUT IN TERMS OF AREAS WHERE THERE WAS SOME WARMTH OR TEMPERATURE WAS AROUND THE BUDGET AND ACCOUNTABILITY QUESTION, BOTH IN TERMS OF GETTING STABILITY, WHICH IS, IN A SENSE, THE FIRST THING THAT VINT MENTIONED THERE, AND DIVERSIFYING REVENUE STREAMS.
AND THEN LINKING THAT MUCH MORE CLEARLY TO ACTIVITY AND PROVIDING BETTER ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN THAT PROCESS.
THAT WAS THE OTHER AREA THAT GENERATED QUITE A BIT OF COMMENT.
I'D LIKE NOW TO GO TO WHERE I HAD HOPED THAT WE MIGHT START BEFORE WINDOWS MISBEHAVED ITSELF.
AND THAT'S TO LOOK AT WHAT WILL HAPPEN BETWEEN NOW AND VANCOUVER, WHICH IS PROBABLY FAIRLY DIFFICULT TO READ FOR SOME PEOPLE.
WE'RE AT THE LUXEMBOURG MEETING, AND WE'VE DONE EVERYTHING THAT WE SAID WE WOULD DO.
PAUL GAVE A REPORT THE OTHER DAY THAT WAS TIED TO WHAT WE SET OUT IN THE PLAN TO DO AND WHERE WE GOT TO.
AS HE SAID AT THE TIME, IT'S NOT -- WASN'T A PERFECT PLAN, IT WASN'T A PERFECT PRESENTATION, BUT IT WAS A GOOD STEP IN THAT DIRECTION.
SO WE'VE STARTED THERE.
WE'VE DONE THE MULTILANGUAGE CONSULTATION. AND THAT'S BEEN EXTREMELY WELL RECEIVED.
WE'VE DONE THE WORK WITH SOS AND ACS TO IDENTIFY PRIORITIES FOR THEIR POLICY WORK AND TO GET THEIR FEEL ON SOME OF THE ISSUES.
AND THAT'S ALL GONE, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, VERY, VERY WELL.
THE ONLY UNFORTUNATE PART WAS THAT THERE WERE A NUMBER OF CONSTITUENCY GROUPS AND SOME SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS, ADVISORY COMMITTEES WHO, FOR WHATEVER REASON, DIDN'T TAKE PART IN THE PROCESS THIS TIME AROUND.
SOME OF THOSE HAVE SAID THAT THEY WILL RESPOND TO QUESTIONS THROUGH THE -- QUESTIONS THAT ARE POSTED ON THE PUBLIC FORUM.
SO THE ASO HAS SAID THAT THEY WILL DO THAT.
AND SSAC HAS SAID THAT THEY WILL RESPOND TO THAT.
BUT THERE'S STILL THE NEED TO TRY TO GET THE VIEWS OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE AT THE TABLE AT THIS EARLY START OF THE PROCESS.
SO ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO FACILITATE THAT WOULD BE A GREAT THING.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT IS THAT WE'LL TAKE ALL OF THAT INPUT PLUS THE COMMENTS THAT PEOPLE MAKE ON THE PUBLIC -- ON THE WEB SITE, THROUGH THE PUBLIC FORUM ON THE WEB SITE, AND INCORPORATE THAT INTO AN ISSUES DOCUMENT THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE BY THE END OF AUGUST.
SO WHAT I WILL ATTEMPT TO DO, WITH HELP FROM SOME STAFF, IS TO SUMMARIZE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN HAD AND TO PRESENT WHATEVER SIDES OF AN ISSUE HAVE COME UP, NOT TO ATTEMPT TO PROVIDE THE ANSWER, BUT, RATHER, JUST TO PAINT THE CANVAS ON WHICH THE CONVERSATION HAS TAKEN PLACE.
THAT WILL THEN BE RELEASED FOR COMMENT, HOPEFULLY IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, AND FRENCH, SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE WHAT WE'VE STARTED THERE.
THERE WILL BE ABOUT A MONTH THERE FOR CONSULTATION AND RESPONSE TO THAT.
AND THEN WE'LL PRESENT A KEY PRIORITIES DOCUMENT.
AND THAT KEY PRIORITIES DOCUMENT IS IN THERE BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STRUCK ME ABOUT THE LAST TIME THAT WE TALKED ABOUT THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS WE SEEMED TO GO ALMOST STRAIGHTAWAY TO CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE FIFTH WORD IN THE FOURTH PARAGRAPH OF PAGE 17 AND NOT ENOUGH ABOUT WHAT ARE THE BIG ISSUES THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH.
SO, IN A SENSE, EXACTLY WHAT VINT HAS JUST TRIED TO EXPLAIN USING THE WORD "STRATEGIC PRIORITIES" IS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO PICK UP THERE WITH THE KEY PRIORITIES DOCUMENT.
THAT WILL BE SENT OUT IN THOSE LANGUAGES, AGAIN, FOR COMMENT.
AND BASED ON THE FEEDBACK WE GET FROM THAT, WE'LL START TO CONSTRUCT A PLAN.
NOW, ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTICE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE SLIDE, IS THAT THE THIRD LINE DOWN IS ABOUT SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND ADVISORY COMMITTEES.
AND WE ARE REALLY LOOKING FOR THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND ADVISORY COMMITTEES TO BE THE CHANNEL FOR FEEDBACK FROM THEIR CONSTITUENCY MEMBERS.
AND SO WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR THOSE GROUPS TO BRING TOGETHER THEIR MEMBERS, VIRTUALLY OR OTHERWISE, TO GET FEEDBACK ON DOCUMENTS, AND TO CHANNEL THAT BACK.
THERE WILL, OF COURSE, ALWAYS BE THE POSSIBILITY OF POSTING COMMENTS ON THE ICANN WEB SITE.
WE'RE CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO TAKE THAT AWAY.
BUT WE'RE REALLY TRYING VERY HARD TO GET THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND ADVISORY COMMITTEES AND THE CONSTITUENCY GROUPS THAT SIT WITHIN THEM TO BE THE CHANNEL FOR BRINGING TOGETHER COMMENT, SYNTHESIZING VIEWS, PRESENTING ALTERNATIVE POSITIONS, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.
AND I'D ASK THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN CHARGE OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS TO BE PART OF THAT.
YOU'LL ALSO NOTICE UP THERE THAT WE'LL BE SEEKING THE WISDOM OF THE BOARD AROUND THE TIME OF THE KEY PRIORITIES DOCUMENT, THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, IF YOU WANT TO USE VINT'S LANGUAGE, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THEIR WISDOM AND THEIR VIEWS ON WHAT SHOULD BE PRIORITIES.
I MIGHT JUST STOP THERE TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS.
VINT, YOU'RE LOOKING LIKE THERE'S A QUESTION THERE.
>>VINT CERF: WELL, I'M WRINKLING MY BROW, THANKS TO THE VERY THOUGHT-PROVOKING REMARKS ABOUT DOCUMENTS IN LANGUAGES OTHER THAN THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT.
