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>>VINT CERF: GOOD AFTERNOON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
I'M VINT CERF, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF ICANN.
AND I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A QUICK UPDATE ON OUR DELAY.
PAUL TWOMEY, WHO IS SCHEDULED TO MAKE THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT, IS JUST FINISHING UP ANOTHER MEETING AND SHOULD BE HERE MOMENTARILY.
IN THE MEANTIME, I WANT TO DRAW ATTENTION TO SEVERAL THINGS WHICH I THINK MIGHT BE OF INTEREST -- THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO YOU.
FIRST OF ALL, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT LAST NIGHT WAS ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR PARTIES I'VE EVER BEEN TO IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.
AND I WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR HOST, RACHID SEFRIOUI, WHO IS THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF ANRT, WHO HOSTED THAT EVENT FOR US.
I'M TOLD THAT THE BUILDING THAT WE WERE IN IS ACTUALLY ONLY 14 YEARS OLD AND THAT THE MAN WHO BUILT IT, MR. BEN FALLA, ALTHOUGH HE PASSED AWAY RECENTLY, HIS SONS CONTINUE ON WITH THE TRADITION THAT THEIR FATHER STARTED, AND THEY CONTINUE TO ADD TO THE COMPLEX, AS IF IT WERE POSSIBLE TO ADD MORE TO THAT THAN IT ALREADY HAS.
SO WE WILL BE OFFICIALLY THANKING ANRT FOR THEIR HOSPITALITY, BUT I WANTED TO CONFIRM THAT I THINK WE ALL HAD A VERY GOOD TIME.
I ALSO FEAR THAT NO ONE WILL EVER HOST ANOTHER ICANN MEETING AGAIN, BECAUSE THEY'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO COME AS CLOSE TO WHAT -- THE PARTY LAST NIGHT THAT THEY HAD IN THE FIRST PLACE.
SECOND, THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT HERE HAS BEEN EXTRAORDINARY.
SOME OF YOU IN THE HOTEL WILL HAVE DISCOVERED VERY GOOD BROADBAND WIRELESS CONNECTIONS IN THE HOTEL.
THE REASON THERE'S SUCH GOOD CONNECTIVITY IS THAT THERE ARE 250 ACCESS POINTS IN THAT HOTEL.
THERE ARE -- THE GROUP OF SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE MADE ALL OF THE CONNECTIVITY IN THIS CONGRESS COMPLEX AND IN THE HOTEL ACCESSIBLE TO US.
THE ORGANIZATION OF THAT EFFORT IS BY THE UNIVERSITE MOHAMED V.
AND ONE OF THE PROFESSORS AT THE UNIVERSITY, BELHAJ EL GRAINI, IS THE MAN WHO ORGANIZED A LOT OF THIS WORK.
BUT HE ALSO DREW ON TWO CONTRACTORS, BOUGARN WADII, AND E INFORMATIQUE, WHICH IS RUN BY ABDELAALI JABRANE.
AND WE WILL, AGAIN, OFFICIALLY BE THANKING THESE PEOPLE.
BUT I JUST THOUGHT I'D DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO AN EXTRAORDINARY PIECE OF WORK.
TELECOM MAROC SUPPLIED 34-MEGABIT SERVICE INTO THIS COMPLEX IN ORDER TO SUPPORT US.
I ALSO WANTED TO DRAW TO YOUR ATTENTION ANOTHER INTERESTING MEETING THAT'S COMING UP IN JANUARY.
IT'S THE 15TH TO THE 19TH OF JANUARY, 2007.
IT'S THE 7TH MEETING OF THE MOTION PICTURE EXPERTS GROUP, THE MPEG GROUP, THE PEOPLE WHO BROUGHT US MPEG 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, AND OTHERS.
THEY'RE HOLDING IT HERE AGAIN IN MARRAKECH.
IT'S OCCURRING TO ME THAT THIS LOCATION HAS A FASCINATING CHARACTER.
IT'S NEAR THE MEDITERRANEAN, IT IS IN NORTH AFRICA, IT IS NOT FAR FROM EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST.
IT'S A VERY CENTRAL LOCATION FOR THIS PART OF THE WORLD.
AND IF THIS COMPLEX IS ANY INDICATION, IT WILL BECOME A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING POINT FOR HIGH-TECH COMMUNITIES.
AND I CAN SEE NOW THAT IN ADDITION TO ICANN, THE MPEG GROUP WILL BE ENJOYING THIS FACILITY IN EARLY JANUARY.
I WANT TO TURN NOW TO TWO OTHER ITEMS, RATHER SOMBER ONES.
AND I WANT TO ASK YOUR HELP.
AS I -- AS I SUPPOSE MOST OF YOU KNOW, OUR BOARD MEMBER, PETER DENGATE THRUSH, HAD TO RETURN TO WELLINGTON AFTER GETTING SOME TERRIBLY TRAGIC NEWS THAT HIS WIFE, HIS BROTHER, HIS FATHER, AND HIS FATHER'S PARTNER, HAD ALL BEEN KILLED IN A CAR ACCIDENT JUST SHORTLY, I GUESS, BEFORE HE ARRIVED HERE IN MARRAKECH.
WE SENT HIM BACK TO WELLINGTON IN THE COMPANY OF KEITH DAVIDSON, A GOOD FRIEND OF HIS.
SO HE'S NOW IN WELLINGTON, ANTICIPATING THREE FUNERALS STARTING ON FRIDAY.
AND I HAVE -- I HAVE WRITTEN A LETTER ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD AND, REALLY, ALL OF US IN THE ICANN FAMILY, WHICH I AM NOT GOING TO READ HERE.
BUT WE HAVE SOME SIGN-UP SHEETS WITH JUST SIMPLE LINES ON THEM FOR YOU TO ADD YOUR NAME TO THE LIST OF PEOPLE WHO WISH PETER WELL.
IN THE ENTRY AT THE -- ONCE YOU COME INTO THIS BUILDING, THERE IS A KIND OF A REGISTRATION DESK.
AND YOU SHOULD SEE -- I'M SORRY, I DON'T REMEMBER WHETHER IT'S ON THE LEFT OR THE RIGHT.
YOU SHOULD SEE A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN SIGN UP.
OR I PUT SHEETS DOWN HERE ON THE STAGE FOR YOU TO TAKE AND TO SIGN.
NOW, PLEASE DON'T TAKE A SHEET AND JUST SIGN ONE NAME ON IT AND THEN TURN THE SHEET IN.
IT'S INTENDED FOR LOTS OF US TO SIGN ON EACH SHEET.
SUSAN CRAWFORD HAS GRACIOUSLY CONSENTED TO REPRESENT ALL OF US IN WELLINGTON AT THE FUNERAL OF LIZ -- OF PETER'S WIFE, LIZ, ON MONDAY.
SO WE THANK SUSAN VERY MUCH FOR TAKING ON THAT SAD TASK.
BUT SHE'LL CARRY ALL OF THESE PAPERS WITH HER.
SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO SIGN THEM, IF YOU SO CHOOSE, BEFORE SUSAN LEAVES, WHICH I GUESS WILL BE SATURDAY?
>>SUSAN CRAWFORD: THANK YOU, VINT.
AND I'M VERY GLAD TO BE ABLE TO REPRESENT THE ICANN COMMUNITY AT LIZ'S FUNERAL.
I'M LEAVING FRIDAY AFTER THE BOARD MEETING.
IF YOU HAVE A PERSONAL NOTE YOU'D LIKE ME TO CARRY WITH ME ON THE PLANE BACK TO WELLINGTON, I'D BE DELIGHTED TO DO THAT FOR YOU.
AND I'LL DO MY VERY BEST TO EXPRESS OUR CONDOLENCES ON THIS TRAGIC OCCASION.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU, SUSAN.
SO THAT'S THE SITUATION FOR PETER.
RIGHT NOW, WHAT I THINK HE NEEDS IS TO KNOW THAT WE ARE KEEPING HIM IN OUR THOUGHTS.
WE HAVE ANOTHER NOT-SO-HAPPY OCCURRENCE.
SOME OF YOU WILL KNOW THAT -- OH, GOSH, IT'S -- WOLFGANG, SORRY, BRAIN IS NOT FUNCTIONING, WOLFGANG KLEINWAECHTER FELL DOWN THE STAIRS EARLIER THIS WEEK AND HAD AN EXTREMELY BAD BROKEN LEG, SUFFICIENTLY BAD THAT IT REQUIRED ALL KINDS OF SURGERY, REPAIR OF TENDONS AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
HE'S NOW BACK IN GERMANY.
AND I HAVE ANOTHER SIGNUP SHEET FOR YOU TO TAKE.
AGAIN, PLEASE DON'T USE UP ALL OF THE SHEET WITH ONE PERSON.
WE WILL SEND THAT TO HIM, CARRYING OUR THOUGHTS AND WISHES AND HOPE FOR A RAPID AND COMPLETE RECOVERY.
I'LL TAKE THIS TIME TO ASK EACH OF YOU TO PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL GOING UP AND DOWN STAIRS, WALKING ACROSS STREETS, TAKING SHOWERS.
WE DON'T NEED ANY MORE BAD NEWS OF THIS KIND FOR THE REST OF THIS MEETING.
SO THAT BRINGS US UP TO THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM.
AND I SEE THAT THE CEO HAS NOW ESCAPED AGAIN.
ARE YOU HIDING UNDER THE TABLE?
OH, YOU'RE HIDING OVER WITH STEVE CONTE.
SO I WILL INVITE PAUL TO MAKE HIS PRESIDENT'S REPORT.
LET ME SAY BEFORE YOU START, PAUL, THAT WE ARE GOING TO PERMUTE THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA.
I'M GOING TO DELAY ALL OF THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION REPORTS UNTIL AFTER THE BREAK, WHICH IS SCHEDULED AT ABOUT 3:15.
I'M GOING TO ADVANCE THE REPORTS FROM THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE BY GEORGE SADOWSKY, THE IDN UPDATE FROM TINA DAM, THE IANA PROCESSES REPORT FROM DAVID CONRAD, AND THE OMBUDSMAN REPORT FROM FRANK FOWLIE, I'M GOING TO PROMOTE ALL OF THOSE UP TO 2:00.
THE REASON IS THAT THE GNSO AND CCNSO, IN PARTICULAR, HAD JUST FINISHED NOT LONG AGO THEIR COUNCIL MEETINGS, AND THEY JUST HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO ORGANIZE A COHERENT REPORT TO US.
SO WE'RE GIVING THEM AN EXTRA BIT OF TIME.
SO, PAUL, I TURN THIS NOW OVER TO YOU FOR THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: THANK YOU, VINT, BOARD MEMBERS, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.
I HAVE A PRESENTATION HERE ON THE REPORT, AS USUAL.
I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO TALK THROUGH THIS ONE VERY QUICKLY, I THINK, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE POINTS HAVE BEEN MADE IN VARIOUS MEETINGS DURING THE WEEK SO FAR, AND ALSO BECAUSE I WANT TO FLAG SOME THINGS THAT MIGHT BE EMERGING DURING DISCUSSIONS BUT WHICH HAVE NOT YET COME TO FULL FRUITION, PARTICULARLY, THERE'S BEEN CONVERSATIONS IN THE CCNSO, GNSO, AND VARIOUS THINGS THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO CLOSE THE LOOP ON.
SO FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS REPORT, I THINK I'LL BE FAIRLY BRIEF.
I'LL ASK STEVE TO HELP.
JUST A REMINDER THAT WE ARE NOW COMING TO THE CONCLUSION OF THE OPERATIONAL PLANNING CYCLE, AND THAT HAS BEEN UP -- THAT PLANNING CYCLE, AS YOU'LL RECALL, WE HAVE A TWO-PART PLANNING CYCLE.
WE DO A STRATEGIC PLAN, CONSULTATION PROCESS, IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
AND THEN THE OPERATIONAL PLAN IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
THE SCOPE OF THE FINANCIAL -- OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS A ROLLING THREE-YEAR PLAN.
THE OPERATIONAL PLAN IS AN ANNUALIZED PLAN.
AND THAT, THEN, GETS INCORPORATED INTO THE BUDGET.
SO WE'RE PRESENTLY FINISHING THAT, IF YOU READ THROUGH THE TIMETABLE.
THE DRAFT OPERATING PLAN WAS POSTED ON THE 21ST OF MARCH, 2006, FOR COMMENT, DRAWING ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WAS APPROVED IN WELLINGTON.
THE REVISED OPERATING PLAN WAS POSTED ON THE 4TH OF MAY.
THERE WAS INPUT RECEIVED FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN IT WAS -- IT WAS INCORPORATED IN THE BUDGET, WHICH IS POSTED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE 17TH OF MAY ACCORDING TO THE BYLAWS.
AND WE RECEIVED AGAIN FURTHER INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY.
WE'VE EVEN RECEIVED INPUT THIS -- DURING THE WEEK. AND REVISED BUDGET WAS POSTED THE 22ND OF JUNE, AND THIS WILL BE COMING BEFORE THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL ON THE 30TH OF JUNE.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME AMENDMENT ON THE OPERATIONAL PLAN SINCE ITS POSTING, AND INPUTS FROM THE COMMUNITY.
BUT WE EXPECT THIS TO GO FORWARD IN THE -- ON FRIDAY.
AN OBSERVATION I WISH TO MAKE TO THE COMMUNITY BEFORE I MOVE TO THE STRATEGIC PLANNING SECTION.
THE OPERATIONAL PLAN REFLECTS MANY PROJECTS PUT FORWARD BY THE COMMUNITY WHICH THEY THOUGHT WERE IMPORTANT TO MEET OBJECTIVES FOR THIS COMING YEAR.
THE STAFF WILL BE TAKING THOSE PLANS AND INCORPORATING THEM IN A SERIES OF PROJECT PLANNING WORKSHOPS THROUGHOUT JULY AND INCORPORATING THEM INTO A WHOLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL PROJECT PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.
I CAN GUARANTEE TO THE COMMUNITY NOW THAT WHEN WE HAVE FINISHED THAT PIECE OF WORK, WE WILL FIND THAT CERTAIN MONTHS OF THE YEAR ARE WELL OVERCOMMITTED IN TERMS OF CAPABILITY OR CAPACITY.
SO WE WILL BE REPORTING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY ON SOME TIMELINES ON -- INITIALLY BACK TO THE BOARD -- TIMELINES ON THE STRATEGIC -- ON THESE PROJECTS IN TERMS OF IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULES, BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE MANAGED, OBVIOUSLY, TO ENSURE THERE'S CAPACITY.
SO THAT'S A PIECE OF WORK THAT HAS NOT YET BEEN DONE, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THE FINALIZATION OF THE OPERATIONAL PLAN BY THE COMMUNITY AND THEN THE BOARD.
MOVING ON, THEN, TO THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN, THE -- WE'VE BEGUN THE NEW PLANNING CYCLE HERE IN MARRAKECH.
THERE HAVE BEEN CONSULTATIONS HELD IN ENGLISH, FRENCH, SPANISH, ARABIC, AND -- I NEED TO ASSUME THE SPANISH -- HAS THE SPANISH CONSULTATION TAKEN PLACE?
IT HAS, YES.
YES.
THE REASON I ASK IS THAT THE ORIGINAL TIME IT WAS SCHEDULED SEEMED TO HAVE INTERFERED WITH AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT EVENT FOR LATIN AMERICAN PARTICIPANTS AND THEY WERE ALL AT A BAR WATCHING A BRAZILIAN SOCCER GAME.
AND -- AND WE HAD TO SHIFT IT AROUND.
FURTHER CONSULTATIONS ONLINE WILL COME NEXT MONTH.