I HOPE THAT YOU'LL FIND SOME WAY TO GET FEEDBACK ON QUALITY OF THE TRANSLATIONS AND UTILITY OF THE TRANSLATIONS.
BECAUSE I THINK WE NEED TO MONITOR THAT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT DOING A DISSERVICE BY ACCIDENTALLY MISINFORMING PEOPLE.
SECOND THING I AM STILL STRUGGLING WITH IS THAT THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN AN OBJECTIVE AND THE PLAN FOR ACHIEVING THE OBJECTIVE, THE STEPS THAT ONE TAKES, SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT A STRATEGIC PLAN, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW TO ACHIEVE AN OBJECTIVE.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT MIXING UP THE TWO, BECAUSE WE NEED TO HAVE THE OBJECTIVES PRIORITIZED BEFORE WE TRY TO PRIORITIZE THE PLAN ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE OBJECTIVES.
AM I MAKING SENSE?
>>PATRICK SHARRY: SO THE OBJECTIVE FIRST AND THEN THE METHOD.
>>VINT CERF: YES.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: YEAH, I WOULD AGREE WITH THAT COMPLETELY.
AND THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO PICK UP THERE, AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT'S DONE IN SEPTEMBER, A SHORT, KEY PRIORITIES DOCUMENT, AND WHAT'S DONE IN OCTOBER/NOVEMBER, WHICH IS THE PREPARATION OF THE PLAN.
I WOULD SEE THE PLAN HAVING MUCH MORE OF THE METHOD IN IT, THE OBJECTIVES OR PRIORITIES BEING A VERY SUCCINCT STATEMENT OF PRIORITIES.
OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS AT THIS STAGE?
MOUHAMET.
>>MOUHAMET DIOP: I'M SORRY, I THOUGHT THAT THERE WERE SOME FACILITIES IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM IN ORDER TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE, NOT ONLY IN FRONT.
OKAY.
JUST TWO COMMENTS.
I THINK THAT IF WE COME BACK ON THE PRIORITY ON THE OBJECTIVE, I THINK THAT ICANN AS A WHOLE, ORGANIZATION, CAN CLEARLY STATE THAT -- WE CAN SAY THAT, I MEAN, OUR FIRST AND SOLE OBJECTIVE IS TO MAKE THE INTERNET WORK AND TO GUARANTEE THAT THIS INFRASTRUCTURE DID NOT HARM, AND WE GUARANTEE THAT SERVICES CAN BE LAID ON TOP OF IT.
IF YOU LOOK AT IT FROM THE CONSTITUENCY POINT OF VIEW, I THINK THAT WE WILL BETTER HAVE -- I MEAN, WE WILL BETTER PROCESS TO ASK FOR EACH CONSTITUENCY GROUP TO TRY THROUGH AN INTERNAL PROCESS TO DEFINE ONE OR TWO MAIN OBJECTIVES, IF THEY CAN COME OUT WITH ONE OR TWO MAIN OBJECTIVES.
AND WHAT WE WILL DO IS, FOR EXAMPLE, FROM THE GNSO PERSPECTIVE, WE WILL SAY, I MEAN, HOW WE CAN MAKE THE GNSO INDUSTRY ROBUST, SUSTAINABLE, TO AVOID, FOR EXAMPLE, FAILURE OF GTLD, HOW WE CAN MAKE THE REGISTRANT HAVE THE, I MEAN, TRUST IN THE SYSTEM THAT ICANN TAKE CARE OF THEIR BEHAVIOR, BECAUSE THEY GUARANTEE THAT THE SYSTEM IN PLACE HAVE TO TAKE INTERNAL MECHANISM THAT WILL HELP TO GUARANTEE THAT FAILURE IS SOMETHING THAT IS EXCEPTIONAL, EVEN IF WE CAN SAY THAT WON'T HAPPEN, IF IT IS JUST OUR WILLINGNESS.
IF WE TAKE THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE REGISTRANT, LIKE THE COMMUNITIES OR THE OTHERS, -- I MEAN, WE'VE GOT TO GO THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS FOR OTHER PEOPLE.
WE WILL SAY, FOR EXAMPLE, FROM THE INTERNET PURE PERSPECTIVE, WHAT IS THE MAIN OBJECTIVE WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, I MEAN, THE EVOLUTION OF THE INTERNET.
IS IT MORE CHOICES?
BETTER SERVICE?
LOWER PRICE?
MORE COMPETITION?
I MEAN, WE'RE EXPECTING TO GET ANY -- EACH CONSTITUENCY AND EACH GROUP WITH ONE OR TWO OBJECTIVES THAT ARE GOING TO BE THEIR MAIN FOCUS.
AND IN REGARD TO ALL -- I MEAN, ALL THESE OBJECTIVES, WE WILL HAVE AT LEAST FIVE PRIORITIES BASED ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE GROUP THAT WE HAVE INSIDE ICANN.
BUT WE CAN SAY THAT BASED ON THE FACT THAT IF -- IF THE INTERNET IS NOT WORKING WELL, NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN, WE CAN JUST AGREE WITH VINT'S STATEMENT THAT THE FIRST OBJECTIVE OF ICANN IS TO MAKE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING AND WORKING WELL.
AND THEN BASED ON THE INTEREST OF EACH CONSTITUENCY, WE WILL TRY TO RAISE ONE OR TWO POINTS.
AND THIS IS THE WAY I THINK THAT IN A CONSULTATION BASIS, WE WILL COME OUT WITH FOUR OR FIVE OR TEN MAJOR POINTS THAT WILL BE A CONSENSUS BASED.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT EVERYBODY HAS THE SAME PRIORITY.
BUT IT WILL SHOW, I MEAN, THE INTEREST OF ALL GROUPS.
AND SINCE WE HAVE AN AREA WHERE ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS COME TOGETHER IN ORDER TO TALK, THIS DOCUMENT WILL REFLECT THE NEED FOR THE COMMUNITY.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: THANKS, MOUHAMET.
I'D REALLY AGREE WITH THAT VERY STRONGLY.
THE MORE THAT WE CAN GET THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND ADVISORY COMMITTEES TO BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THEIR PRIORITIES ARE AND THEN FEED THOSE UP, I THINK THE BETTER PLAN THAT WE WILL END UP WITH.
THE ONLY THING I WOULD ADD TO MOUHAMET'S COMMENT IS THAT THERE WILL BE SOME PLACES WHERE IT WILL MAKE SENSE TO DO THINGS TOGETHER.
AND WHEN WE GET EVERYONE'S COMMENTS UP, WE NEED TO LOOK AT THOSE AND IDENTIFY THE PLACES WHERE WORKING TOGETHER WILL GIVE US A BETTER SOLUTION AND HAVE SOME SHARED GOALS AROUND THOSE THINGS.
BUT I REALLY STRONGLY AGREE WITH YOUR COMMENT THAT WE NEED TO GET THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND ADVISORY COMMITTEES TO BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THEIR PRIORITIES ARE AND FEED THOSE UP THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
VINT.
>>VINT CERF: I APOLOGIZE.
I'M SITTING HERE, I DON'T MEAN TO MONOPOLIZE.
AND YOU TELL ME TO SHUT UP AT SOME POINT.
MOUHAMET, I WAS LISTENING TO WHAT YOU WERE SAYING, AND I THOUGHT THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO MAKE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE FULL RANGE OF THINGS THAT HAVE TO WORK FOR THE INTERNET TO FUNCTION WELL AND THE SET OF THINGS THAT ICANN HAS SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITY FOR.
WE PLAINLY DON'T HAVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MAKING SURE THE ROUTERS WORK, EVEN THOUGH IF THEY DON'T WORK, THE INTERNET DOESN'T WORK VERY WELL.
ON THE OTHER HAND, WE HAVE A VERY CENTRAL RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT I.P. ADDRESSES ARE ASSIGNED IN AN UNAMBIGUOUS WAY.
AND I WANT TO USE THAT EXAMPLE TO ILLUSTRATE ONE OTHER POINT.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO BE SURE THAT THAT UNIQUENESS IS MAINTAINED.
BUT WE AREN'T THE ONES WHO ULTIMATELY DO THE FINAL ASSIGNMENT OF THE I.P. ADDRESSES.
WE JUST HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE IANA HANDS OUT I.P. ADDRESSES IN A UNIQUE WAY TO EACH OF THE RIRS.
SO OUR ROLE IN MANY OF THESE THINGS IS LIMITED.
BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PART IS DONE PROPERLY SO THAT THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY THAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR OTHER PARTS OF THE INTERNET CAN RELY ON WHAT WE'VE DONE SO THEY CAN DO THEIR PART.
AND I GUESS I -- IF THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SEE THAT AS A BAD FORMULATION OR POORLY WORDED FORMULATION OF WHAT ICANN'S STRATEGIC RESPONSIBILITIES ARE, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO GET THAT ON THE TABLE TO FIND OUT IF THERE'S A BETTER WAY TO SAY IT.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: IT'S INTERESTING YOU SAY THAT, VINT, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME UP IN CONVERSATIONS IN THE CONSULTATION WAS THAT, BUT ALSO IN ANOTHER DIMENSION, THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ICANN NEEDS TO LEARN TO DO BETTER IS DEVELOP ITS RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER ENTITIES WHO HAVE INTEREST IN A SIMILAR SPACE.
AND SO THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO EXPLORE, AND AT THE SAME TIME, FOCUS ON WHAT IT IS THAT WE NEED TO DO OURSELVES.
OKAY.
YOU CAN SEE UP THERE THAT THE END OF THIS FAIRLY AGGRESSIVE TIMETABLE IS IN VANCOUVER TO HAVE A DRAFT PLAN THAT'S ALREADY BEEN IN CIRCULATION FOR PEOPLE TO MAKE COMMENTS ON.
AND, AGAIN, WE WOULD PROPOSE TO DO THAT IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, AND FRENCH.
AND THEN TO HAVE THE BOARD APPROVE THAT DOCUMENT IN THEIR MEETING IN JANUARY.
A FAIRLY AGGRESSIVE TIMETABLE, BUT ONE THAT I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN MEET, PARTICULARLY IF WE TAKE MILTON'S COUNSEL AND TRY TO KEEP THIS AS A SHORTER RATHER THAN A LONGER DOCUMENT.
AT SOME STAGE DURING THE PROCESS -- AND MY GUESS THAT IT IS IN OCTOBER -- IT WOULD BE VERY USEFUL TO PULL TOGETHER PEOPLE FROM THE SOS AND ACS TO BRING THE FEEDBACK, YOU KNOW, ALONG THE LINES THAT MOUHAMET'S SUGGESTED, AND ALSO FEEDBACK TO DOCUMENTS AND SO FORTH, FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE TO COME TOGETHER, SO THAT WE CAN START TO BRING THE ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN TOGETHER.
AND I ANTICIPATE THAT THAT WILL HAPPEN IN OCTOBER.
I'D BE KEEN TO KEEP THAT GROUP SMALLER RATHER THAN LARGER, BECAUSE IT WILL WORK MUCH MORE EFFICIENTLY IF IT'S SO.
AND I THINK THAT IF WE COULD HAVE PERHAPS THE HEAD OF THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION OR THEIR DELEGATE, IF THEY'RE UNABLE TO ATTEND, AND ONE OTHER REPRESENTATIVE FROM THAT SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION, THAT WOULD GIVE US A GROUP THAT WOULD BE A REASONABLE SIZE TO WORK WITH.
AND THEN WE COULD BE FAIRLY HOPEFUL OF GETTING THROUGH A AGENDA IN THE TIME, SO LONG AS WE'VE BEEN GETTING ALONG THE WAY THE FEEDBACK FROM PEOPLE AS SUGGESTED UP THERE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
MARILYN.
>>MARILYN CADE: PATRICK, I DON'T KNOW HOW PRACTICAL THAT IS.
I THINK IT MIGHT BE THE IDEAL APPROACH.
BUT, YOU KNOW, BRUCE IS NOT HERE.
HE HAD TO GO -- HE HAD ANOTHER ERRAND.
BUT JUST GEOGRAPHICALLY, I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE OF ISSUES.
EACH OF THE SOS IS SO UNIQUE IN TERMS OF WHO THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO DESIGNATE TO REFLECT THE NEEDS.
MAYBE IT WOULD BE JUST SEND THE CHAIR OF EACH OF THEM THE OBJECTIVE YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH AND LET THEM COME BACK TO YOU.
I THINK TWO PEOPLE PER SO WOULD BE VERY CHALLENGING.
BUT MAYBE THEY COULD GIVE YOU SOME --
>>PATRICK SHARRY: YEAH.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE COUNSEL ON THAT.
>>VINT CERF: NO, I -- MARILYN'S GOT A GOOD POINT.
ONE THING THAT MIGHT HELP IN ALL OF THIS IS TRANSPARENCY IN THE SENSE OF WHERE ARE WE IN THE PROCESS AND WHAT MATERIALS HAVE BEEN PRODUCED.
IF THERE'S A WAY TO DO THIS SO THAT IF ANYONE DOES HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE STATUS OF VARIOUS DOCUMENTS THAT PEOPLE ARE WORKING ON THAT WE COULD TRY TO MAKE THAT CLEARLY AVAILABLE.
OTHERWISE, IF THERE ARE THESE INTERVALS, MAYBE EVEN LONG INTERVALS, BEFORE YOU DISCOVER WHERE THINGS ARE, YOU DON'T REACT SOON ENOUGH TO SOMETHING THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN USEFUL INPUT.
SO IT'S SORT OF LIKE THE FED EX THING WHERE YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE WAS YOUR PACKAGE LAST SEEN.