AND WE EXPECT THE STRATEGIC PLAN DRAFT TO BE PRESENTED IN BRAZIL.
I EXPECT, TO BE TRUTHFUL, THAT THAT STRATEGIC PLAN, HAVING BUILT ON THE HARD WORK THAT WENT INTO LAST YEAR'S PLAN, WILL BE A SOMEWHAT EASIER EVENT THAN LAST YEAR.
ONE OF THE STRATEGIC ISSUES THAT THE ORGANIZATION IS DEALING WITH THROUGH THIS YEAR IS THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.
AND I HAVE SPOKEN TO THIS IN SEVERAL PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS.
I WILL JUST YET AGAIN POINT OUT THAT THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT IS RUNNING A PROCESS WHERE IT IS LOOKING FOR INPUT FROM THE AFFECTED STAKEHOLDERS AS TO THE MATURATION AND LONG-TERM STRENGTH OF THE MULTISTAKEHOLDER MODEL THAT IS ICANN.
THAT THE -- THAT WE ARE ALSO RUNNING A PARALLEL PROCESS UNDER THE PRESIDENT'S STRATEGIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
I'LL COME BACK TO THAT IN A SECOND.
THE COMMITTEE IS HOSTING CONSULTATIONS ON SORT OF QUESTIONS DIRECTED TOWARDS THE LONG-TERM STRENGTH OF THE ICANN MODEL.
IT WILL HOLD A WEB-ENABLED, ONLINE CONSULTATION PROCESS ON THE 21ST OF JULY.
AND THERE WILL BE, OBVIOUSLY, FEEDBACK TO THE COMMUNITY ON THAT.
WE EXPECT TO PUT OUT THE DETAILS OF THIS PIECE OF WORK BEFORE THE END OF THE MEETING.
AND I THINK THAT WILL BE IMPORTANT.
THE COMMITTEE IS ALSO CONTINUING TO EXPAND ITS MEMBERSHIP TO ENSURE THAT IT IS A FULLY REPRESENTATIVE COMMITTEE.
AND I'M PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO ANNOUNCE THAT MEMBERS OF THE ALAC ARE COMING AND PUTTING TO THE COMMITTEE SOME POTENTIAL NAMES THAT MIGHT ALSO BE INCLUDED IN THE COMMITTEE'S MEMBERSHIP.
BUT WE ARE LOOKING FOR SUGGESTIONS OF NAMES OF PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE VALUABLE MEMBERS FOR THAT COMMITTEE.
THE COMMITTEE'S MEMBERSHIP TENDS TO BE PEOPLE WHO HAVE A PERSPECTIVE ABOUT THE ICANN FUNCTION AND MISSION, BUT ALSO A PERSPECTIVE OF THE OUTSIDE ENVIRONMENT WHICH IS AFFECTING THE WAY IN WHICH ICANN HAS TO OPERATE.
INTERNATIONALIZED DOMAIN NAMES HAS BEEN A MAJOR ISSUE FOR THIS WEEK.
AND PEOPLE HAVE DISCUSSED IT, INSTEAD OF BEING BORING, I'M JUST GOING TO LEAVE THAT AS A TOPIC THAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED IN DETAIL.
I WOULD MAKE THE FOLLOWING OBSERVATION, JUST AS A POTENTIALLY EARLY WARNING OBSERVATION, POTENTIALLY, TO THE BOARD AND TO OTHERS.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME DISCUSSION IN SOME OF THESE MEETINGS AND IN CORRIDORS ABOUT POTENTIALLY THE CONCEPT OF SOME SORT OF PARALLEL TABLE TO THE -- IN IDN FOR THE ISO3166, PART 1, LIST.
AND THIS -- THERE'S BEEN SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT IN VARIOUS MEETINGS.
AND THERE MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY BEFORE THE MEETING CLOSES, CHAIRMAN, TO HAVE A MORE DEFINITIVE SUMMATION OF THAT THINKING COME TO THE BOARD.
NOT FOR ANY DECISION, BY THE WAY; JUST SOME SORT OF REPORTING BACK OF THE EVOLUTION OF THAT THINKING.
I THINK OF THE POLICY DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY PRESENTLY UNDER WAY, CLEARLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PART IS THE GENERIC -- THE NEW GENERIC TOP-LEVEL DOMAIN POLICY.
THIS IS -- THIS HAS HAD FURTHER DISCUSSION THIS WEEK.
AND I THINK WE'RE VERY PLEASED THAT THERE IS CERTAINLY AN INCREASING ENGAGEMENT ACROSS CONSTITUENCIES TO TALK ABOUT, AND SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS, TO TALK ABOUT THE ISSUES EARLY ON.
I THINK THE DISCUSSION WITH THE GAC THIS WEEK WAS A VERY VALUABLE ONE.
AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO ENFORCE.
>>VINT CERF: PAUL, WE'RE HAVING SOME DIFFICULTY HEARING YOU UP HERE.
STEVE CONTE, THE MICROPHONE -- THE SPEAKERS ON THIS SYSTEM NEED TO BE TURNED UP.
EITHER THAT, OR WE NEED TO ISSUE HEARING AIDS TO EVERYONE ON THE BOARD.
I ALREADY HAVE MINE, BUT -- SO, PAUL, YOU NEED TO DE-AUSTRALIANIZE YOUR PRESENTATION AND SPEAK MORE CLEARLY THAN USUAL.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN.
I SUPPOSE I'M SITTING SOMEWHERE IN FRONT OF THE SPEAKER, SO IT SOUNDS INCREDIBLY LOUD JUST WHERE I AM.
BUT, OKAY, I APPRECIATE THAT.
>>VINT CERF: THERE'S A SPEAKER AIMED NOT TOO FAR OFF YOUR STARBOARD BOW.
AND THAT'S PROBABLY PART OF THE REASON YOU THINK EVERYTHING IS FINE.
BUT FOR THE REST OF US, IT'S NOT WORKING TOO WELL.
LET'S TRY AGAIN.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: WELL, I SUGGEST WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, STEVE.
SORRY.
THE -- THE NOTICE TO THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO TO THE BOARD, THAT THE -- THERE WAS A POLICY PROPOSAL -- GLOBAL POLICY PROPOSAL FOR IPV6 HAS BEEN ADOPTED IN ALL THE REGIONAL INTERNET REGISTRIES.
THAT THE ASO ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS CURRENTLY REVIEWING THAT GLOBAL POLICY PROPOSAL FROM A PROCEDURAL PERSPECTIVE.
THE NEXT STEP IS THAT THE ASO ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL FORWARD THAT PROPOSAL TO THE ICANN BOARD FOR RATIFICATION.
SO THE -- THAT'S JUST A NOTE TO THE COMMUNITY AND A NOTE TO THE BOARD.
POOR STEVE IS RUNNING BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS.
NEXT SLIDE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS CERTAINLY BEEN, I THINK, A GREAT SUCCESS IN THE LAST PERIOD SINCE WELLINGTON HAS BEEN THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORKS THAT HAVE BEEN SIGNED WITH COUNTRY CODE TOP-LEVEL DOMAIN MANAGERS.
YOU WILL RECALL THAT THE FIRST OF THESE NEW-GENERATION, IF YOU LIKE, FRAMEWORKS WAS SIGNED WITH DNIC IN WELLINGTON FOR .DE.
WE HAVE SINCE SIGNED FRAMEWORKS FOR CHILE, NAMIBIA, CHRISTMAS ISLAND, NORFOLK ISLAND, LATVIA.
BUT I WOULD PARTICULARLY LIKE TO NOTE THAT THE MEETING THAT TOOK PLACE RECENTLY AT LACTLD (INAUDIBLE) REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CCS OF CHILE AND MEXICO, WORKING WITH ICANN STAFF TO EVOLVE A MODEL WHICH WOULD BE APPLICABLE FOR THE LATIN AMERICAN CCTLDS.
I'D NOTE THAT THERE'S QUITE A NUMBER OF EUROPEAN CCTLDS IN CONVERSATION AROUND THESE ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORKS, THAT WE'VE HAD APPROACHES FROM OTHERS.
SO THIS SEEMS TO BE BUILDING SOME MOMENTUM.
AND I THINK IT'S SHOWING THAT THE SORT OF -- THE MODEL THAT WE HAVE HELPED DEVELOP WITH THE ADVICE OF THE CCNSO'S MEMBERS, OR THE BORDER GROUP EARLY ON, HAS NOW PROVED TO BE VERY SUCCESSFUL.
I DON'T KNOW WHETHER DAVID IS ACTUALLY DUE TO SPEAK TO THE PUBLIC SESSION OR NOT ON THE IANA.
I THINK THAT PROBABLY WOULD BE A PRETTY GOOD IDEA.
>>VINT CERF: YES, HE IS SCHEDULED, PROBABLY IN THE 2:00 TO 3:00 TIME FRAME.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: WELL, THEN I SUGGEST I WON'T SPEAK TO THE IANA AND I'LL LEAVE IT FOR DAVID TO PRESENT.
I THINK ALSO I WILL LEAVE THE ALAC, ANY COMMENT ON THE ALAC, TO THE ALAC THEMSELVES, WHO ARE DUE TO SPEAK I THINK NOW TOMORROW TO THE BOARD.
>>VINT CERF: THEY'RE DUE TO SPEAK TODAY.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: I THINK, CHAIRMAN, THEIR REQUEST IS THAT THEY COULD ACTUALLY SHIFT ON THE AGENDA, IF THEY COULD MAKE THEIR PRESENTATION TOMORROW MORNING.
>>VINT CERF: THAT HADN'T REACHED ME.
SO I'LL TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: THANK YOU.
I'D LIKE TO FINISH, CHAIRMAN, WITH A LITTLE REPORT ON THE -- ICANN'S REGIONAL LIAISONS.
THE TEAM HAS BEEN ON BOARD SINCE JANUARY.
WE HAVE REGIONAL LIAISONS FOR THE MIDDLE EAST, SOMEBODY BASED IN CAIRO; FOR EUROPE, SOMEBODY BASED BOTH IN PISA AND BRUSSELS; FOR LATIN AMERICA, BASED IN MEXICO CITY; AND ALSO FOR CANADA AND THE CARIBBEAN.
AND WHILE WE ARE WORKING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, TEETHING PROBLEMS, I THINK SO FAR, THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL.
THESE REGIONAL LIAISONS HAVE WORKED UP BUSINESS PLANS FOR THEIR INITIATIVES.
THEIR BUSINESS PLANS, A KEY PART OF THEM IS ALIGNING WITH ORGANIZATIONS AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY IN THEIR OWN REGION.
WE'RE VERY, VERY COMMITTED TO ENSURING THAT THIS PROGRAM IS A COMPLEMENTARY ONE TO THE REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT ALREADY EXIST AND THERE'S GOING TO BE NO SENSE OF COMPETITION TO THE EXISTING REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, BUT, RATHER, TO BE COMPLEMENTARY TO THEM.
ONE OF THE BIG AREAS, I THINK, WE'RE SEEING IS JUST IN COMMUNICATION AND HELPING AN UNDERSTANDING OF ISSUES THAT ARE EMERGING IN AN ICANN CONTEXT OR AN INTERNET GOVERNANCE CONTEXT.
I THINK ALSO A KEY ROLE HAS BEEN TO HELP IN COORDINATION OF SOME OF THE TRAINING ROLES THAT ICANN STAFF DO, PARTICULARLY JOHN CRAIN, IN CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS PART OF SOME OF THE ROLES WE PLAY, OFTEN, IN CONJUNCTION WITH REGIONAL CC ORGANIZATIONS, OR ISOC, OR OTHER SPECIALIST GROUPS.
THE RESPONSE SO FAR I THINK FROM STAKEHOLDERS HAS BEEN GENERALLY POSITIVE. I WAS JUST IN THE ALAC MEETING WHERE SEVERAL MEMBERS STRONGLY SAID HOW MUCH THEY APPRECIATED THE REGIONAL LIAISONS. AND OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THE TASKS THEY HAVE IS TO HELP WITH THE -- HELP THE ALAC MEMBERS IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE REGIONAL AT-LARGE ORGANIZATIONS.
SO THAT'S A PROCESS GROWING, MOVING SLOWLY, LEARNING STEP BY STEP. BUT I THINK SO FAR, HAS PROVEN TO BE VERY USEFUL.
I THINK FOR THE TIME BEING, CHAIRMAN, THAT FINISHES MY REPORT.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, PAUL.
BEFORE WE TAKE THE NEXT REPORT FROM KURT PRITZ, JUST A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS TO SAY.
I WANT TO INTRODUCE DAVE WODELET WHO IS THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TABLE. DAVE IS THE ASO NOMINEE REPLACING MOUHAMET DIOP, ALTHOUGH MOUHAMET IS NOT REPLACEABLE, SARTORIALLY SPEAKING. HE IS, ACCORDING TO ALL REPORTS, THE MOST POPULAR MEMBER OF THE BOARD WHENEVER THERE ARE TV INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE BECAUSE OF HIS SPECTACULAR ATTIRE. AND YOU CAN SEE HIM SMILING BACK THERE IN THE -- HE IS SMILING BECAUSE HE'S NOT UP HERE, IS WHAT I THINK.
BUT THANK YOU, MOUHAMET, FOR YOUR SERVICE, AND THANK YOU, DAVID, FOR ACCEPTING THIS TASK.
I ALSO AM PLEASED TO TELL YOU THAT THE GNSO HAS RATIFIED RITA RODIN'S REPLACEMENT. MIKE PALAGE WHO IS DOWN IN THE FRONT THERE, IS TO BE REPLACED BY RITA WHO WILL JOIN US PROBABLY TOMORROW, IF WE CAN FIND HER. SHE IS OUT ENJOYING MARRAKECH, THE LAST I HEARD, UNLESS SHE IS HIDING IN THE ROOM HERE SOMEWHERE, AND I HAVEN'T SEEN HER.
SO SHE HAS ONE DAY OF FREEDOM BEFORE HER SENTENCE BEGINS -- SORRY, TERM BEGINS.
ALL RIGHT. KURT PRITZ, WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU ON THE OPERATIONAL PLAN FOR FY '05-'06.
SORRY, THIS SHOULD BE '06 HAD BEEN '07.
>>KURT PRITZ: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AS MANY OF YOU SAW THE 2006 FLAMES FLICKER OUT LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT OF THE CHALLENGES AND HARD WORK THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE.
JUST BRIEFLY, IN THE PAST FISCAL YEAR OUR CASH REVENUES ARE SLIGHTLY OVER PROJECTIONS ASSOCIATION THAT IS GOOD. OUR OPERATING EXPENSES ARE UNDERRUN SOMEWHAT. THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY A GOOD THING. IT'S SORT OF AN INDICATION THAT THINGS AREN'T GETTING DONE.
THE REASON OPERATING EXPENSES ARE UNDERRUNNING IS BECAUSE OF A LAG IN RECEIVING REVENUES COINCIDENT WITH THE START OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
SO DUE TO THE TIMING OF FEE APPROVALS AND CORRESPONDING, THEN, THE DELAY IN INVOICES REQUIRED US TO DELAY SOME SPENDING.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE RESULT IS A CONTRIBUTION TO RESERVES THAT WILL RESULT AT THE END OF THE YEAR OF ABOUT A 3.3 MONTH RUN RATE, OR 8 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS. SO THAT'S A SUBSTANTIAL STEP TO A GOAL OF HAVING A YEAR'S WORTH OF REVENUE IN RESERVES, WHICH WE THINK IS THE APPROPRIATE SORT OF AMOUNT.