YOU SORT OF WANT THE ABILITY TO KNOW WHERE ARE WE IN THE VARIOUS PREPARATION OF DOCUMENTS AND THE LIKE.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: AND WE COULD EASILY SET THAT UP ON THE ICANN WEB SITE, PROBABLY NOT WITH QUITE ALL THE GLITZ AND GLAMOUR OF FED EX, BUT A SLIGHTLY SIMPLER VERSION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
OKAY.
IF PEOPLE ARE WILLING -- AND I KNOW THAT IT'S A BIT OF AN OVEN IN HERE, AND I KNOW THAT IT'S BEEN A LONG WEEK, I'D BE VERY KEEN TO GET THE INPUT OF SOME PEOPLE INTO SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I SEE REMAINING.
OOPS.
%%%L1END.
%%%TSTART2.
IT HASN'T BEEN A GOOD DAY WITH WINDOWS.
THEY'RE QUESTIONS THAT I SEE AS STILL NEEDING SOME RESPONSE.
LET ME JUST SEE IF I CAN MAKE THEM A LITTLE BIGGER.
IN THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE HAVE HAD, PEOPLE HAVE OFTEN USED LANGUAGE LIKE "A TRULY INTERNATIONALIZED ICANN" OR TRULY INTERNATIONAL ICANN. SOMETIMES THEY USE THE WORD "GLOBAL" INSTEAD OF INTERNATIONAL. BUT I'M NOT SURE THAT WE SHARE A SENSE OF WHAT A TRULY INTERNATIONALIZED ICANN WOULD LOOK LIKE. THAT IS, WHAT DO WE MEAN BY THAT WORD.
SO THAT WOULD BE QUESTION NUMBER 1.
QUESTION NUMBER 2 WOULD BE TO LOOK AT THE REGIONAL PRESENCE QUESTION IN TERMS OF ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, AND A BALANCE.
ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT REMAINED FROM THE LAST STRATEGIC PLAN WAS AROUND THE ISSUE OF COMPETITION. AND I THINK WE DON'T HAVE REAL CLARITY ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT THAT COMPETITION MEANINGS. I THINK LOTS OF PEOPLE HAVE INDIVIDUAL CLARITY. I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THAT COMPETITION IS.
THERE'S A REMAINING QUESTION ABOUT SEGREGATED FUNDS, ALTHOUGH IT'S INTERESTING THAT IN ALL OF THE CONVERSATIONS DURING THE WEEK, THE SEGREGATED FUNDS ISSUE HAS NOT COME UP ONCE, DESPITE IT BEING IDENTIFIED AS AN OUTSTANDING ISSUE IN THE PREVIOUS PLAN, DESPITE IT BEING IDENTIFIED AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS WEEK AS AN OUTSTANDING ISSUE, DESPITE THAT THERE WERE QUESTIONS THAT PEOPLE COULD RESPOND TO ABOUT THAT ISSUE, THERE HASN'T BEEN A SINGLE COMMENT, AND PERHAPS THAT TELLS US SOMETHING ABOUT ITS RELATIVE IMPORTANCE, GIVEN OTHERS.
AND THE LAST ONE, THE REMAINING OUTSTANDING QUESTION WAS WHAT SHOULD A POST-MOU ICANN LOOK LIKE, WHICH IN THE LIGHT OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN THE RECENT WEEKS HAS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ANGLE ON IT OR SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FLAVOR TO IT. BUT FROM THE CONSULTATIONS I'VE HAD AND THE CONSULTATIONS THIS WEEK, IS STILL A VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR LOTS OF PEOPLE, AND AT SOME STAGE WE'LL NEED TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT.
VINT, THAT FURROWED BROW SAYS YOU HAVE A QUESTION AGAIN.
>>VINT CERF: I READ THOSE QUESTIONS AND I GET A VERY FURROWED BROW. I THINK PART OF THE REASON IS THAT THEY FEEL LIKE THEY ARE SORT OF THE RIGHT QUESTIONS BUT MAYBE NOT. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT "REGIONAL PRESENCE" MEANS, THEN IT'S HARD TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, UNLESS THESE ARE ASKED IN A CONTEXT, THEN THESE MAY BE COMPLETELY THEIR OWN QUESTIONS. FOR INSTANCE, WHAT SHOULD A POST-MOU ICANN LOOK LIKE? WELL, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ANSWER THAT UNLESS WE HAD SOME IDEA OF WHAT A POST-MOU ICANN WAS SUPPOSED TO DO. AND TO BE HONEST, I THINK IT SHOULD DO ROUGHLY WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO DO NOW, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OBJECTIVES. THE QUESTION IS THEN, IF IT NEEDS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE OBJECTIVES AND THE MOU DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE, HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?
I THINK THAT PARTICULAR QUESTION IS GOING TO BE PRETTY HARD TO DEAL WITH BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHETHER THE WSIS RESULTS WILL HAVE SOME INFLUENCE ON THE POST-MOU PICTURE, SO WE'RE FLYING A LITTLE BLIND HERE.
BUT I AM A LITTLE WORRIED THAT MANY OF THESE QUESTIONS ARE PREMATURE UNLESS YOU HAVE A CONTEXT IN WHICH TO ASK THEM AND ALSO HAVE GOOD DEFINITION OF WHAT THE SPECIFIC WORDS MEAN.
FOR EXAMPLE, IN SEGREGATED FUNDS, ONE THING THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ASKING FOR IS, HELP ME UNDERSTAND HOW THE OPERATIONAL PLAN OBJECTIVES AND WORK MAP INTO COST. THAT'S NOT SEGREGATION BUT IT IS CERTAINLY ALLOCATION. IT'S UNDERSTANDING HOW THOSE ARE TIED TOGETHER.
SEGREGATION MIGHT MEAN, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS, THAT AFTER YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED THOSE CATEGORIES, YOU DON'T ALLOW ANY MOVEMENT OF FUNDS BETWEEN THEM. MOST OF THE TIME, THAT'S REALLY A BAD IDEA TO MAKE YOURSELF SO RIGID THAT YOU HAVE TO GO BACK TO A WHOLE, YOU KNOW, FINANCE BOARD, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC APPROVAL PROCESS AS OPPOSED TO GIVING THE STAFF THE ABILITY TO DEAL WITH VARIATIONS IN COST AS A CONSEQUENCE OF MATTERS ARISING.
SO I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT TO MAKE OF THIS PARTICULAR LIST OF QUESTIONS EXCEPT THAT I GUESS THEY ARE EXAMPLES OF QUESTIONS THAT COULD BE ASKED. BUT I, AGAIN, WOULD PERSONALLY LOOK AT THOSE AND NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THEM UNLESS I HAD A MUCH BETTER SENSE OF THE OBJECTIVES THAT I WAS TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: SO YOUR COUNSEL WOULD BE PERHAPS, BUT NOT YET. OKAY. THAT'S FINE. AND I'M HAPPY TO LEAVE IT IN THAT WAY, IF THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE WOULD LIKE.
RAIMUNDO, IS THAT A MOVE FOR THE MICROPHONE?