THIS ELABORATE GRAPHIC DEMONSTRATES THE STRATEGIC AND OPERATING AND BUDGET PLANNING CYCLE AND ITS CYCLICAL NATURE. PAUL HAS ALREADY DESCRIBED IT AS THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THE FISCAL YEAR SO NOT ONLY IS THE GRAPH NOT ELABORATE, IT'S NOT TO SCALE EITHER.
THE STRATEGIC PLAN HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE BOARD, AND THEN THE OPERATING PLAN IS DERIVED FROM THAT.
IT IS THE ONE-YEAR ACTION PLAN FOR THAT. I'LL DESCRIBE THAT LATER.
AND THEN THE PROJECTS IN THE OPERATING PLAN ARE COSTED OUT IN ORDER TO DEVELOP THE ICANN BUDGET.
SO JUST BRIEFLY, THE STRATEGIC PLAN WAS INTENSIVE CONSULTATIVE PROCESS. LAST YEAR ALSO WE HELD CONSULTATIONS IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES. THERE WERE SEVERAL REVISIONS OF THE PLAN, AND THEN IT WAS FINALLY PUBLISHED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR AND APPROVED BY THE BOARD.
SO I DON'T NEED TO READ THAT.
PAUL'S -- PAUL AND I DIDN'T COLLABORATE ON OUR PRESENTATIONS, BUT THIS IS THE TIME LINE. THE COMMENT I WILL ADD IS THE REVISED OPERATING PLAN WAS SUBSTANTIALLY REVISED. THERE WERE EXTENSIVE CONSULTATIONS, AND WE POSTED CLEAN AND RED-LINE VERSIONS THE OPERATING PLAN SO THE CHANGES WERE APPARENT.
AND COMMUNITY INPUT AFFECTED THE PLAN SIGNIFICANTLY.
SO AS I SAID, THE OPERATING PLAN IS A ONE-YEAR PLAN AND IT IS COMPOSED AS PAUL DESCRIBED AS A SERIES OF PROJECTS, EACH OF IS WHICH TO BE BACKED UP BY A PROJECT SCHEDULE.
THERE ARE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE OPERATIONAL PLAN AND SCHEDULE THIS YEAR THAT WERE INSTITUTED BASED ON FEEDBACK WE HAVE GOTTEN IN THESE MEETINGS.
FIRST, THAT THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND THE OPERATING PLAN ARE LINKED. SO IF YOU GET ONLINE AND LOOK AT THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND CLICK ON A STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE IT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE CORRESPONDING PROJECTS IN THE OPERATING PLAN THAT GO TO ACHIEVING THAT STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE.
WE HAVE ALSO INDIVIDUALLY BUDGETED FOR EACH OF THE OPERATING PLAN PROJECTS.
WE BUDGETED THEM TO THE DEGREE OF GRANULARITY WE THOUGHT WE COULD ACTUALLY MEASURE GIVEN THE PRESENT ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS WE HAVE. WE ARE WORKING TO IMPROVE THOSE. SO EACH PROJECT HAS BEEN BUDGETED FOR IN TERMS OF FTES THAT WILL BE EMPLOYED IN THE PROJECT, AND THEN OTHER DOLLAR ITEMS, SUCH AS TRAVEL OR CONSULTANTS OR EQUIPMENT AND THE LIKE.
AND FINALLY, THE LAST IMPROVEMENT WAS TO DESCRIBE SPECIFIC OUTCOMES FOR EACH PROJECT. AS PAUL ALSO DISCUSSED, WE ARE RIGHT NOW ENTERING INTO A PROJECT PLANNING PHASE WHERE THOSE OUTCOMES WILL BE TAILORED TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE TIMED TO MATCH OUR STAFF AND DOLLAR CAPABILITIES, AND SO THAT WE CAN PLAN FOR SUCCESS.
THE OPERATING PLAN WAS REVIEWED IN WELLINGTON. THERE WERE SEVERAL CONSULTATIONS. THERE WAS A GENERAL OPEN MEETING CONSULTATION, AND THEN WE MET WITH SEVERAL INDEPENDENT CONSTITUENCIES, OR SEVERAL CONSTITUENCIES INDEPENDENTLY, LET'S PUT IT THAT WAY.
AND THAT'S -- COMING FROM THAT IS WHAT GENERATED THE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE TO THE OPERATING PLAN.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE MOST RECENT CHANGES TO THE OPERATING PLAN AND THE BUDGET AT THAT LINK. THEY ARE PRESENTLY IN PDF, SO I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. BUT THEN ONCE THE PLANS ARE FINAL, THEN WE'LL PUT THEM BACK IN HTML.
WE ARE ADDING ONE ADDITIONAL PROJECT THAT WAS LEFT OFF THE LIST BASED ON SOME CONVERSATIONS WE HAVE HAD HERE, AND THAT IS TO ENSURE WE HAVE ALLOTTED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS MADE IN THE GNSO EVALUATION REPORT, WHICH IS EXPECTED SHORTLY. SORT OF AN INTERESTING FACT AND A SORT OF TEST IS THAT THE PROJECTS WHEN SUMMED UP COMPRISE ABOUT HALF OF THE ICANN BUDGET. SO THE ICANN BUDGET IS MADE OF TWO SEGMENTS, THE PROJECTS IN THE OPERATING PLAN AND THEN WHAT I CALL BUSINESS AS USUAL.
BUSINESS AS USUAL ISN'T JUST OVERHEAD SUCH AS FINANCE AND H.R. IT'S ALSO DAY-TO-DAY IANA ROOT MANAGEMENT TASKS OR REGISTRAR LIAISON TASKS AND THE LIKE. SO THERE ARE DIRECT COSTS THERE, TOO, BUT BALANCING THE PROJECT BUDGET WITH THE NON-PROJECT, A SPLIT OF 50/50 SEEMS ABOUT RIGHT TO ME IN COMPARISONS WITH OTHER OPERATIONS, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE NOT MANY OPERATIONS WITH WHICH TO COMPARE ICANN.
NOW I AM GOING TO BRIEFLY REVIEW FOR YOU AND GIVE YOU A TASTE OF SOME OF THE PROJECTS WE ARE UNDERTAKING. AND THESE AREN'T ACTUALLY PROJECTS THEMSELVES BUT THEY ARE SORT OF HEADINGS OVER PROJECTS.
SOME OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH IN THIS FISCAL YEAR, AND THIS IS WHAT THE MONEY IS FOR.
WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE IANA PERFORMANCE. ALSO IN THE GTLD REGISTRY AND REGISTRAR CUSTOMER SERVICE FUNCTIONS, AND ALSO FOR END USERS.
WE WANT TO DEVELOP PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING WITH POTENTIAL BUSINESS FAILURE. NOW....
SORRY ABOUT THIS.
OKAY.
THAT WOULD INCLUDE THE ICANN CONTINGENCY PLAN. THESE TWO LAST THINGS. AND ALSO FOR REGISTRY AND REGISTRAR.
WE WANT TO IMPROVE OUR ACCOUNTABILITY. WE'RE GOING TO AUGMENT OUR ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE TO BETTER MANAGE OURSELVES AND BETTER MANAGE OUR PROJECTS AND ALSO IMPLEMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS SO WE CAN ESTABLISH GANTT CHARTS, TIME LINES, MILESTONES AND GOALS SO WE CAN MEASURE OURSELVES. AND WE WANT ANALYSIS OF TECHNICAL ADVICE. IN ALL OF OUR POLICY SUPPORT UNDERTAKINGS AND MANY OF THE OPERATIONAL UNDERTAKINGS, THE ACCESS TO AN ECONOMIST OR STATISTICIAN OR SOME SORT OF EXPERT ADVICE IS LACKING. AND WITH A BROADER BUDGET, ICANN CAN FINALLY DO THOSE THINGS THAT ARE SO IMPORTANT TO SUPPORTING THE CONCLUSIONS THAT ARE REACHED.
NOW, FINALLY, AS ICANN GROWS AND THE DNS GROWS, WE WANT TO ANALYZE THAT GROWTH TO ENSURE THAT ICANN CAN SCALE SUITABLY AND PROPORTIONALLY BUT NOT TOO MUCH IN ORDER TO MEET THAT DEMAND.
THESE ARE PROBABLY THE KEY PROJECTS THAT ICANN IS WORKING TOWARD, MAKING SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS THIS YEAR.
SO EVEN THOUGH THE FONT IS SMALLER ON THEM, THAT DOESN'T DIMINISH THEIR IMPORTANCE. AND IN FACT, THIS MIGHT BE THE MOST IMPORTANT SLIDES.
TINA IS GOING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT INTERNATIONALIZED DOMAIN NAMES LATER. I THINK -- WELL, SHE'LL TALK ABOUT PROGRESS. I THINK WE'LL FINALLY GETTING OUT IN FRONT THERE A LITTLE BIT. IT SEEMS THAT STAFF IS NOW RATTLING FOR ACTION MORE THAN NONSTAFF. SO WE'RE GETTING OUT IN FRONT OF THAT ARGUMENT.
MANY OF YOU ATTENDED THE DNS WORKSHOP THAT OCCURRED HERE EARLIER THIS MORNING. PAUL DESCRIBED THE SIGNIFICANT POLICY UNDERTAKINGS THAT, WHEN COMPLETED, WILL BE PASSED OVER TO OPERATIONS AND SERVICES IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THAT POLICY, SUCH AS THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW TLDS AND WHOIS POLICY.
AND THEN FINALLY, MANY OF YOU ATTENDED ALSO THE WORKSHOP WE HAD REGARDING DNS MARKET BEHAVIOR. I THOUGHT THAT WAS A SIGNIFICANT DISCUSSION, AND IT WAS TARGETED WELL. YOU KNOW, IT'S EXACTLY THE SORT OF THING WE HAVE ICANN MEETINGS FOR, I THINK.
AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT, AGAIN, WE NEED TO EXPAND OUR ACCESS TO EXPERTISE SO THAT WE MAKE WELL-INFORMED POLICY DECISIONS.
AND THEN I THINK SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE POLICY DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION AND STAFF AND PROCESSES RECENTLY. AND THERE ARE SEVERAL UNDERTAKINGS THERE TO IMPROVE THE POLICY DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT PROCESS. AMONG THEM, IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS RESULTING FROM THE GNSO REVIEW, AND ALSO DEVELOPING A PROCESS WHEREBY DIFFERENT SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS CAN INTERACT AND CONTRIBUTE TO ONE POLICY DEVELOPMENT EFFORT.
REGARDING INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION IN LANGUAGE, WE WILL CONTINUE TO IMPROVE THE ABILITY OF STAKEHOLDERS TO IMPROVE IN LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH. WE'RE CERTAINLY NOT APPROACHING U.N. OR E.C. PROPORTIONS HERE. OUR BUDGET FOR TRANSLATIONS IS VERY MODEST. HOWEVER, FOR EXAMPLE, UTILIZING EXISTING STAFF AT THIS MEETING, WE WERE ABLE TO HOLD MULTILINGUAL STRATEGIC PLAN CONSULTING PROCESSES AT ESSENTIALLY NO ADDITIONAL COST. SO THERE'S A WAY TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS WITHOUT A LOT OF COST.
AND THEN PAUL DESCRIBED SOME OF THE WORK THAT, SAY, JOHN CRAIN HAS UNDERTAKEN IN THE REGIONAL LIAISONS AND WORKING WITH LOCAL INTERNET COMMUNITIES.
THESE HEADINGS, BY THE WAY, I SHOULD HAVE PREFACED THIS PART OF THE DISCUSSION, THESE HEADINGS ARE FROM THE STRATEGIC PLAN OBJECTIVES AND THE STRATEGIC PLAN HEADINGS THEMSELVES CAME FROM THE CONSULTATIONS WE HAD WITH THE COMMUNITY WHEN WE FIRST UNDERTOOK TO WRITE THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND SO WE WANT TO IMPROVE AND DEEPEN PARTICIPATION IN THIS OUT OF OUR CONSULTATIONS ON THE OPERATING PLAN. WE AGREED THAT THIS WOULD BE DONE IN A CONSULTATIVE MANNER WITH THE EXISTING CONSTITUENCY GROUPS. BUT TO IMPROVE AND BROADEN PARTICIPATION BY THESE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, OR TO ADD ADDITIONAL MEMBERS TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND WE WANT TO DEVELOP AND ENHANCE THE COMMUNICATION PLAN. PAUL LEVINS RECENTLY JOINED THE STAFF, SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVING OUR COMMUNICATIONS. HIS EFFORTS WILL BE AUGMENTED BY A DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS? I FORGOT THE TITLE BUT IT'S REQUIRED. BUT I CAN TELL YOU FROM THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF THE ICANN MEETING, ICANN IS IN A MUCH BETTER POSITION TO DO THAT.
ONE OF THE UNDERTAKINGS HERE IS TO IMPROVE THE WEB SITES. I THINK THE IANA WEB SITE WILL BE THE FIRST IMPROVED WEB SITE YOU'LL SEE, AND THEN WE'LL CONTINUE TO SPREAD THAT THROUGH THE ORGANIZATION.
>>SUSAN CRAWFORD: KURT, WERE YOU THINKING OF THE MANAGER OF PARTICIPATION?
>>KURT PRITZ: YES. THANK YOU.
>>SUSAN CRAWFORD: YOU ARE VERY WELCOME.
>>KURT PRITZ: I CAN SAY THAT NINE OUT OF TEN TIMES.
AND THEN FINALLY ON THIS ONE, WE UNDERTOOK WHEN WE FIRST WROTE THE OPERATING PLAN IN THE FIRST DRAFT TO DEVELOP SOME SORT OF METRICS ON MEASURING ICANN'S OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCIES. AND DEVELOPING SOME MECHANISM FOR MEASURING THAT SO WE COULD SELF-MEASURE AGAINST WHAT THE STANDARD FOR OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY WAS. AND THEN, IN THIS ENVIRONMENT, MAKE IMPROVEMENT, OR PAT OURSELVES ON THE BACK.
AND THEN FINALLY, THE LAST OBJECTIVE, MAJOR OBJECTIVE IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN IN THE SET OF OPERATING OBJECTIVES GO TO SATISFYING THE REMAINING ELEMENTS IN THE MOU.
MOST OF THE OBJECTIVES LAID OUT IN THE MOU HAVE BEEN SATISFIED.
PAUL DESCRIBED, OF THE REMAINING ONES, PAUL DESCRIBED RECENT SUCCESSES IN REACHING AGREEMENTS ON ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORKS WITH SEVERAL CCTLD MANAGERS.
ANOTHER REMAINING OBJECTIVE WOULD BE TO IMPLEMENT THE POLICY FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW GTLDS, WHICH IS DESCRIBED IN THE MOU.
AND THEN FINALLY, THE MOU REQUIRES ICANN TO WRITE A CONTINGENCY PLAN. AND WHILE WE SATISFIED THAT OBJECTIVE, THERE'S SOME SIGNIFICANT EXPENSE WITH FULLY IMPLEMENTING A CONTINGENCY PLAN TO REALIZE THE FULL GEOGRAPHICAL DIVERSITY OF EQUIPMENT AND PROCESSES REQUIRED TO HAVE A COMPETENT CONTINGENCY PLAN. SO WE WILL UNDERTAKE TO DO THAT.
AND THEN WE ARE PRESENTLY REVIEWING THE ICANN STRUCTURE AMONG THE COMMUNITY TO DETERMINE THE BEST MODEL FOR MOVING FORWARD.
SO HERE'S SOME NUMBERS. A LITTLE BIT OUT OF SYNC. BUT THE TOTAL EXPENDITURE BUDGET IS 30.97 MILLION WITH REVENUES 3 MILLION IN EXCESS OF THAT, SO THAT'S THE CONTRIBUTION TO RESERVES.
SOME OF THE SIGNIFICANT SOURCES OF REVENUE ARE THE REGISTRARS WITH THEIR APPROVAL OF THE FEES.
PRESENTLY SET AT 25 CENTS PER TRANSACTION. AND A PER REGISTRAR SORT OF FIXED FEE WHICH WILL BE BETWEEN 5- AND $13,000 DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF REGISTRARS AT THE TIME OF INVOICING.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE REGISTRARS ARE STILL A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE BUDGET AND SUPPLY MOST OF THE RESOURCES TO ICANN.
GTLD REGISTRY FEES HAVE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE PAST COUPLE YEARS, AND THEY HAVE BEEN NEGOTIATED IN SEPARATE CONTRACTS WITH EACH OF THE GTLD REGISTRIES, EITHER IN THE FORM OF NEW AGREEMENTS FOR THE STLDS OR RENEWAL AGREEMENTS, AS YOU KNOW.
THE BOTTOM LINE HERE IS THE GTLD REGISTRANT, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, SEES MOST OF THE ICANN BUDGET.
SOME OF THE EXPENDITURE DETAIL, AND I WANT TO REMARK THAT THE BUDGET THIS YEAR IS FAIRLY RICH IN DETAIL. THE PROJECT BUDGETS, THE BUDGETS FOR EACH OF THE PROJECTS, THERE'S ABOUT 54 OF THEM OR SO, ARE EACH LAID OUT IN THE BUDGET. SO WHILE THIS DETAIL IS AT A HIGHER LEVEL AND NOT, PERHAPS, USEFUL FOR ANALYSIS, GOING BACK INTO THE BUDGET YOU CAN SEE THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT WILL HELP YOU SORT OUT WHERE THE MONEY IS BEING SPENT AND HOW.
I THINK IT'S -- ONE NOTE OF SIGNIFICANCE IS WHILE THE BUDGET INCREASE THIS YEAR, WE MANAGED TO HOLD THE ADMINISTRATION BUDGET DOWN TO ONLY A 3% INCREASE BY ECONOMICALLY CONSERVING SPACE AND USE OF EXISTING FACILITIES AND THE LIKE.
SO WHY ARE REVENUES INCREASING? WELL, ALL THIS STUFF IS PRETTY EXPENSIVE TO DO IT RIGHT.
IANA IMPROVEMENTS IN PERFORMANCE AND REPORTING REQUIRE STAFF, AND THEY REQUIRE SOFTWARE AND APPLICATIONS. WE INTEND TO WRITE AN APPLICATION SO EACH CCTLD OR GTLD CUSTOMER CAN ACCESS THE STATUS OF THEIR OWN REQUEST FOR SERVICES, AND AUTOMATICALLY REPORT DATA.
THE CONTRACTUAL COMPLIANCE STAFFING WILL BE SIGNIFICANT. IT WILL BE A STANDALONE DEPARTMENT RATHER THAN BE PART OF THE REGISTRAR OR REGISTRY LIAISON STAFF. AND THAT IS TO GIVE IT THE INDEPENDENCE REQUIRED IN ORDER TO PERFORM ITS ROLE.
DATA ESCROW IS A CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION. DATA ESCROW FOR REGISTRARS IS A CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION FOR ICANN WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN QUITE FULFILLED BECAUSE IT'S AN EXPENSIVE THING TO DO. NOW WE THINK WE CAN UNDERTAKE THAT.
MANY WAYS WE CONTACT CCTLD MANAGERS OR REGISTRARS OR OTHER CUSTOMERS OF OURS ARE THROUGH A DATABASE THAT AREN'T ADEQUATE OR ACCURATE. AND UPGRADING THOSE DATABASES AND PUTTING THEM ON ADEQUATE SERVERS AND OTHER HARDWARE IS EXPENSIVE.
IDN TLD DEPLOYMENT IS SORT OF A MICROCOSM FOR ME OF THE WHOLE ICANN EXPERIENCE. IN MY PRIOR EMPLOYMENT I WORKED FOR A FAIRLY LARGE PROJECT-BASED ORGANIZATION. I CAN TELL YOU THAT IN OUR ORGANIZATION, THE IDN TEAM WOULD PROBABLY BE AT LEAST 20 WITH A NUMBER OF CONSULTANTS I'VE WORKED WITH OTHER COMPANIES IN DIFFERENT CULTURES WHERE THE IDN DEPLOYMENT TEAM WOULD PROBABLY BE 50 OR A HUNDRED.
HOW IS ICANN GOING TO DO THIS WITH A FULL-TIME STAFF OF FIVE? WELL, WE LEVERAGE THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM, AND WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR ALL THE WORK THAT ESPECIALLY THE TECHNICAL -- THE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY IS UNDERTAKING AND THE DIFFICULT -- THE VERY DIFFICULT PUZZLES TO BE FIGURED OUT IN POLICY DEVELOPMENT.
SO IDN DEPLOYMENT IS AN EXPENSIVE THING BECAUSE IT'S SEVERAL FULL-TIME STAFF, SEVERAL FULL-TIME CONSULTANTS AND THE LIKE. BUT ICANN WILL DO IT EFFECTIVELY BECAUSE WE ARE ABLE TO LEVERAGE THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO WHILE IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY IN THIS BUDGET THERE ARE THINGS THAT GET DONE IN A VERY EFFECTIVE WAY, I THINK.
NEW GTLD IMPLEMENTATION IS A COMPLEX TASK REQUIRING LEGAL ANALYSIS, TRANSLATION, AND TECHNICAL WORK.
I TOUCHED ON HAVING ACCESS TO ECONOMICAL AND STATISTICAL EXPERTISE. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS. WE ARE UPGRADING OUR ACCOUNTING AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS IN ORDER TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE ACCOUNTABILITY ACROSS THE STAFF.
WE WILL, IN HOURS, I THINK, POST A PROCESS FOR CONSIDERATION OF NEW REGISTRY SERVICES, AND THE PROCESS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT RECENTLY CONSIDERED POLICY. THAT IS AN EXPENSIVE UNDERTAKING GIVEN THE -- GIVEN THE LIKELIHOOD THAT SEVERAL NEW REGISTRY SERVICES APPLICATIONS WILL GO THROUGH A TECHNICAL REVIEW.
I DESCRIBED POLICY DEVELOPMENT IMPROVEMENT REQUIRING MORE STAFF AND EXPERTS, AND AS PART OF THAT WE'RE DOING SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION REVIEWS, FOR WHICH WE'RE ENGAGING OUTSIDE INDEPENDENT BUT HIGHLY -- AND HIGHLY REGARDED FIRMS. WE'RE UPGRADING OUR WEB SITES. I THINK EVERYBODY IN AGREEMENT THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
MEASURING TRANSPARENCY. THE EXPENSE ASSOCIATED WITH CONTINGENCY PLANNING OR, MORE ACCURATELY, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONTINGENCY PLAN IS WHAT I DESCRIBED EARLIER.
IN THE WELLINGTON MEETING WE RECEIVED SEVERAL REQUESTS FOR TRAVEL ASSISTANCE FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY. AS BUDGETS GET TIGHTER, THOSE PEOPLE WE RELY ON HEAVILY FIND IT MORE DIFFICULT TO GET SPONSORED FOR THESE TRIPS BY THEIR EMPLOYERS OR THEIR SPONSORS. AND IN ORDER TO CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THE BENEFIT OF THESE PEOPLE, WE WANT TO ROLL OUT A VERY CAREFULLY MANAGED AND MONITORED TRAVEL ASSISTANCE POLICY.
AND THEN JUST SKIPPING DOWN TO THE LAST ONE, WE WANT TO WORK HARD ON A TLD ACCEPTANCE PROGRAM. TLD STRINGS ARE LONGER WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF STLDS, AND THEY WILL BE EVEN LONGER, PORTABLE, WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF IDNS AND PUNYCODE.
SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT UNDERTAKING.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, MR. CHAIRMAN.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, KURT.
WE HAVE SOME TIME FOR QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR AND THE BOARD, SO I'LL ENTERTAIN THOSE NOW FOR BOTH KURT AND PAUL FOR THEIR RESPECTIVE REPORTS, IF THERE ARE ANY.
THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES FORMER BOARD MEMBER MICHAEL PALAGE. THANK YOU, MICHAEL. LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE RECOVERED.
>>MICHAEL PALAGE: HELLO? THE ON SWITCH. IT'S AN AMAZING FEATURE.
THIS IS A QUESTION DIRECTED TO PAUL IN THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT. FIRST, CONGRATULATIONS, PAUL, ON YOUR NEW TERM.
A QUESTION ON YOUR REPORT, FIRST, AND THIS IS A QUESTION I MADE DURING MY PREVIOUS BOARD TERM. I THINK THERE IS A REAL NEED TO MAKE YOUR AND OTHER REPORTS AVAILABLE IN ADVANCE OF THESE SESSIONS. I THINK THE RATHER LIGHT ATTENDANCE IN THIS ROOM MIGHT BE REMEDIED IF PEOPLE HAD THE ABILITY TO REVIEW THESE REPORTS IN ADVANCE OF THE ACTUAL SESSION.
ALTHOUGH AS AN AMERICAN LAWYER WHO KNOWS ONLY ONE LANGUAGE, ENGLISH, I AM A LITTLE MORE ADEPT AT THINKING ON THE FLY.
I THINK IT'S A LITTLE MORE CHALLENGING FOR PEOPLE WHOSE PRIMARY LANGUAGE IS NOT ENGLISH.
CONSIDERING NJERI IS NOT HERE, I THOUGHT I WOULD ASK THE QUESTION ABOUT METRICS REGARDING THESE VARIOUS EXPENDITURES. IT'S NICE TO KNOW IN YOUR PRESENTATION THAT EACH LIAISON HAS TO HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN.
I WAS WONDERING IF YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH THE COMMUNITY THESE BUSINESS PLANS OR METRICS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE INITIATIVES.
YOU NOTED THE OUTREACH TO CIVIL SOCIETY'S BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENTS. AS A MEMBER OF THE GNSO BUSINESS COMMUNITY I WOULD WELCOME NEW PARTICIPANTS WITHIN THAT CONSTITUENCY.
ALTHOUGH I REALIZE THAT NOT ALL BUSINESS INTERESTS LIE WITHIN THE GNSO SINCE OVER 95% OF ICANN'S PROPOSED REVENUE IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE GTLD SPACE, I WOULD HOPE THAT THESE REGIONAL INITIATIVES WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME DIRECT SUPPORTS TO THAT REPORTING ORGANIZATION. THAT'S WHY I THINK THE NEED FOR PUBLICLY AVAILABLE METRICS IS SO IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL PLANNING CYCLES. THANK YOU.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: THANKS, MICHAEL. I THINK WE CAN TAKE BOTH SUGGESTIONS ON NOTICE. I THINK THEY ARE GOOD ONES.
I THINK IN TERMS OF -- IN TERMS OF THE LAST QUESTION YOU HAVE ASKED, YES, WE DO HAVE METRICS AND I THINK WE CERTAINLY SHOULD TRY TO INCORPORATE THOSE INTO A BROADER INITIATIVE THAT WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH TO CONCLUDE, WHICH IS ESTABLISHING AN ICANN DASHBOARD, WHICH IS VISIBLE FOR THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
AND THAT -- I THINK THAT'S RIGHT, THAT SOME OF THOSE THINGS SHOULD BE UP ON THAT DASHBOARD.
SO I THINK THEY ARE BOTH GOOD SUGGESTIONS, AND I THINK WE SHOULD JUST TAKE THEM ON NOTE, AND I THINK WE HAVE TALKED, CERTAINLY AND LEADING UP TO THIS MEETING, BUT WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT GETTING MORE OF THE PRESENTATIONS POSTED PRIOR TO HERE, AND I THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING WE SHOULD WORK ON.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU, PAUL, AND THANK YOU MICHAEL. OF COURSE SOME OF THE REPORTS MIGHT BE HARD TO GET AHEAD OF TIME, LIKE THE GNSO COUNCIL REPORT, THINGS THAT HAPPEN HERE, BUT I THINK YOU ARE QUITE RIGHT THAT THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT AND THE OPERATIONAL STATUS REPORTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT COULD BE PREPARED AHEAD OF TIME.
SO THANKS FOR THAT SUGGESTION.
OTHER QUESTIONS. QUESTION?
>>CHUCK GOMES: YES, CHUCK GOMES FROM VERISIGN.
HAVING SERVED ON THE BUDGET ADVISORY GROUP I BELIEVE SINCE ITS ORIGINATION MANY YEARS AGO, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A COMPLIMENT TO STAFF FOR THE VERY, VERY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE BUDGET AND OPERATIONAL PLAN, THE WHOLE CYCLE. THE INCREASED DETAIL IS A HUGE STEP FROM WHAT IT WAS BEFORE. AND I, FOR ONE, APPRECIATE ALL THE EFFORTS THAT WENT INTO THAT. AND I KNOW IT WILL CONTINUE TO BE IMPROVED AS YOU HAVE MORE TIME. BUT AGAIN, I THINK IT WAS VERY, VERY SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN THIS CYCLE.
>>VINT CERF: THANKS VERY MUCH, CHUCK. I KNOW THAT A BOUQUET NOW AND THEN TO GO ALONG WITH A FEW BRICK BATHS IS ALWAYS APPRECIATED.
PAUL AND THEN RAIMUNDO.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: THANKS VERY MUCH, CHUCK. CAN I ALSO JUST SAY THAT I THINK ANOTHER THING WHICH IS A FEATURE OF THIS OPERATIONAL PLAN HAS ALSO BEEN THE EXCHANGE OF THE GROUP WHICH HAS BEEN CONSULTED IN THE PROCESS, SO THAT THOSE CONSULTATIONS TOOK PLACE WITH EACH ONE OF THE CONSTITUENCIES AND GENERALLY.
SO I THINK THERE'S ALSO NOT ONLY A DEEPENING OF THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE, THERE'S ALSO A WIDENING FROM THE SORT OF REPRESENTATIONAL ASPECT. SO IT'S BEEN A DEEPENING AS WELL AS A WIDENING, I THINK.
>>VINT CERF: RAIMUNDO AND THEN SUSAN CRAWFORD.
>>RAIMUNDO BECA: THANKS, VINT. TWO COMMENTS. ONE GOES TO PAUL AND THE OTHER ONE GOES TO PAUL AND KURT.
THE ONE TO PAUL IS THE PRECISION THAT THE -- ON THE IPV6 GLOBAL POLICY, THE ADDRESS COUNCIL WOULD NOT MAKE A REVIEW OF THE POLICY BUT IT ALWAYS -- IT WILL ONLY MAKE A CHECK POINT THAT ALL THE PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN FOLLOWED AS IS INDICATED IN THE ASO NRO MOU.
AND IT ONLY CAN HAVE TWO HANDS TO THAT: TO FORWARD AND NOT TO FORWARD THE POLICY TO THE BOARD FOR RATIFICATION.
THERE'S NOT REVIEW BY THE ADDRESS COUNCIL AT THIS STAGE.
THE SECOND COMMENT GOES TO PAUL AND TO KURT, AND IT'S THE -- OBVIOUSLY TO SAY THAT AS CHUCK HAS MENTIONED, BE CAREFUL THAT WAS MADE LAST YEAR OR LAST FISCAL YEAR ON THE ACHIEVEMENT IN THE STRATEGIC/OPERATIONAL PLAN AND BUDGET.