>>RAIMUNDO BECA: I WOULD LIKE TO RAISE A QUESTION, A DIFFERENT QUESTION.
YES, IT IS WORKING.
I WOULD LIKE TO RAISE A DIFFERENT QUESTION. WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO USE THE SAME INSTRUMENT TO ASK PEOPLE TO RAISE THEIR OWN QUESTIONS? WHAT QUESTIONS WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK TO THE COMMUNITY?
BECAUSE IF I WERE ASKED THAT, I PROBABLY WOULD ASK VERY DIFFERENT QUESTIONS THAN THOSE ONES.
IF YOU PUT THE INSTRUMENT, I WILL GIVE YOU MY QUESTIONS.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: THAT'S FINE. I'M REALLY VERY, VERY HAPPY TO DO THAT, RAIMUNDO.
>>VINT CERF: I GUARANTEE YOU THAT RAIMUNDO WILL DELIVER ON THAT PROMISE.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: THAT'S GOOD. THAT'S GOOD.
IS THAT SOMETHING PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO DO? YEP, THAT'S FINE.
JUST GIVE ME A MOMENT.
UNFORTUNATELY, LET ME, WHILE THIS WARMS UP, SAY, IF THERE'S ANYONE OUT THERE WHO ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDS HOW USB WORKS AND DOESN'T WORK, I'D LOVE TO HAVE A LONG CONVERSATION WITH YOU. IT'S BECOME THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE, AND THIS IS AN AUDIENCE WHERE THERE MAY WELL BE SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS IT.
>>VINT CERF: PATRICK, WAS THAT A TYPO? DID YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW USB WORKS OR USG WORKS?
>>PATRICK SHARRY: THE USB ONE I'M HAPPY TO DO. THE USG IS ALL YOURS, VINT.
>>VINT CERF: I DON'T KNOW HOW USG WORKS, EITHER.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: OKAY. BECAUSE THE USB THING HAS FAILED ME, THE KEYBOARDS I HAVE PUT OUT ON THIS SIDE OF THE ROOM UNFORTUNATELY WON'T WORK, AND THE USB THING HAS FAILED AND NO ONE CAN WORK OUT WHY. THE KEYBOARDS ON THIS SIDE OF THE ROOM WILL.
SO IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THE LIST OF QUESTIONS, I'D BE REALLY, REALLY VERY HAPPY TO GET THOSE. YOU JUST NEED TO GIVE THE BEAST A MINUTE TO WARM UP. OKAY. SO IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, THERE'S ABOUT FIVE KEYBOARDS UP HERE. PLEASE FEEL FREE, COME AND GRAB ONE, BRING A FRIEND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO. VINT IS ALREADY STARTING UP THERE.
WE CAN ALL DO IT AT ONCE, IF YOU CAN FIND A KEYBOARD AND TYPE THEN YOU CAN PUT YOUR QUESTIONS IN.
IF YOU HAVEN'T USED THE TECHNOLOGY DURING THE WEEK, THE ONLY THING -- SORRY, CHUCK, WHAT I'VE JUST HAD TO SAY IS THE ONES ON THIS SIDE WON'T WORK BECAUSE THE USB HAS FAILED. I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT. BUT THERE ARE SOME SPARE ONES. THERE IS ONE ON A SEAT UP HERE. RAIMUNDO HAS JUST PICKED ONE UP THERE, THERE'S ANOTHER ONE AT THE END OF THIS ROW HERE. THERE'S STILL QUITE A FEW FREE SO COME GRAB ONE. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS AND THE WORLD YOU LIVE IN IS WHEN YOU PUT A QUESTION IN YOU HAVE TO PRESS F9 RATHER THAN ENTER TO GET IT UP ON THE SCREEN.
SO VINT, YOU HAVE JUST TYPED THAT QUESTION, YOU NEED TO PRESS F9 AND THERE WE GO. IT'S GONE UP THE TOP.
SO PLEASE, THERE IS ANOTHER KEYBOARD DOWN THERE IF SOMEONE ELSE WOULD LIKE ONE.
AND WE'LL JUST GIVE PEOPLE A FEW MINUTES TO COME AND DO THAT.
IF YOU'RE MOVING AROUND, I'M JUST VERY CONSCIOUS THERE ARE A LOT OF CORDS AROUND SO I WOULD ASK YOU TO BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR FEET. PLEASE DON'T TRIP.

>>VINT CERF: THIS IS A REAL CHALLENGE FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE TROUBLE READING FONT THIS SMALL FROM 30 FEET AWAY.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: YOU CAN TYPE AT THE SAME TIME, CHUCK. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT. FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE AT THE BACK OF THE ROOM AND MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO READ THE SMALL FONT, THE QUESTION THAT'S GONE UP THERE IS WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES FOR ICANN FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS? WHAT STRATEGY SHOULD ICANN USE TO ACHIEVE ITS STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES?

WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR EACH STRATEGY IN THE NEXT YEAR?
>>VINT CERF: YOU HAVE TO REMIND PEOPLE TO PUT F9 IN TO GET --
>>PATRICK SHARRY: F9 TO GET THE IDEA TO GO TO THE TOP.
HOW CAN ICANN QUICKLY IDENTIFY AND GET INPUT FROM EXISTING REGIONAL GROUPS SUCH AS RIRS, REGIONAL CCTLD ORGANIZATIONS, ISOC, ET CETERA, WITH HOW THEY CAN HELP WITH REGIONAL OUTREACH FUNDING, ET CETERA. CAN A REGIONAL OUTREACH MODEL BE DEVELOPED. NUMBER FIVE, WHAT ARE THE GOALS ICANN CAN REACH TO ASSURE COMPETITION?
THERE'S A SPARE KEYBOARD THERE IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO COME AND ADD SOME.

SHOULD OUTREACH GOALS INCLUDE OUTREACH TO ALL ICANN STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING BS, WHICH I'M NOT SURE ABOUT, ISPS, ET CETERA, TO INCLUDE BROADER -- I'M NOT SURE, IN ICANN'S BODIES.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ICANN BEING ORGANIZED IN ACCORDANCE TO A REGIONAL MODEL LIKE THE NRO?
IS IT A GOOD THING TO DEVELOP A STRATEGIC PLAN BY COMMITTEE OR DO WE RUN THE RISK TO LOSE FOCUS BY THIS METHOD?
WHAT RELATIONSHIP IS THERE BETWEEN ICANN'S RESPONSIBILITIES AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF OTHER OPERATIONAL ACTORS THAT SUPPORT THE INTERNET'S OPERATIONS?
WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF REGULATING CONSUMER PROTECTION VERSUS ALLOWING THE MARKET FORCES TO INFLUENCE SERVICES OFFERED?
SHOULD REGIONAL PRESENCE BE ICANN GOING TO THE REGIONS OR THE REGIONS GOING TO ICANN?