BUT WE HAVE STILL SOME WORK TO DO ON THE TIMING. ON THE TIMING OF THESE THREE STAGES, THE STRATEGIC PLAN, THE OPERATIONAL PLAN, AND THE BUDGET, NORMALLY WHAT WE SHOULD FOLLOW, AND I WILL USE THE LANGUAGE WHICH IS MORE PROPER FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME WHO COMES FROM THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE THAT NORMALLY THE STRATEGIC PLAN SHOULD BE ADOPTED IN THE THIRD ICANN MEETING, AND THE OPERATIONAL PLAN SHOULD BE APPROVED ON THE FIRST ICANN MEETING, AND THE BUDGET ON THE SECOND ICANN MEETING.
WE DIDN'T ACHIEVE THAT LAST YEAR.
LAST YEAR, WE HAD THE -- THE STRATEGIC PLAN WAS APPROVED IN THE SECOND, IN THE SECOND, AND THE OPERATIONAL PLAN WILL BE APPROVED IN THIS MEETING.
AND THE -- SO I HOPE THAT WE WILL MAKE A BIG EFFORT TO -- IN THIS EXERCISE TO HAVE THE STRATEGIC PLAN APPROVED IN SAO PAOLO, AND THEN THE OPERATIONAL PLAN APPROVED IN THE FIRST MEETING OF 2007, AND THE BUDGET IN THE SECOND OF 2007.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, RAIMUNDO.
SUSAN, AND THEN I'LL TAKE QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR.
>>SUSAN CRAWFORD: THANK YOU, VINT.
I HAVE TWO COMMENTS, ONE AN OVERALL COMMENT ABOUT THE PROCESS, AND WHERE WE'RE GETTING, AND A SECOND COMMENT ABOUT PRIORITIES.
THE FIRST COMMENT IS, I AM LIKELY TO APPROVE THE BUDGET.
IN FACT, THE AGENDA ASSUMES THAT THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE BUDGET.
SO I DON'T WANT TO STAND IN THE WAY.
AND THAT'S NOT MY QUIBBLE HERE.
IT JUST -- IT SEEMS THERE IS NO CEILING TO WHERE WE'RE GOING TO GET IF REGISTRANTS ARE THE ONES PAYING THE FEES.
THEY'RE NOT VERY MUCH REPRESENTED IN THE ICANN PROCESS.
AND REGISTRIES AND REGISTRARS ARE PASSING ALONG FEES TO THEM.
BUT AS I SAY, I RECOGNIZE THAT THE BUDGET IS INCREASING DRAMATICALLY.
I'M LIKELY TO APPROVE IT.
I'M TROUBLED BY THE ABSENCE OF AN END POINT AND BY THE FACT THAT WE SEEM TO MANAGE TOWARDS -- THE PLANNING PROCESS SAYS, WELL, HERE ARE ALL OUR DREAMS, WE'LL AGGREGATE THEM ALL AND THEN MAKE SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO COVER THEM.
AND I WORRY SOMETIMES IF THAT'S THE RIGHT WAY TO DO IT.
SO I HOPE THAT WE'LL HAVE MORE ENGAGED INVOLVEMENT THIS YEAR ON THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS AND WHETHER WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S DISCIPLINE IN THAT PROCESS THAT WE APPLY TO OURSELVES.
AND THE SECOND COMMENT HAS TO DO WITH PRIORITIES.
IN MY SHORT TIME ON THE BOARD, I HAVE NOTICED THAT ICANN HAS AN EXTREMELY HARD-WORKING, DEDICATED, INTELLIGENT, FOCUSED STAFF, ALL OF WHOM SEEM STRETCHED RATHER THIN.
AND SO AT THE SAME TIME THAT I'M SAYING, WELL, THE BUDGET KEEPS GOING UP, AND WHY, I HOPE THAT IN THIS NEXT YEAR, WE'LL BE MORE VISIONARY ABOUT LOOKING INSIDE ICANN AT CUSTOMER SERVICE SUPPORT, SUPPORT FOR IANA, SUPPORT FOR THE BOARD, SUPPORT FOR STAFF TRYING TO MAKE SURE THE POLICY PROCESSES ARE ADEQUATELY ASSISTED.
SO TWO LEVELS OF COMMENT.
GENERALLY SUPPORTIVE OF THE OVERALL DIRECTION, BUT SOME CONCERN ABOUT HOW WE GET THERE AND HOW WE SET PRIORITIES.
THANK YOU.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU, SUSAN.
THE CHAIRMAN RECOGNIZES MARILYN CADE NOW.
>>MARILYN CADE: THANK YOU, VINT.
LIKE CHUCK GOMES, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO KURT AND HIS TEAM, AND ALSO TO THE BOARD, FOR THE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE THAT HAVE HELPED TO IMPROVE THE PROVISION OF INFORMATION AND THE TIMING OF THAT INFORMATION TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN I WOULD LIKE TO ASSOCIATE MYSELF, AS IT TURNS OUT, BY THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE BY BOARD MEMBER RAIMUNDO BECA, AND ALSO BOARD MEMBER SUSAN CRAWFORD, AND TO RAISE A FURTHER REQUEST, HAVING SAID THANK YOU, NOW I'D LIKE TO ASK FOR MORE.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE IS, WE MAY NOT BE ORGANIZED TO GIVE YOU AS MUCH TIMELY FEEDBACK AS WOULD BE HELPFUL.
THE SUGGESTION THAT RAIMUNDO MADE ABOUT WORKING A TOPIC PER PUBLIC MEETING WOULD HELP, I THINK, AT LEAST THE CONSTITUENCIES THAT I'M INVOLVED IN AND WOULD GIVE US MORE TIME TO DIGEST BEFORE WE SPEAK.
SO THAT WOULD BE AN IDEA THAT I WOULD ASK YOU TO TAKE FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF.
I ALSO NOTE IN THE BUDGET A SIGNIFICANT RESOURCING OF MECHANISMS AND PEOPLE THAT WILL SUPPORT FURTHER PARTICIPATION.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO BOTH SUPPORT THAT GOAL, BUT TO RAISE A QUESTION FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
IT IS IN FACT TRUE THAT THE -- IT IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT FOR THE CONSTITUENCIES AND THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS TO DO ALL OF THEIR WORK, A GOOD DEAL OF WHICH DOES NEED TO BE DONE FACE TO FACE, AND AT THE SAME TIME ALSO DO THE APPROPRIATE KIND OF OUTREACH AND RECRUITMENT TO INCLUDE OTHERS OR REACH OUT TO OTHERS THAT MAY BE INTERESTED IN THEIR CONSTITUENCY.
SO LATER TODAY OR TOMORROW, DEPENDING ON WHETHER I NEED SLEEP OR NOT, I INTEND TO PUBLISH A CONCEPT OF LOOKING AT THE BUDGET AND SEEING IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE A PLANNING GRANT TO THE CONSTITUENCIES TO ENABLE THEM TO DO MORE OUTREACH THEMSELVES, MORE ENCOURAGEMENT THEMSELVES OF REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITIES.
THERE'S A LOT OF SUPPORT FOR BROADENING INFORMED PARTICIPATION IN THE BUDGET.
AND I'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TRY TO BUILD ON THE EXISTING CONSTITUENCIES, THE ALAC AND OTHERS, AND CONTINUE TO BRING MORE PEOPLE INTO ICANN FROM THE BROAD COMMUNITIES THAT THE EXISTING CONSTITUENCIES REPRESENT.
I THINK THAT CAN DO TWO THINGS.
IT CAN ALSO HELP TO PROVIDE, THEN, WE BELIEVE, MORE FEEDBACK INTO THE BOARD TO THE REST OF THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND THE OPERATIONAL PLAN, BECAUSE WE WILL BE DEEPENING AND BROADENING THE PARTICIPATION.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU, MARILYN.
JUST ONE OBSERVATION ABOUT THAT.
IF WE START AUTHORIZING EXPENDITURES, THEN WE WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE ACCOUNTING FOR THOSE AND ALSO TO ASSURE THAT THEY ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THIS ORGANIZATION TO BE MAKING.
IN OTHER WORDS, IF WE MAKE A GRANT AND IT TURNS OUT TO BE SPENT ON A POLITICAL THING, THAT WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE.
SO THERE ARE SOME OVERHEADS ASSOCIATED WITH DOING WHAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING.
THIS ISN'T AN ARGUMENT AGAINST IT.
IT'S JUST AN OBSERVATION THAT WHENEVER YOU PURSUE THAT SORT OF PATH, WE ALSO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE INTRODUCED TO ASSURE THAT THE FUNDS ARE SPENT APPROPRIATELY.
BECAUSE THIS ORGANIZATION DOES MAKE REPORTS TO -- IN THE CASE RIGHT NOW, THE IRS, THAT WILL BE LOOKING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STILL BEHAVING AS A NOT-FOR-PROFIT, PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION.
>>MARILYN CADE: AND, VINT, I WOULD LIKE TO ASSURE YOU THAT I WOULD ASSUME THERE WOULD BE AS MUCH TRANSPARENCY, IF NOT MORE, ABOUT ANY OTHER EXPENDITURE IF THAT WERE IN FACT -- IF IT WERE AGREEABLE TO PURSUE A PROJECT OF THAT NATURE.
>>VINT CERF: VENI IS IN THE QUEUE.
I DON'T SEE ANYONE ELSE.
VENI.
>>VENI MARKOVSKI: THANKS, VINT.
ACTUALLY, IT'S DRIVEN FROM WHAT SUSAN SAID, THEN LATER WHEN MARILYN WAS SPEAKING, I ALSO WAS THINKING.
IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS OR WEEKS, THERE IS A NEW MOVIE STARTING IN THE U.S. CALLED, I THINK, "SUPERMAN RETURNS," OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
WHAT I SEE ON THE BOARD AFTER THREE YEARS, CONCLUDING THIS SUMMER, IS THAT THE BOARD -- EVERY BOARD DIRECTOR IS AN UPGRADE OF SUPERMAN, BATMAN, AND SEVERAL OTHER OF THE U.S. CHARACTERS, OF WHICH I AM NOT AWARE, BUT DEFINITELY.
WE ARE EXPECTED TO BE LIKE THAT.
AND WHAT SUSAN SAID IN TERMS OF SUPPORT FOR DIRECTORS -- FOR COMMITTEES' WORK IS SOMETHING WHICH WE REALLY WANT TO ENCOURAGE PAUL TO ALLOCATE RESOURCES IN TERMS NOT JUST FUNDING, BUT ACTUALLY PEOPLE THAT CAN SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEES, AND TO MAKE US -- TO MAKE US AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT SPENDING LESS TIME ON WORK WHICH CAN BE DONE IN ADVANCE BEFORE THE MEETINGS OR IN ADVANCE BEFORE THE RETREATS.
AND I HAVE A QUESTION, ACTUALLY, FOR MARILYN, WHO SAYS THAT IT'S BECOMING MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE CONSTITUENCIES TO DO THEIR WORK FACE TO FACE.
AND I -- I DON'T UNDER- -- I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND.
DO YOU MEAN THAT THE TIME DURING THE MEETINGS IS NOT ENOUGH?
OR THE NUMBER OF MEETINGS IS NOT ENOUGH FOR THE CONSTITUENCIES?
I MEAN, I'M ASKING AS CHAIR OF THE MEETINGS COMMITTEE SO THAT WE CAN TAKE CARE OF THAT.
>>MARILYN CADE: I THINK THIS MAY BE ADDRESSED PERHAPS LATER BY BRUCE TONKIN, THE CHAIR OF THE GNSO, IN HIS REPORT.
BUT LET ME JUST MAKE A QUICK COMMENT.
WE ARE BENEFITTING SIGNIFICANTLY, I THINK, IN BEING ABLE TO WORK FACE TO FACE IN POLICY DEVELOPMENT, AND NOT ONLY DOING WORK THROUGH TASK FORCES THAT MEET BY CONFERENCE CALL.
SO WE HAVE INSTITUTED SEVERAL DAYS OF FACE-TO-FACE POLICY DEVELOPMENT WORK.
AND THAT IS IN ADDITION TO ATTENDING TO THE REST OF THE WORK OF THE CONSTITUENCIES THAT NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE FACE TO FACE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THIS MEETING.
SO FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF MEETINGS, WE'VE ALL TRAVELED IN THE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY BEFORE, AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE SCHEDULED TWO TO THREE -- TWO- TO THREE-DAY WORKING SESSIONS WHERE WE CAN MEET FACE TO FACE.
SO -- AND I THINK THAT'S NEEDED.
AND EVERY OTHER POLICY DEVELOPMENT FUNCTION THAT I HAVE PERFORMED OR BEEN INVOLVED IN IN MY 17 YEARS OF THAT, I HAVE FOUND FACE TO FACE IS ESSENTIAL, AUGMENTED BY ONLINE, AUGMENTED BY CONFERENCE CALLS.
AND EVERY OTHER -- SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, VENI.
I'M NOT ASKING FOR MORE MEETINGS OF THIS NATURE.
I WAS MERELY NOTING THAT IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE COUNCIL IS FINDING IT IMPORTANT TO DO THOSE OTHER MEETINGS.
>>VINT CERF: OKAY.
I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM EITHER THE BOARD OR THE FLOOR.
SO WE'LL FINISH THIS FIRST SEGMENT OF OUR PUBLIC FORUM.
I'D LIKE TO GO ON NOW TO A PERMUTED SCHEDULE.
I'VE ASKED TINA DAM TO PLEASE GIVE HER REPORT ON THE IDN STATUS.
I SEE SHE'S COMING UP ON THE STAGE NOW.
>>TINA DAM: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. CHAIRMAN.
THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY MEETINGS ABOUT IDNS THIS TIME.
AND WE'RE STILL NOT THROUGH THE WEEK.
I AM INCREDIBLY IMPRESSED ABOUT THE SPEED THAT THINGS CHANGE FROM BEGINNING OF THE WEEK TO BE VERY MUCH FOCUSED ON ISSUES AND DIFFICULTIES AND WHY WE CAN'T DO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE REALLY WANT TO DO, AND THEN TOWARDS THE END OF THE WEEK, TO ACTUALLY HAVE NEW IDEAS AND NEW SUGGESTIONS, IN PARTICULAR, IN THE TECHNICAL AREA, OR HOW TO SOLVE SOME OF THOSE DIFFICULTIES SO THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AT A FASTER PACE.
SO IT'S BEEN A VERY POSITIVE IDN MEETING SO FAR.
WE'LL HAVE MORE WORKING GROUP MEETINGS.
THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS MEETING LATER TODAY.
AND I THINK A COUPLE OF IDN MEETINGS TOMORROW AND FRIDAY AS WELL.
THE STATUS REPORT I HAVE FOR YOU TODAY WILL CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS.
I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE IDN PROGRAM PLAN, AN OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES RELATED TO POLICY ISSUES, AND AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSAL FOR REVISING A TEST PLAN.
AND SINCE THESE THINGS HAVE EVOLVED SO FAST THIS WEEK, THERE IS NEW ITEMS IN RELATION TO THE TECHNICAL AREA THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED LATER TODAY.
AND DEPENDING ON THE RESULT, YOU KNOW, I HOPE WE CAN COME BACK WITH A -- AN UPDATED STATUS FOR THE BOARD AND THE COMMUNITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
LAST ON THE AGENDA IS TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE IDN GUIDELINES AND THE REVISION OF THAT AND HOW THAT'S PROGRESSING.
WITHIN STAFF, WE'VE WORKED -- AND, OF COURSE, WITH A LOT OF INPUT FROM DNS AND POLITICAL AND POLICY-ORIENTED EXPERTS -- TO DEVELOP A FULL PROGRAM PLAN FOR ALL OF THE SPECIFIC PROJECTS AND ACTIONS THAT ARE NECESSARY TO REACH THE GOAL OF DEPLOYING IDNS.