HOW TO DRAW IN MORE COLLABORATION WITH THOSE WHO HAVE SHARED GOALS FOR THE INTERNET.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS BY WHICH ICANN ALLIANCE ITS WORK WITH THAT OF OTHER ACTORS? HOW DO THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS ASSIST ICANN IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES, OPERATIONAL STRATEGY AND OPERATIONAL PLANS?
WHAT CONTINGENCY CONTINUITY PLANNING SHOULD BE DEVELOPED BY ICANN AND THE COMMUNITY?
WHAT NEW SOURCES OF FUNDING SHOULD ICANN EXPLORE?
SHOULD THE STRATEGIC PLAN INCLUDE A CONTINGENCY PLAN?
WHAT SHOULD ICANN BE DOING TO FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF INTERNATIONALIZED DOMAIN NAMES? IS THERE MERIT IN CLEARLY DEFINING THE BOUNDARIES FOR ICANN'S ACTIVITIES TO FACILITATE FOCUSING?
WHAT SHOULD ICANN BE DOING TO ENSURE INCREASED SECURITY AND STABILITY AND RESILIENCE OF THE DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM?
HOW DO WE INCREASE CROSS DIALOGUE WITHIN ICANN STAKEHOLDERS WITH THE GAC?
THERE IS A BIGGER AND BROADER WORLD OUT THERE BEYOND ICANN. WHAT STEPS WILL ICANN TAKE TO COLLABORATE WITH THESE ORGANIZATIONS?
WHAT ROLE SHOULD THE GAC PLAY IN ORDER TO IMPROVE CONFIDENCE TO THEIR GOVERNMENTS?
HOW CAN ICANN DEAL WITH PRESSURE TO INCREASE ITS SCOPE? WHERE CAN SUCH REQUESTS BE TRANSFERRED FOR CONSIDERATION ELSEWHERE?
SHOULD THERE BE COMPETITION IN ADDRESSING?
AND AT THAT STAGE, YOUR HONOR, I THINK THE DEFENSE RESTS.
OKAY. WE CAN CERTAINLY TAKE THOSE, TIDY THEM UP, GET THEM ON THE WEB SITE, GET THEM TO THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND ADVISORY COMMITTEES SO THAT IF THEY WISH TO RESPOND TO THOSE, THEY CAN. THAT CERTAINLY WON'T BE A PROBLEM.
AND WE'LL INCORPORATE THE WISDOM THAT WE GET BACK IN THOSE RESPONSES INTO OUR PLANNING GOING FORWARD.
WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO TO CLOSE --
>>VINT CERF: ARE YOU GOING TO POST THAT?
>>PATRICK SHARRY: YES, YES. I'LL TAKE IT, TIDY IT UP AND POST IT.
>>>: SAVE IT.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: YES, THANK YOU.

I'D JUST LIKE TO FINISH WITH THIS SLIDE HERE, WHICH IS OUR TIMETABLE AGAIN.
REMIND YOU THAT IT'S A VERY, VERY AGGRESSIVE TIMETABLE. AND TO SAY ONCE MORE WITH FEELING THAT WE'LL BE RELYING VERY, VERY MUCH ON THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND ADVISORY COMMITTEES TO MUSTER THE SUPPORT OF THEIR CONSTITUENCIES, TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK IN THE CORRECT PLACES ALONG THE CHANNEL THERE IN ORDER FOR US TO BE ABLE TO MEET OUR DEADLINE OF NEXT JANUARY.
WE ARE REALLY RELYING ON THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND ADVISORY COMMITTEES, AND WE DO ASK FOR YOUR HELP IN THAT.
IF THERE'S NO FURTHER -- CHUCK.
>>CHUCK GOMES: THANKS, PATRICK. IT'S NOT REALLY CLEAR TO ME HOW YOU WILL BE ABLE TO QUANTIFY, IN ANY OF THESE STEPS WHEN YOU'RE CONSOLIDATING INFORMATION, HOW IT IS IT GOING TO BE QUANTIFIED? YOU WERE USING THE TERM WARM OR HOT, ET CETERA. HOW DO YOU DETERMINE ON INFORMATION LIKE THIS, AND AS YOU KNOW I LIKE THIS EXERCISE, BUT I WOULD APPRECIATE IF YOU WOULD COMMENT ON THAT A LITTLE BIT.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: ABSOLUTELY. CHUCK AND I HAVE BEEN HAVING AN ONGOING DISCUSSION ABOUT THE MERITS OR OTHERWISE OF DOING A SURVEY, WHICH IS REALLY THE QUESTION THERE, I THINK.
SURVEYS WORK WELL IN SITUATIONS WHERE YOU HAVE A DEFINABLE UNIVERSE, WHERE YOU CAN APPROPRIATELY STATISTICALLY SEGMENT YOUR SAMPLE SIZES SO THAT YOU GET STATISTICALLY VALID RESULTS. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WOULD DO WITH THOSE STATISTICALLY VALID RESULTS.
I DO A LOT OF WORK WITH A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS AROUND STRATEGIC PLANNING. THEY SOMETIMES RUN A SURVEY, MOST OF THE TIMES WHAT HAPPENS IS SOMEONE COMES BACK WITH A NUMBER AND THEY SAY IT'S 15.3, AND EVERYBODY GOES MMMM, 15.3. AND THAT'S ALL THEY DO. AND I SEE ORGANIZATION AFTER ORGANIZATION AFTER ORGANIZATION WASTE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF CAPITAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES DOING SURVEYS THAT IN THE END DON'T HAVE ANY IMPACT ON THE PLANNING PROCESS AND SO FORTH.
AND SO I HAVE A FAIRLY STRONG OBJECTION TO THEM AS A STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOL.
I OFTEN DO SURVEYS. I DO A LOT OF STATISTICAL WORK MYSELF. NOT AS MUCH AS I USED TO BUT I HAVE A VERY STRONG BACKGROUND IN STATISTICS AND I'M NOT AGAINST NUMBERS. I LOVE A GOOD NUMBER. BUT I DON'T SEE THAT A SURVEY IS A USEFUL TOOL IN A STRATEGIC PLANNING CONTEXT, PARTICULARLY IN AN ORGANIZATION WHERE THE UNIVERSE IS SO DIFFICULT TO DEFINE. WE'RE DOING THE APPROPRIATE SEGMENTATION OR STRATIFICATION, TO GIVE YOU SAMPLE SIZES WOULD BE DIFFICULT, AND HOW ONE WOULD ANSWER THE QUESTION OF WEIGHTING, I REALLY DON'T KNOW.
>>CHUCK GOMES: LET ME GIVE YOU A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE. REGIONAL PRESENCES IS AN ISSUE THAT APPEARS TO BE -- MAYBE HAVE DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE WORLD.
HOW, FROM EXERCISES LIKE THIS, ARE YOU GOING TO EVER NARROW THAT DOWN SO ICANN HAS SOME DATA THAT THEY CAN REALLY REACT APPROPRIATELY?