WE HAVE SEVERAL PROJECTS, TECHNICAL TEST -- I'LL GET INTO THAT IN A LITTLE BIT -- POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND IDN GUIDELINES I'LL ALSO TALK ABOUT, AND THE LAST THREE ARE RELATED TO IANA PROCESSES, OUTREACH PLANNING, AND COMMUNICATION PLANS.
NOW, ALL OF THESE ARE PLANNED A LITTLE BIT INDEPENDENTLY, BUT THEY ARE ALL CORRELATED.
I WOULD LIKE TO, IN PARTICULAR, POINT OUT OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATION PLANNING.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE COMMUNITY HAVE ASKED FOR FOR QUITE SOME TIME, THAT WE'RE BETTER AT REACHING OUT AND COMMUNICATING AND EXPLAINING WHAT WE'RE DOING SO THAT THE CORRECT, OR THE APPROPRIATE EXPERTS FROM THE COMMUNITIES CAN PROVIDE THEIR INPUT AND THEIR EXPERTISE AT THE TIME THAT IT'S NECESSARY.
NOW, WITH THE NEW STAFF, PARTICULARLY PAUL LEVINS AND THE REGIONAL LIAISONS, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT'S PROGRESSING REALLY WELL.
AND WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT THE PLANNING OF THOSE TWO PROJECTS ARE GOING TO SPEED UP REALLY QUICKLY HERE WITH THE NEW STAFF AND SO WE CAN GET THAT KICK-STARTED.
NOW, ON THE POLICY DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES, AND THIS IS PRIMARILY SINCE THE MEETING IN NEW ZEALAND, THE PRELIMINARY ISSUES REPORT WAS DEVELOPED AND PUBLISHED, AS WAS REQUESTED BY THE GNSO.
THAT REPORT PROPOSES A JOINT TASK FORCE, A WORKING GROUP BETWEEN THE GNSO, CCNSO, ALSO WITH INPUT FROM THE GAC.
ON THE 18TH OF MAY, THE GNSO COUNCIL HAD A CONFERENCE CALL WHERE THEY RESOLVED TO ESTABLISH THIS WORKING GROUP AND SELECTED MEMBERS -- AND SELECTED MEMBERS TO THE JOINT TASK FORCE.
IN JUNE, THERE HAVE BEEN INITIAL COMMENTS AND PRIORITIES ON THE PRELIMINARY ISSUES REPORT.
THE WORKING GROUP HAVE BEEN MEETING HERE AND HAVE ALSO PARTICIPATED SOMEWHAT IN THE IDN WORKSHOP ON SUNDAY THAT TOOK PLACE TO REVIEW POLICY ISSUES AND DISCUSS OPPORTUNITIES FOR COUNTRY CODE STRINGS AND ASSIGNMENT OF THOSE.
I'M SURE BRUCE IS GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT WHEN YOU GET TO HIS REPORT.
ON THE TECHNICAL AND OPERATIONAL TEST ACTIVITIES, AS YOU MAY RECALL, WE RELEASED A PROPOSED PLAN RIGHT BEFORE THE NEW ZEALAND MEETING IN MARCH.
DURING APRIL, WE HAD SOME INITIAL DISCUSSIONS WITH THE RSSAC, AND A LOT OF COMMUNITY AND CONSTITUENCY DISCUSSIONS AROUND THIS TEST PLAN DURING THE WELLINGTON MEETING.
SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE GOT WAS IN LIMITATIONS OF HOW DNAMES CAN, AS A RESOURCE RECORD, CAN BE TESTED AROUND THIS TOPIC RIGHT NOW.
THE OTHER HALF OF THE PROPOSED PLAN WAS AROUND NS RECORDS, WHICH SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE MATURE TO ACTUALLY GO AHEAD AND MAKE SOME TESTING PLANS ON.
SO WE DISCUSSED WITHIN ICANN STAFF ALL OF THE INPUT WE RECEIVED.
WE SOUGHT SOME MORE CONSULTATION BY ADDITIONAL EXPERTS AND STARTED REVISING THE PROPOSED PLAN.
WE FINALIZED A PROPOSAL OF THAT HERE IN JUNE AND HAVE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT DURING THE MEETINGS HERE IN MOROCCO.
AND ALSO HAVE A PROCESS FOR FINALIZING IT.
AND I'LL GET INTO A LITTLE BIT OF THE DETAILS ABOUT THAT.
BUT IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO GO THROUGH A FINALIZATION PROCESS FOR APPROVAL BEFORE IT IS CONSIDERED FINAL.
NOW, THE OVERALL GOAL WITH THE TECHNICAL AND OPERATIONAL TEST PLAN IS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT INSERTION OF IDN STRINGS IN THE ROOT HAS NO NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE EXISTING RESOLUTIONS.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE REALLY DIFFICULT TO PROVE A NEGATIVE ON.
BUT WE CAN TAKE SOME STEPS THAT ALLOW US TO SAY THAT WE'RE REASONABLY CERTAIN THAT THERE ARE NO ISSUES, AND IT'S THAT GOAL THAT WE WANT TO GET TO.
IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE NEED TO PERFORM A LOT OF ACTIVITIES.
AS I MENTIONED, NS RECORDS IN THIS NEW PROPOSED PLAN APPEARS TO BE SOMETHING WE CAN JUST GO AHEAD AND TEST.
NS RECORD IS NOTHING DIFFERENT THAN HOW TLDS ARE INSERTED IN THE ROOT AT THIS POINT IN TIME WITH ASCII TLDS.
WITH IDN TLDS, IT WILL BE BASED ON PUNYCODE STRINGS.
SO THERE WILL BE SOME LABORATORY TESTS, OPERATIONAL PROCESS TESTS, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ICANN AND IANA AND D.O.C. PROCESSES ARE FUNCTIONING.
AND EVENTUALLY END UP WITH A ROOT NAME SERVER TEST.
DNAME RESOURCE RECORDS NEEDS TO BE ANALYZED IN MUCH MORE DETAIL DUE TO SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT ON THE DIFFICULTIES WITH THAT RECORD AT THIS POINT IN TIME, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE FULL POTENTIAL OR ANY POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THAT METHOD.
THE TWO -- ALL OF THESE MILESTONES WITHIN THIS PROJECT ARE -- SOME OF THEM ARE GOING TO BE RUNNING IN PARALLEL.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE GOING TO KICK-START THE LABORATORY TEST DEVELOPMENT AT THE SAME TIME AS WE'RE CONTINUING THE DNAME ANALYSIS.
SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TEST PLAN.
WE WILL TALK ABOUT IT AT THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING LATER TODAY.
THERE'S GOING TO BE AN IETF MEETING IN MONTREAL FROM THE 9TH TO THE 14TH OF JULY WHERE WE'LL HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE RSSAC AGAIN AND OTHER PARTIES OF THE IETF.
AND THEN THERE'LL BE SOME FINALIZATION OF THE PROPOSAL AND POSTING IT FOR A PUBLIC REVIEW.
IDN GUIDELINES.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, LAST YEAR, IN NOVEMBER, THE 8TH OF NOVEMBER, 2005, THE BOARD APPROVED A REVISION FROM VERSION 1.0 TO VERSION 2.0 OF THE IDN GUIDELINES.
THE BOARD ALSO ASKED THE TLD REGISTRIES WORKING GROUP TO COME BACK WITH SOME ADDITIONAL REVISIONS.
AND THE BOARD SUPPORTED AN APPROACH TOWARDS THE BCP, BEST CURRENT PRACTICE, DOCUMENT FOR THE GUIDELINES INSTEAD OF ITS CURRENT STATE.
WHAT THAT ESSENTIALLY MEANS IS THAT AS OF RIGHT NOW, IT'S THE GTLD REGISTRY OPERATORS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES.
AND THE FRAMEWORK THAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED DOES NOT NECESSARILY FUNCTION REALLY WELL FOR THE CCS.
SO THE INTENTION WITH THE BEST CURRENT PRACTICE IS TO REACH MUCH BROADER THAN THE ICANN CURRENT CONTRACTS ARE ABLE TO DO.
WE ARE CURRENTLY -- IN RESPONSE TO THE BOARD'S REQUEST ON 8 OF NOVEMBER, WE'RE CURRENTLY AT VERSION 2.1 OF THE IDN GUIDELINES.
WE HAD ANTICIPATED A DRAFT BEST CURRENT PRACTICE BY THE TIME HERE IN MOROCCO.
BUT THE VOLUNTEERS IN THAT WORKING GROUP ARE THE SAME PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN WORKING ON INTRODUCTION OF IDN TLDS, BOTH ON THE POLICY SIDE AND ON THE TECHNICAL SIDE.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT AND BECAUSE THAT HAS HAD A HIGHER PRIORITY, IT HAS NOT BEEN POSSIBLE TO HAVE A BCP DRAFT READY AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
WE WILL CONTINUE THIS WORK, AND IT IS GOING TO BE RUN IN PARALLEL WITH OTHER IDN TLD ACTIVITIES.
BUT AS KURT MENTIONED OUT, WE NOW ALSO HAVE A BUDGET AND PLAN FOR ADDITIONAL STAFF.
SO IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE TO MOVE THIS FORWARD IN A MUCH FASTER PAGE.
IN RELATION TO THE IDN GUIDELINES AND HOW TO REACH THE BCP STATE, STAFF HAS REALIZED THAT WE WILL NEED TO DEVELOP A SPECIFIC PROJECT PLAN FOR THAT WITH IDENTIFIED MILESTONES AND TIMELINES AROUND IT.
IT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THESE AREAS THAT IN ORDER TO REACH OUTSIDE THE GTLD AREA, WE HAVEN'T COMMUNICATED ENOUGH.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO TAKE UP IN RELATION WITH DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PLAN.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY STATUS REPORT FOR TODAY.
AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY WHO HAS BEEN WORKING SO ACTIVELY AND CONSTRUCTIVE AND JOINTLY TO REACH THIS GOAL, TO REACH THE GOAL FOR SAFE DEPLOYMENT OF INTERNATIONAL TOP-LEVEL LABELS.
AS I SAY TO BEGIN WITH, I'M EXTREMELY IMPRESSED WITH ALL THE WORK THAT'S GOING ON THIS WEEK, AND I CAN SEE HOW WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS SOLUTIONS AS OPPOSED TO CONTINUING TO DISCUSS DIFFICULTIES.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, TINA.
HANK ON JUST ONE SECOND.
I WASN'T PLANNING TO TAKE QUESTIONS UNTIL -- UNTIL WE GOT THROUGH SEVERAL OTHER REPORTS.
BUT YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY ASKING A QUESTION ABOUT IDNS.
SO I'LL ALLOW THAT ONE.
PLEASE GO AHEAD.
>>RON ANDRUFF: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.
RON ANDRUFF, TRALLIANCE CORPORATION, THE DOT TRAVEL REGISTRY.
EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY IS VERY EXCITED THAT WE'VE COVERED SO MUCH GROUND WITH IDN IN THE MOST RECENT PERIOD.
AND I JUST WANTED TO ADDRESS ONE -- MAKE ONE COMMENT TOWARDS WHAT TINA JUST SHARED.
AND IT REALLY HAS TO DO WITH THE -- AVOIDING NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE EXISTING RESOLUTIONS.
AND I BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF THE GNSO COUNCIL YESTERDAY AT THEIR PUBLIC FORUM AND SO I WANTED JUST TO MAKE THE BOARD AWARE OF THE SAME COMMENTS I MADE THEN.
THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THE SPONSORED REGISTRIES SUCH AS DOT TRAVEL, WHAT YOU HAVE IS A GLOBAL COMMUNITY.
AND THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY SPEAKS MANY, MANY LANGUAGES.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS EVENT THAT I MAY BE IN -- MAY BE SPEAK JAPANESE AND ENGLISH, AND TODAY I'M IN TOKYO, AND I MIGHT JUST BE TYPING IN IN KANJI CHARACTERS, BUT TOMORROW I MIGHT BE IN FRANKFURT, AND I JUST DON'T THINK, I JUST IMMEDIATELY START TYPING IN ENGLISH CHARACTER SETS.
IF BRING TO TYPE MAJESTIC.TRAVEL IN KANJI AND IT ARRIVED IN ONE PLACE AS OPPOSED TO MAJESTIC.TRAVEL IN ENGLISH AND IT ARRIVED IN LONDON, THE POINT I'M TRYING TO BRING OUT HERE IS THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO CONFLICTS OR PROBLEMS WITH THE RESOLUTION. AND THAT BRINGS US TO THE POINT THAT EACH INCUMBENT REGISTRY SHOULD REALLY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE NAME SPACE IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.
THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR US, BECAUSE WE HAVE ONE TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY ON A GLOBAL SCALE.
AND I KNOW THERE'S A DISCUSSION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT INCUMBENTS SHOULD BE MAINTAINING THEIR -- THE SPACE IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES OR NOT.
IN THE CASE OF THE DOT TRAVEL REGISTRY TODAY, WE ARE DEVELOPING THE ABILITY FOR PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO REGISTER THEIR DOMAIN NAMES IN THEIR EXISTING LANGUAGE, MEANING THAT THEY CAN READ ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS IN TEN LANGUAGES, FROM ARABIC TO KOREAN.
AND, THEREFORE, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE THIS PROCESS.
SO I WANTED JUST TO BRING THAT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE BOARD.
AND I THANK YOU FOR THE TIME.
>>VINT CERF: OKAY.
JUST FOR EVERYONE'S EDUCATION, THAT WASN'T AN APPROPRIATE TIME TO MAKE THAT COMMENT.
I DON'T MEAN THAT TO BE PEJORATIVE AT ALL.
IT WASN'T A QUESTION ABOUT THIS.
ALSO, I WILL TELL YOU FLAT OUT THAT THAT'S A HUGE ISSUE AND YOU SHOULD MAKE NO ASSUMPTIONS WHATSOEVER ABOUT THE OWNERSHIP OF ANY OTHER STRING THAN DOT TRAVEL IN ROMAN CHARACTERS RIGHT NOW.
NO IMPLICIT ASSUMPTIONS SHOULD BE MADE BY ANYONE AS TO THE OWNERSHIP OF ANY OTHER TRANSLATION OF SUCH STRINGS.
I RESPECT YOUR OPINION, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT YOU SHOULD MAKE NO ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THAT.
>>RON ANDRUFF: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.
FOR THAT REASON, I WANTED TO BRING IT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE BOARD.
>>VINT CERF: OKAY.
THERE IS SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T RAISE THAT I WILL RAISE, THOUGH.
TINA, WITH REGARD TO THE TEST PLAN, AS I WAS THINKING ABOUT IT, I HOPE THAT THE TESTS WILL DO EXTREME TESTS.
IN OTHER WORDS, EVEN IN THE CASE OF NS RECORDS, I WOULD HOPE THAT THE PLAN INCLUDES THINGS LIKE PUTTING IN THE MAXIMUM POSSIBLE STRING THAT WOULD FIT WITHIN A PUNYCODE LABEL, AND EVEN TO ATTEMPT TO USE SOMETHING THAT'S LONGER THAN IS ALLOWED, THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW -- WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE ACCIDENTS WHERE SOMEBODY TRIES TO REGISTER A STRING THAT IS TOO LONG AND IT BREAKS THE SYSTEM IN THE WAY THAT WE'VE SEEN SOME OTHER SYSTEMS BREAK BECAUSE SOME STRING WENT IN THAT WAS NOT EXPECTED TO BE LONGER THAN "X" AND IT WAS "X" PLUS 1 AND IT LED TO ALL KINDS OF BAD THINGS.