>>VINT CERF: ACTUALLY, IF IT'S OKAY, I'D LIKE TO REACT TO THAT. THIS EXERCISE HAS A KIND OF A FUNNY FEELING TO IT. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT STRATEGIC PLANNING IS A STATISTICAL MATTER. I THINK IT'S A MATTER OF UNDERSTANDING AND INSIGHT INTO WHAT THE ORGANIZATION HAS TO DO. AND UNLESS WE -- I FEEL PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR FAILING TO PROVIDE, IN THIS DISCUSSION AND IN OTHERS, A CLEAR DESCRIPTION OF WHAT ICANN'S OBJECTIVES SHOULD BE. THEY ARE LIMITED. THIS IS NOT -- IT'S NOT HARD TO SAY WHAT THOSE OBJECTIVES ARE. IT SHOULDN'T BE HARD.
SO WHEN YOU SAY IT'S DIFFICULT AND COMPLEX AND HARD TO DESCRIBE, THAT'S -- I RESIST THIS BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT SHOULDN'T BE THAT HARD TO DESCRIBE.
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I THINK THAT WE CAN ESTABLISH BASIC STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES.
THEN THE QUESTION WILL BE WHO WILL CARRY OUT THOSE -- HOW -- YOU KNOW, WHO WILL CARRY OUT THE PIECES OF THE OBJECTIVES?
AND I WANT TO ARGUE THAT THERE ARE MORE PIECES IN ACHIEVING GOALS LIKE KEEPING THE INTERNET RUNNING IN A RELIABLE WAY THAN ARE ENTIRELY WITHIN THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ICANN.
SO ONE OF THE NEXT STEPS THAT YOU HAVE TO ASK IS, WELL, WHO ARE THE OTHER PARTIES?
WHAT RELATIONSHIP MIGHT THEY HAVE WITH ICANN?
WHAT IS OUR PART IN ACHIEVING THOSE OBJECTIVES?
AND ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE A FAIRLY LIMITED COLLECTION OF SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES AND RESOURCES.
AND SO I'M FEELING INTENSELY GUILTY FOR NOT BEING -- STANDING UP HERE AND SAYING WHAT THOSE THINGS ARE AND LAYING IT OUT FOR YOU.
IT'S NOT THAT I SHOULD KNOW IT ANY BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE.
BUT IF THE CHAIRMAN DOESN'T STAND UP AND DO THAT, THEN IT'S PRETTY DEFICIENT.
SO I DON'T MEAN TO STAND UP HERE AND FLAGELLATE MYSELF.
BUT I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
I THINK WE NEED TO LAY OUT WHAT THE FUNDAMENTAL OBJECTIVES ARE AND THEN TRY TO LAY A MATRIX ON TOP OF THAT OF WHERE THE PIECES ARE THAT DO THAT, THAT TRY TO ACHIEVE THAT OBJECTIVE.
SO I'LL PERSONALLY TRY HARD TO DO THAT.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: IN MY OWN PRACTICE HELPING PEOPLE DO PLANNING, THE PLACE THAT MOST OFTEN LEADS TO CONFUSION AND FAILED PLANS IS AROUND IDENTITY AND PURPOSE.
AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT CLEAR ALONG THE LINES THAT VINT HAS SAID, IT MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO DO THE PLANNING.
SO IF WE CAN GET CLARITY AROUND THAT, I SEE THAT AS HAVING MUCH GREATER BENEFIT THAN DOING SOME STATISTICS.
>>MARILYN CADE: YEAH, I DO WANT TO ADDRESS THAT, BECAUSE, ACTUALLY, CHUCK AND I AND GRANT AND MAUREEN CUBBERLEY AND MARK MCFADDEN WERE ALL HAVING THIS NOT A DEBATE, BUT A DISCUSSION WITH YOU ABOUT WHAT WE WERE THINKING OF, I THINK, AS NOT SO MUCH A STATISTICAL STUDY, BUT ALMOST A QUALITATIVE DATA INPUT OF WHAT -- IT'S NOT -- MAYBE IT'S NOT A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE, BUT IT COULD BE A PRETTY GOOD SAMPLE THAT WOULD HELP TO GET TO, VINT, SOME OF THE IDEAS THAT REFLECT WHAT THE DIFFERENT SOS THINK.
AND I THINK THAT COULD STILL BE A VALUABLE EXERCISE, PATRICK.
AND, BELIEVE ME, I KNOW IT'S NOT STATISTICALLY VALID, HAVING DONE BOTH KINDS OF SURVEYS MYSELF.
BUT IT -- THIS HAS BEEN, IN SOME WAYS -- THIS LITTLE EXERCISE WE JUST WENT THROUGH IN DEVELOPING THOSE QUESTIONS, IN SOME WAYS, THAT WAS A KIND OF A VERY LIGHT SURVEY OF THE KINDS OF QUESTIONS THAT PEOPLE HERE THINK WOULD GENERATE THE KIND OF INFORMATION.
AND I THINK MAYBE WE WERE CONFUSING YOU WITH WHAT WE WERE ASKING BEFORE.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: THAT'S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE.
I DO CONFUSION VERY WELL.
>>VINT CERF: JUST TO TRY TO AMPLIFY ON WHAT MARILYN SAID, MY BELIEF, MARILYN, IS THAT IT ISN'T STATISTICAL VALIDITY THAT I CARE ABOUT HERE.
IT'S REALLY INSIGHT AND UNDERSTANDING.
>>MARILYN CADE: RIGHT, RIGHT.
>>VINT CERF: SO I DON'T MIND THAT IT'S NOT STATISTICALLY VALID.
WHAT I DO CARE ABOUT IS THE SUBSTANCE AND RECOGNITION OF WHAT IT IS WE NEED TO DO.
>>MARILYN CADE: RIGHT.
>>ALEJANDRO PISANTY: VINT, INDEED, I FIND IT INTRIGUING THAT ONCE A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT THAN THE QUEUE TO THE MICROPHONE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED, WE SEE VERY DIFFERENT EXPRESSIONS ARISING ABOUT THIS SPECIFIC ISSUE.
AND IT MAY BE -- I MEAN, WE SEE IT ALREADY IN A FEW OTHERS, ESPECIALLY ABOUT REGIONAL PRESENCES.
IT STRIKES ME THAT AMONG OTHER POSSIBLE DIFFERENCES -- AND STATISTICS, AGAIN, HERE ARE HARD TO MAKE.
MARILYN HAS MENTIONED FOUR PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPRESSED THEMSELVES AGAINST REGIONAL PRESENCES, BUT HAS OBTAINED MAYBE TEN OR 15 EXPRESSIONS.
BUT WHAT APPEARS QUITE IMMEDIATELY IS THAT A NUMBER OF THE EXPRESSIONS THAT HAVE BEEN GARNERED IN THIS PROCESS COME FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE THEM IN THE NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE SESSIONS.
PROBABLY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN REGIONS OUTSIDE THE U.S., EUROPE, AND -- HOW TO CALL THIS? -- THE ANGLO-SOUTH PACIFIC ARE DEMANDING SOMETHING AND MAY EVEN FEEL THAT THE U.S., EUROPE, AND THE ANGLO-SOUTH PACIFIC ARE ACTUALLY RESISTING ESTABLISHING THIS TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP.
I HOPE IT'S NOT THE CASE.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: RAIMUNDO.
>>RAIMUNDO BECA: I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DIFFERENT STATEMENT.
I DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY -- I DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY THE NAME OF A PARADOX IN STATISTICS.
I SHOULD REMEMBER THAT.
THE PARADOX IS THE FOLLOWING: NORMALLY, ONE PERSON -- NORMALLY, NUMBER PERSONS -- IF THEY PREFER A TO B AND B TO C, THEY WILL ALMOST ALWAYS PREFER A TO C.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: TRANSITIVITY.
>>RAIMUNDO BECA: BUT WHEN YOU MAKE THAT IN AN AVERAGE, THAT IS NOT ALWAYS TRUE.
MAYBE -- MAYBE A POPULATION -- YOU MAKE THE STATISTICS.
MAYBE THEY PREFER A TO B, B TO C, BUT C TO A.
IT COULD -- IT HAPPENS.
AND THAT -- AND MAYBE WE WILL HAVE THAT IN THIS CASE.
BUT WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IS TO WRITE A STORY.
AND THE STORY SHOULD REFLECT THE INPUT THAT COMES, WHAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR.
BUT THE STORY HAS TO HAVE TRANSITIVITY.
THE STORY CANNOT BE INCONSISTENT.
BECAUSE THE STORY HAS TO BE BOUGHT.
WHEN YOU GO TO THE WALL STREET TO SELL EQUITIES, THE GUYS WILL TELL YOU, WELL, HAVE FIVE MINUTES, TELL ME YOUR STORY.
IF YOU'RE NOT ABLE IN THESE FIVE MINUTES TO TELL A STORY WHICH IS CONSISTENT, ACCURATE, AND ATTRACTIVE, WELL, YOUR FIVE MINUTES ARE OVER AND YOUR STORY HAS NOT BEEN SOLD.
SO THE STORY HAS TO BE WRITTEN IN A WAY WHICH WILL BE CONSISTENT, ACCURATE, AND ATTRACTIVE FOR THE STAKEHOLDERS TO BUY IT.
>>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: I'D ALEX, I DON'T MIND AT ALL IF THE ANGLO-SOUTH PACIFIC, WHICH I OBVIOUSLY REPRESENT A PORTION, HAS ANY OTHER DIFFERENT VIEW FROM ANY OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.
IN FACT, I THINK THAT'S WHAT THIS PROCESS IS DESIGNED TO ELICIT.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S A PROBLEM AT ALL.
AND WE CAN SEE IT HAPPENING, FOR EXAMPLE, WITHIN THE REGION IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION, THE CCTLD MEMBERS OF THAT REGION HAVE EXPRESSED THEMSELVES VERY CLEARLY AS AGAINST REGIONAL OFFICES, BUT THE ALAC MEMBERS ARE VERY KEEN ON IT.
SO WHAT THIS PROCESS HAS TO DO IS SORT OUT WHAT THAT MEANS TO WHOM.
AND IT'S AT THAT POINT THAT WE GO BACK TO THE REFRAIN FROM EARLIER.
THE WAY WE SORT OUT THOSE DIFFERENCES IS BY PRIORITIZING THEM.
AND THE KEY ELEMENT IN ALLOWING US TO PRIORITIZE THEM, UNFORTUNATELY FOR SOME, IS TO LOOK AT THEIR COST.
AND ONCE WE REALIZE THAT, IN FACT, THERE'S ACTUALLY MINIMAL COST, MOST PEOPLE MIGHT EVEN SAY, WELL, YOU MAY WANT TO TAKE IT OFF THE OBJECTION LIST AND GET ON WITH IT.
UNTIL WE CAN MAKE THOSE LINKS, THEN WE ALL -- I'M NOT SURE QUITE WHAT THE APPROPRIATE METAPHOR IS.
IT WOULD BE CONFUSING TO THE NON-ENGLISH SPEAKER.
SO IT'S VERY DIFFICULT WHEN WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE METRICS ARE.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: THANKS VERY MUCH, PETER.
VINT.
>>VINT CERF: JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS OBSERVATION, THAT MAYBE THE INTERNET ISN'T DEVELOPING THE SAME WAY EVERYWHERE.
SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD ARE MUCH MORE MOBILE, MUCH MORE DEPENDENT ON RADIO MOBILITY THAN OTHER PARTS ARE.
THE APPLICATIONS THAT ARE POPULAR IN SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD DIFFER.
THE NEED THAT DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD HAVE FOR THE SERVICES THAT ICANN OFFERS MIGHT TURN OUT TO VARY.
SO I THINK THE EXERCISE THAT UNCOVERS THAT, AS PETER SAID, IT'S PRETTY IMPORTANT TO US, BECAUSE WE MIGHT DISCOVER THAT THE PRIORITIES WILL VARY FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER.
THAT MAKES OUR JOB A LITTLE HARDER, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY OF COMPARING DIFFERENT PRIORITIES IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF OUR WORLD.
BUT THAT'S PART OF WHAT THIS WHOLE EXERCISE SHOULD BE INTENDED TO UNCOVER.
>>PATRICK SHARRY: AND, YOU KNOW, TO COME BACK TO MY THEME OF BEFORE, I THINK IT'S AN AREA WHERE THE CC COMMUNITY AND THE ALAC COMMUNITY CAN HELP PROVIDE US WITH SOME GUIDANCE ON SOME OF THESE THINGS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW -- AND PETER'S EXAMPLE THERE WAS EXACTLY RIGHT, THAT THEY WILL KNOW WHICH MEMBERS OF THE CC COMMUNITY FEEL A PARTICULAR WAY, WHICH MEMBERS FEEL ANOTHER WAY.
AND WE CAN ALSO WORK WITH THEM TO, AS WE WERE SAYING MUCH EARLIER IN THE PROCESS, TO ASCERTAIN WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE BY THIS REGIONAL PRESENCE OR WHATEVER IT IS, AND TO WORK FROM THE CHALLENGE THROUGH TO THE SOLUTION RATHER THAN DEBATING THE SOLUTIONS WITHOUT BEING CLEAR WHAT THE CHALLENGE IS.
OKAY.
I THINK WE'VE PROBABLY SPENT ENOUGH TIME IN THIS OVEN.
I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR FEEDBACK.
WE'LL GET THE STUFF THAT WE PROMISED THAT WOULD BE POSTED POSTED.
WE'RE LOOKING VERY MUCH FORWARD TO THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND ADVISORY COMMITTEES TO KEEP OUR TIMETABLE RUNNING SMOOTHLY.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN VANCOUVER WITH A DRAFT OF THE PLAN THAT YOU'VE ALREADY HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT BECAUSE IT WILL HAVE BEEN POSTED IN ADVANCE OF THAT MEETING.
THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
(APPLAUSE.)