SO CAN YOU CONFIRM THAT THE PEOPLE RUNNING THESE TESTS WILL DO ALL KINDS OF EXTREME CASES.
>>TINA DAM: EXTREME CASES, IN PARTICULAR, IN RELATION TO THE LENGTH OF THE STRING, AT LEAST AS FAR AS I'M AWARE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST ITEMS THAT WAS IDENTIFIED AS A NEED TO BE TESTED.
PARTICULARLY BECAUSE WITH IDNS, THE SHORTEST -- THE SHORTEST STRING THAT YOU WILL HAVE IN PUNYCODE, WHICH IS THE ASCII STRING OF THE IDN LABEL, IS ACTUALLY SEVEN ASCII CHARACTERS THAT CORRESPOND TO ONE CHARACTER IN THE IDN VERSION.
SO THAT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT'S PART OF THAT PLAN.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, TINA.
THE NEXT REPORT COMES FROM GEORGE SADOWSKY.
AND THAT'S THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT.
>>GEORGE SADOWSKY: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.
I'M GEORGE SADOWSKY, AND I AM THE INTERIM CHAIR OF THE ICANN 2006 NOMINATING COMMITTEE.
JUST TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY, THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE CONSISTS OF 23 MEMBERS, 17 OF WHOM VOTE.
THE MEMBERS ARE SUPPLIED BY THE CONSTITUENCIES, THE ADVISORY COMMITTEES, AND THE CHAIR IS APPOINTED BY THE BOARD.
WE WORK -- ONCE APPOINTED, WE WORK INDEPENDENTLY OF ICANN.
OUR PROCESSES AND OUR MEMBERSHIP ARE EXACTLY DEFINED IN THE ICANN WEB SITE.
AND I DON'T WANT TO REPEAT WHAT'S THERE.
THIS IS ALSO A SHORT PRESENTATION, AND THEREFORE I'VE DISPENSED WITH A POWERPOINT.
THIS YEAR, WE ARE FILLING THREE BOARD VACANCIES, ONE GNSO VACANCY, ONE VACANCY ON THE CCNSO, AND TWO VACANCIES WHICH ARE GEOGRAPHICALLY DETERMINED ON THE ALAC, THE GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS WE ARE FILLING ARE NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE.
THE DETAILS OF THE PROCESS AND OF THE VACANCIES IS CONTAINED IN A FLIER WHICH I'M HOLDING UP A COPY.
AND IF I'M -- THERE SHOULD BE AN ICANN STAFF PERSON, TANZANICA KING, WHO WILL BE PASSING THESE OUT TO YOU WHILE ARE YOU IN THE HALL RIGHT NOW.
IT WAS OUR HOPE THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THESE AT REGISTRATION.
BUT A COMBINATION OF CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING THE LOCAL CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT, PREVENTED US FROM GETTING THEM READY FOR YOU ON TIME.
THEY CONTAIN THE DETAILS OF THE POSITIONS AND HOW TO APPLY FOR THEM.
AND WHEN THEY ARE PASSED OUT, PLEASE DON'T TAKE JUST ONE, TAKE TEN.
AND WHEREVER YOU GO NEXT OR WHEREVER YOU -- WHEREVER YOU KNOW COLLEAGUES WHO ARE INTERESTED, POTENTIALLY, IN SERVING, GIVE THEM THESE FLIERS SO THAT THEY CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THE SITUATION IS AND HOW TO APPLY.
I AM THE INTERIM CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE BECAUSE THE -- THE CHAIR, APPOINTED BY THE BOARD AND ANNOUNCED AT VANCOUVER, EUGENIO TRIANA, HAD A CONFLICT WHICH WAS APPARENTLY UNAVOIDABLE AND SEVERE WITH RESPECT TO WORK-RELATED RESPONSIBILITIES.
EUGENIO SERVED UNTIL THE END OF MAY AND THEN RELUCTANTLY RESIGNED.
I'VE BEEN ASKED TO FILL THE INTERIM SPOT.
EUGENIO SERVED UNTIL THE END OF MAY, AND THEN RELUCTANTLY RESIGNED. I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO FILL THE INTERIM SPOT.
WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RECRUITING PHASE, SO THERE'S NOT A LOT TO REPORT.
THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE TRIES TO BE AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE WITH RESPECT TO ITS PROCESSES, AND AS OPAQUE AS POSSIBLE WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION IT RECEIVES FROM CANDIDATES AND THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS.
WE HAVE ASKED FOR STATEMENTS OF INTEREST FROM INTERESTED PARTIES IN THE MIDDLE OF APRIL, AND WE HAVE A DEADLINE, A FORMAL DEADLINE, OF JULY 16TH FOR COMPLETED SOIS.
WE ARE LIKELY, BUT NOT CERTAIN, TO EXTEND THAT DEADLINE TO AUGUST 1ST AS A RESULT OF A SLOW INTAKE OF SOIS.
WE HAVE USED OUR PERSONAL CONTACTS, AND WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL USE YOUR PERSONAL CONTACTS TO HELP US.
WE HAVE, FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR, ADVERTISED.
THERE'S AN AD IN "THE ECONOMIST" MAGAZINE SEVERAL WEEKS AGO AND I WOULD EXPECT THAT THERE WILL BE AN AD IN THE "INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE" SOMETIME NEXT WEEK.
WE REALLY REQUEST YOUR HELP. IT'S PRETTY CLEAR THAT THE QUALITY OF OUR OUTPUTS DEPEND TO A LARGE EXTENT ON THE QUALITY OF OUR INPUTS. SO WE ASK THAT YOU MAKE SUGGESTIONS OF PEOPLE WHO YOU THINK WOULD BE QUALIFIED AND AVAILABLE FOR CERTAIN POSITIONS. AND YOU CAN SUGGEST THOSE BY E-MAIL. AND THE FLIER WILL TELL YOU HOW TO SUGGEST THEM.
YOU CAN SUGGEST THEM VERBALLY, AS LONG AS YOU INCLUDE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS TO ONE OF US HERE.
YOU CAN TALK WITH PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES. YOU CAN TELL THEM WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT ICANN, IF THEY'RE NOT IN THE CENTER OF THE COMMUNITY.
YOU CAN ENCOURAGE THEM TO APPLY OR SELF-NOMINATE.
THESE POSITIONS ARE DIFFICULT TO FILL. AS YOU KNOW BECAUSE YOU ARE ALL HERE, THEY ARE REWARDING. THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY FOR THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET BUT THEY TAKE A LOT OF TIME AND THEY TAKE A LOT OF DEDICATION.
AND ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WE HAVE WHEN PEOPLE ASK WHAT THE TIME COMMITMENTS OF THESE POSITIONS ARE, WE HAVE TO SAY THAT THEY ARE INTENSIVE. AND WHEN PRESSED FOR A QUANTITATIVE ESTIMATE, WE HAVE BEEN USING TWO MONTHS A YEAR. THAT COULD BE MORE, IT COULD BE LESS DEPENDING ON THE POSITIONS INVOLVED. I DON'T KNOW IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE BOARD WANT TO COMMENT ON THAT. BUT THAT IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN USING, AND I HOPE IT'S ESSENTIALLY CORRECT.
SO I'M GOING TO CLOSE HERE JUST TO TELL YOU WE ARE IN PROCESS. WE NEED YOUR HELP. PLEASE WORK WITH US TO GET THE BEST POSSIBLE CANDIDATE POOL WE CAN.
THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, GEORGE. DON'T GO AWAY. THERE MAY BE QUESTIONS.
ACTUALLY, I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE QUESTIONS UNTIL AFTER A COUPLE MORE -- TWO MORE REPORTS, SO VENI, YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT.
THE NEXT REPORT COMES FROM OUR OMBUDSMAN, FRANK FOWLIE.
>>FRANK FOWLIE: MR. CHAIRMAN, VINT CERF; PRESIDENT, PAUL TWOMEY; MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND LIAISONS; ESTEEMED MEMBERS OF THE ICANN COMMUNITY, ICANN STAFF, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WELCOME HERE THIS AFTERNOON.
BONJOUR (SPEAKING FRENCH). I HAVE A NUMBER OF ISSUES I WOULD LIKE TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION HERE THIS AFTERNOON, MR. CHAIRMAN. FIRST I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE ACTIVITY OF MY OFFICE BY RUNNING THROUGH A SMALL NUMBER OF SLIDES, AND THESE SLIDES WILL REPRESENT WORK CONDUCTED DURING THE FISCAL YEAR FROM JULY 1ST, 2005 TO THE END OF MAY 2006.
THIS FIRST SLIDE SHOWS THE NUMBER OF INTAKES THAT MY OFFICE HAS TAKEN IN BY MY OFFICE OVER THE FISCAL YEAR ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
THIS SECOND SHOWS THE SAME INFORMATION BUT GRAPHICALLY, WHICH I THINK MAKES IT A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO DISCERN. ON AN AVERAGE MONTH, THE OFFICE TAKES IN ABOUT 50 COMPLAINTS AND CONTACTS.
THIS NEXT CHART GIVES A LISTING OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF INTAKES BY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.
I RECEIVED CONTACT IN THE LAST YEAR FROM OVER 40 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. THE PREVIOUSLY NOTED TREND OF HIGH CONTACT VOLUME FROM ENGLISH-SPEAKING COMMON-LAW BASED COUNTRIES CONTINUES, AND I DO HOPE THAT THE ONGOING WORK FROM OUR REGIONAL LIAISONS AND CONTINUED OUTREACH ACTIVITIES FROM MY OWN OFFICE WILL HELP IMPACT THE LOCATIONS THAT COMPLAINTS COME FROM.
THIS CHART SHOWS THE TYPE OF ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION DURING THE YEAR. FILES UNDER OMBUDS MEANS THAT THE ISSUE DEALT WITH AN ACTION, DECISION, OR INACTION OF THE BOARD, STAFF, OR SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION.
AND THE CATEGORY "OTHER" REFERS TO THAT WIDE CATEGORY OF THINGS THAT AREN'T IN MY JURISDICTION, SUCH AS REGISTRAR/REGISTRANT COMPLAINTS OR ISSUES OF GENERAL CRITICISM RELATING TO ICANN AS OPPOSED TO FAIRNESS-BASED COMPLAINTS.
AND THERE'S THAT SAME INFORMATION, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT "OTHER" TAKES UP A FAIR AMOUNT OF MY WORK.
THIS NEXT SLIDE BREAKS DOWN THE MANNER IN WHICH THESE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS WERE RESOLVED. THERE IS A DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS THAT WERE CLOSED BY ME SIMPLY DECLINING JURISDICTION. AND THESE ARE FILES WHICH, AGAIN, RELATE TO ISSUES THAT DEAL WITH COMMENTARY OR CRITICISM AS OPPOSED TO AN ACTUAL ISSUE OF FAIRNESS BEING RAISED BY THE COMMUNITY.
AND THERE'S THE SAME THING IN A GRAPHIC. AND YOU CAN SEE THAT DECLINING JURISDICTION IN THE PAST YEAR WAS A GREAT PART OF MY WORK. AND YOU WILL REMEMBER, MR. CHAIRMAN, THAT MY JURISDICTION IS ESTABLISHED BY THE BYLAW.
THESE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES TALK ABOUT HOW THOSE COMPLAINTS THAT WERE ACTIONS, INACTIONS, OR DECISIONS BY THE BOARD, STAFF OR SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION WERE DEALT WITH BY MY OFFICE.
AGAIN, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF ISSUES RAISED THAT WERE SIMPLY PEOPLE COMPLAINING OR CRITICIZING ACTIONS BY ICANNMENT.
BUT ONCE WE TAKE THAT NUMBER AWAY, I AM VERY PLEASED TO SEE THAT THE NUMBER OF ISSUES THAT GETS THE MOST AMOUNT OF RESULT IS THAT WE COME AWAY WITH THE ISSUE BEING RESOLVED. AND I THINK THAT'S A VERY POSITIVE COMMENTARY ON THE ABILITY AND WILLINGNESS, NOT ONLY OF THE COMMUNITY BUT OF THE ORGANIZATION TO TRY TO DEAL CONSTRUCTIVELY WITH DISPUTES.
AND AGAIN, THERE'S A GRAPHIC THAT HELPS SHOW THE DECLINING JURISDICTION ON NONJURISDICTIONAL TYPE ISSUES TAKING UP A LOT OF TIME.
THIS LAST CHART JUST GIVES YOU A BASIC SUMMARY OF THE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES THAT MY OFFICE HAS DONE. 35 DIFFERENT EVENTS DURING THE YEAR. AND I CAN ALSO, AT THIS POINT, INFORM YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, THAT I WILL HAVE SPENT 142 DAYS IN TRAVEL STATUS IN FISCAL '05-'06.
AND AS ALWAYS, MR. CHAIRMAN, I'D JUST LIKE TO SPEND A COUPLE OF MINUTES TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING OTHER THAN STATISTICS.
AND TODAY, WITH YOUR PERMISSION, I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF TALK ABOUT DEMONSTRATING VALUE OR THE APPROACH THAT I'VE TAKEN TOWARDS EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MY OFFICE, TO SHOW THAT IT IS, IN FACT, A VITAL AND IMPORTANT PART OF THE ICANN ORGANIZATION.
OBVIOUSLY, NUMBERS AND STATISTICS ARE IMPORTANT, AND ARE PART OF THE EVALUATION PROCESS, BUT IT'S ALSO TO NOTE THAT THERE IS AN UNDERLYING PLAN TO MEASURE AND INTERPRET EFFECTIVENESS.
ONE OF THE FIRST DOCUMENTS PRODUCED BY MY OFFICE WAS THE RESULTS-BASED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK. AND THIS WAS PUT OUT FOR COMMUNITY CONSULTATION AND IT'S FOUND ON THE OMBUDSMAN WEB PAGE. AND THIS DOCUMENT OUTLINES THE BASICS FOR LONG-TERM EVALUATION STRATEGY.
WITHIN FOUR MONTHS OF MY APPOINTMENT, I BROUGHT IN AN EVALUATOR FROM THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ORGANIZATION TO COMPARE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MY OFFICE TO ISO STANDARD 10,002, WHICH IS THE GUIDELINE FOR HANDLING COMPLAINTS IN ORGANIZATIONS, AND THE EVALUATOR FOUND THE OFFICE WAS IN COMPLIANCE WITH BOTH THE INTENT AND THE REQUIREMENTS OF THOSE INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS.
THE RESULTS-BASED ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK REQUIRES ME TO CONTINUALLY MONITOR TREND ANALYSIS, COMPLAINT INTAKES, MEDIA TRAFFICKING, AND ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF SERVICE DELIVERY. AND THIS ONGOING EVALUATION IS COMMUNICATED EACH YEAR IN THE ANNUAL REPORT WHICH WILL BE FORTHCOMING AT THE YEAR END IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.
THE NEXT EVALUATION STEP I WILL BE CONDUCTING WILL BE IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AND MONTHS. THERE ARE VERY FEW SEMINAL DOCUMENTS IN THE LITERATURE WHICH DEAL WITH STANDARDS CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OMBUDSMAN'S OFFICE. THERE ARE SOME DOCUMENTS FROM THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, THE UNITED STATES OMBUDSMAN ASSOCIATION, AND IN RELATED JOURNALS AND TEXTS WHICH PROVIDE A CONTEXT FOR EVALUATION IN THE FIELD. WE HAVE CONTRACTED AN OUTSIDE EXPERT THAT WILL FACT CHECK AND VERIFY MY OFFICE IS NOT ONLY IN COMPLIANCE WITH THESE STANDARDS BUT WILL, I HOPE, SHOW THIS OFFICE IS, AS I HAVE OFTEN SAID IT WAS, A CENTER OF EXCELLENCE.
THE STEP AFTER THAT WILL BE A FORMULATIVE EVALUATION OF FISCAL YEAR 2008-2009, AND THE GOAL OF THIS EVALUATION WILL BE TO LOOK AT A WIDE RANGE OF INDICATORS TO ENSURE THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE OFFICE IS CONSISTENT WITH THE BYLAWS, STANDARDS IN THE FIELD, AND THAT THERE ARE SUFFICIENT FISCAL, HUMAN, AND PHYSICAL RESOURCES NOT ONLY TO MEET THE MANDATE BUT THE DEMANDS FOR SERVICE BY THE COMMUNITY.
THE SUMMATIVE EVALUATION WILL TAKE PLACE IN FISCAL YEAR 2010-2011 AND WILL NOT ONLY MIRROR MANY OF THE TANGIBLE INDICATORS FROM THE FORMATIVE EVALUATION BUT WILL ALSO BE DOING SOME SURVEYING TO SEE WHAT THE IMPACTS AND ATTITUDES ARE ABOUT THE OFFICE IN THE COMMUNITY.
MR. CHAIRMAN, YOU WILL RECALL FROM RECENT CONVERSATIONS THAT FINDING SOMETHING TO COMPARE MY OFFICE'S WORK TO IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT AND COMPLEX.
THIS IS A RARE ENTITY IN THE REALM OF ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND I ACTUALLY CAN'T THINK OF ANOTHER AGENCY THAT DOES ONLINE OMBUDSMANSHIP FOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION WITH MULTICULTURAL AND MULTILINGUAL APPROACHES TO DISPUTES AND WITHOUT MANY LAYERS OF BUREAUCRACY. THE CLOSEST COMPARISON I COULD THINK OF IS THAT OF THE UNITED NATIONS STAFF OMBUDSMAN. AND I THOUGHT FOR THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE COMMUNITY I WOULD SPEND A MINUTE ON THIS SLIDE TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE EFFICIENCIES AS I SEE IT OF THE ICANN PROGRAM.
AS YOU CAN SEE I OPERATE AS A SOLE PRACTITIONER. THERE IS A FELLOW THAT COMES AND LOOKS AFTER THE OFFICE AND ANSWERS MAIL WHILE I AM LEAVE OR ON SICK LEAVE, WHILE THE UNITED NATIONS STAFF OMBUDSMAN HAS A TOTAL COMPLEMENT OF SEVEN PEOPLE.
IN 19 MONTHS SINCE MY TAKING OFFICE I HAVE HANDLED 1900 INTAKES, AND IN HER FIRST REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THEIR OMBUDSMAN REPORTS THAT IN A 34-MONTH PERIOD THEIR OFFICE DEALT WITH ALMOST 1400 MATTERS.
I CAN'T PREDICT THE NUMBER OF INTAKES FROM MY OFFICE THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE SAME YEAR AFTER YEAR. AS I PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, THERE HAVE BEEN A LARGE NUMBER OF GENERAL SERVICE COMPLAINTS OR CRITICISMS RAISED WITH ME OVER THE PAST YEAR WHERE I HAVE DECLINED JURISDICTION BECAUSE IT SIMPLY WASN'T AN ISSUE OF FAIRNESS. IT WAS JUST SIMPLY GIVING AN EMOTIVE RESPONSE. HOWEVER, I ALSO CANNOT PREDICT IF MY OFFICE WILL BE TARGETED BY THESE SORTS OF CAMPAIGNS AGAIN SHOULD THE COMMUNITY SEE FIT TO RAISE ISSUES TO ME IN THIS MANNER, AND IF THESE VOLUME OF COMPLAINTS WILL BE EVEN HIGHER IN THE FUTURE.
I DO UNDERLINE THAT EACH OF THE 1900 PEOPLE WHO CONTACTED MY OFFICE, GET AN INDIVIDUAL REPLY EVEN IF I DO DECLINE JURISDICTION.
NOW, TAKING ALL THAT INTO ACCOUNT AND LEAVING ASIDE THESE DECLINED FILES AND USING SOME VERY SIMPLE CANADIAN STATISTICAL FORMULA, EH, ON A PER CAPITA BASIS THE U.N. OMBUDSMAN OFFICE DEALS WITH 69 FILES PER STAFF MEMBER IN THE OFFICE ON AN ANNUALIZED BASIS, WHERE I DEAL WITH 378.
THE U.N. OMBUDSMAN SERVES A COMMUNITY OF ABOUT 29,000 STAFF MEMBERS, AND MY OFFICE IS VIRTUALLY OPEN TO EVERY DOMAIN HOLDER OR ONLINE USER AROUND THE WORLD.
MR. CHAIRMAN, BEFORE I CLOSE, I'D JUST LIKE TO THANK YOU AND THE BOARD FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE MET WITH YOU DURING YOUR RECENT PLANNING RETREAT. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE MET ON AN OMBUDSMAN/BOARD BASIS, AND I THINK OUR DISCUSSIONS WERE BOTH FAIR AND POSITIVE.
THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT, AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY, ONCE AGAIN, TO ADDRESS THE PUBLIC FORUM.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, FRANK. FRANK DOES A VERY GOOD JOB AS OMBUDSMAN.
I HOPE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO FIND ALTERNATE PATHS FOR PEOPLE WITH PROBLEMS THAT REALLY DON'T BELONG IN YOUR SHOP TO END UP IN THE RIGHT PLACE SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO PLAY TRAFFIC COP.
BUT WE MAY HAVE TO BE CREATIVE ABOUT FINDING WAYS TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT THAT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, FRANK.
>>FRANK FOWLIE: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.
>>VINT CERF: I'D LIKE TO CALL ON DAVID CONRAD NOW TO GIVE THE IANA REPORT.
>>DAVID CONRAD: HELLO, EVERYONE. DAVID CONRAD, GENERAL MANAGER OF IANA.
I APOLOGIZE IF I SEEM A LITTLE MORE SPACY THAN USUAL RIGHT NOW. I PICKED UP A COLD AND AM ON ANTIHISTAMINES. YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE.
GIVING A QUICK STATUS UPDATE ON IANA, PRIMARILY WHAT IANA HAS BEEN DOING SINCE THE WELLINGTON MEETING.
A QUICK OVERVIEW -- HELLO. I GUESS I COULD ACTUALLY DISPLAY SOMETHING, HUH?
OKAY.
A QUICK OVERVIEW. JUST TALKING ABOUT WHAT WE'VE DONE, WHAT WE'RE DOING, WHAT'S COMING UP AND THE THINGS THAT ARE KEEPING US UP AT NIGHT.
DEVELOPMENT SINCE WELLINGTON, THE GOOD NEWS, WE CONTINUE TO IMPROVE RESOURCE REQUEST PROCESSING. IN GENERAL, ALL OF THE STATISTICS THAT WE'VE GATHERED HAVE INDICATED THAT WE'RE IMPROVING THE TURNAROUND TIMES ON REQUESTS AS WE RECEIVE THEM.
WE HAVE WRITTEN UP A LOT OF DRAFT DOCUMENTS. THEY ARE CURRENTLY IN REVIEW STAGE. SOME OF THOSE DOCUMENTS ARE BASICALLY READY TO GO. WE WANT TO PROVIDE THEM UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, ALTHOUGH THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH IANA DOES THAT IS A LITTLE UNCLEAR AT THIS STAGE.
WE REALLY HAVEN'T HAD ANY MAJOR ISSUES. THE ONLY ISSUE, WHICH ISN'T REALLY AN ISSUE, IS THAT MICHELLE COTTON HAS TAKEN MATERNITY LEAVE, AND MICHELLE IS ONE OF OUR KEY EMPLOYEES WITHIN THE IANA, AND THAT'S CAUSED A LITTLE DELAY AS WE RAMP UP PEOPLE TO TAKE OVER SOME OF THE TASKS THAT MICHELLE DOES. SHE DOES SO MUCH THAT THAT DOES HAVE AN IMPACT ON US.
THE NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS IS THAT RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS AT IANA HAVE RESULTED IN US NOT FULLY MEETING ALL THE GOALS WE SET FOR OURSELVES IN WELLINGTON.
BASICALLY THE MAJOR LIMITING FACTOR IS STAFF TIME. GIVEN WE HAVE BEEN WRITING SO MANY DOCUMENTS, TRYING TO DOCUMENT OUR PROCEDURES, WRITING TAKES A LONG TIME, WHICH HAS DELAYED OTHER THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN WANTING TO DO.
WE ARE STILL HAVING DIFFICULTY FINDING PEOPLE WHO WANT TO LIVE IN THE BEAUTIFUL DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES AREA. CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT MYSELF. AND ALSO TRAINING REPLACEMENT STAFF DOES TAKE SOME TIME. AS A RESULT, SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE BEEN -- WE UNDERTOOK TO COMPLETE AT WELLINGTON HAVE NOT ACTUALLY BEEN COMPLETED.
ALSO, AND PROBABLY UNIQUE IN THE HISTORY OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT, IT'S ACTUALLY TAKING A BIT LONGER THAN WE ANTICIPATED.
THESE GRAPHS ARE PRIMARILY JUST TO SHOW THE TREND LINES THAT WE HAVE WITH REGARDS TO REQUEST PROCESSING.
THEY ARE, AT LEAST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, ALL PLEASINGLY DEPRESSING. THEY ARE ALL GOING DOWN.
THE ONE ON THE LOWER RIGHT-HAND CORNER HERE IS THE PROCESSING OF ROOT MANAGEMENT REQUESTS. THAT'S GENERALLY CONSIDERED THE MOST POLITICALLY SENSITIVE.
THE DEVELOPMENT SINCE WELLINGTON, THIS LISTS THE GOALS, SORT OF THE MAJOR PROJECTS THAT WE HAD UNDERTAKEN SINCE WELLINGTON.
OR THAT WE -- THESE ARE THE GOALS THAT WE HAD INDICATED THAT WE WANTED TO HAVE COMPLETED BY WELLINGTON.
HIRING ADDITIONAL STAFF, WE HAVE ACTUALLY PROMOTED MICHELLE COTTON TO IETF LIAISON.
WE HAVE POSTED A POSITION FOR THE NUMBERS LIAISON BUT WE HAVEN'T FILLED THAT ROLE AS YET. THE RED BLOCK THERE INDICATES THAT IS THE ONE I AM THE MOST UNHAPPY WITH. THE AUTOMATION PROJECTS HAVE NOT MOVED AS QUICKLY AS I DESIRED. THE ALPHA TEST, WE'RE IN ALPHA TEST FOR PEN, PRIVATE ENTERPRISE NUMBER, ALLOCATIONS. THE EIANA PROJECT, WHICH IS THE TOOL WE'RE USING BASED OFF OF THE NASC TECHNOLOGY, EIANA TECHNOLOGY, IS CURRENTLY BEING WORKED ON ACTIVELY, AND WE HOPE TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION, IF NOT PRODUCTION USE, BY THE END OF THE MONTH, NEXT MONTH.
AND WE'RE IN DESIGN PHASE FOR A COUPLE OF OTHER APPLICATIONS.
WE HAVE CLEARED THE CURRENT REQUEST BACKLOG. UNFORTUNATELY, DUE TO THE TRAINING OF NEW STAFF AND THE DOCUMENTATION, THE BACKLOG HAS GROWN UP A LITTLE BIT.
LET'S SEE. THE OTHER -- OH, THE OTHER SORT OF HIGH PRIORITY ONE WAS THE NEW IANA WEB SITE. IT HAS GONE UP. PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN NOTICE OF IT. THIS IS A SCREEN SHOT OF IT.
WE'RE ABOUT READY TO MOVE INTO SORT OF LIMITED PRODUCTION WITH IT. WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED A WHOLE LOT OF COMMENTS. IF YOU HAVE -- IF YOU DO HAVE A CHANCE GO TO TEST.ICANN.ORG, PLAY AROUND WITH IT, SEE WHAT YOU LIKE, WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE. IT'S STILL PRIMARILY ORIENTED ON STRUCTURE. WE HAVE SOME CONTENT THAT HASN'T BEEN FULLY UPDATED YET, BUT IN GENERAL THE WEB SITE IS COMING CLOSE TO THE POINT WHERE WE'RE READY TO PUT IT INTO SOME LIMITED PRODUCTION USE.
JUST SO YOU KNOW, WE DON'T STAY HOME AND SIT BACK AND DRINK PINA COLADAS. WE ACTUALLY GO TO MANY DIFFERENT PLACES TO SIT BACK AND DRINK PINA COLADAS. THESE ARE THE MEETINGS THE IANA STAFF HAVE ATTENDED. THERE'S A LARGE FOCUS ON THE RIR COMMUNITY. WE ALSO HAVE ATTENDED IETFS. AND KEN JUST RECENTLY WAS HELPING WITH TRAINING AT THE PACNOG MEETING IN LOVELY DOWNTOWN APIA.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES, BASICALLY WE'RE CONTINUING ON DOING BASICALLY THE SAME AS WE HAVE BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST THREE MONTHS. OUR PRIMARY FOCUS IS TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE PROCESSING OF REQUESTS.
WE DO HAVE A STRONG FOCUS RIGHT NOW ON DOCUMENTING IANA PROCESSES AND GENERATING STATISTICS AND REPORTS. AND I'M GETTING THE WHIP OUT AND BEATING THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS ON THE AUTOMATION PROJECTS.
I'M REALLY HOPING TO HIRE THE NUMBERS LIAISON PERSON BEFORE THE END OF JULY, AND HOPEFULLY TO PUT THE AUTOMATION PROJECTS IN PUBLIC BETA.
SOME OF THE OTHER PROJECTS THAT WE WERE WORKING ON SINCE WELLINGTON, I WON'T GO INTO A GREAT DETAIL ON THESE. THIS, OBVIOUSLY THE SLIDE DECK WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE TO PERUSE AS THEY DESIRE.
IN THE FUTURE, OR IN THE NEAR FUTURE, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE GOING TO BE MIGRATING TO THE NEW IANA WEB SITE. WE'RE SPENDING A LOT OF EFFORT TRYING TO GET THE AUTOMATION UP AND RUNNING SO PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY TRY AND USE IT AND ALSO HAVE SOME AUTOMATED STATISTICS AND REPORT GENERATION SO I DON'T HAVE TO USE EXCEL ANYMORE.
IN TERMS OF DOCUMENTATION, WE HAVE BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME DOING THIS. WE'RE GOING TO BE HAVING ADDRESS AND IETF RESOURCE ALLOCATION PROCEDURAL DRAFTS AVAILABLE TO THE APPROPRIATE COMMUNITIES FOR THEM TO REVIEW AND TELL US WHAT WE'RE DOING WRONG, OR DOING RIGHT FOR THAT MATTER.
A REDELEGATION DOCUMENTS, NAME SERVER CHANGE DOCUMENTS AND DATA CHANGE DOCUMENTS, AS WELL AS KIM DAVIES, THE NAMES LIAISON, HAS PREPARED DOCUMENTS ON SUNSETTING CCTLDS, GLUE POLICY, AND TECHNICAL CHECKS/REQUIREMENTS. ALL TOTALED, WE'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT SOMEWHERE ON THE ORDER OF 750 TO A THOUSAND PAGES OF DOCUMENTATION THAT HAVE BEEN PREPARED BY IANA OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF SIGNING A PERFORMANCE MOU WITH THE IETF. I BELIEVE THAT DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE IETF COMMUNITY. IF YOU'RE INVOLVED WITH THE IETF, YOU MAY WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND MAKE ANY COMMENTS THAT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO MAKE.
AND WE HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER PROJECTS. SIGNING .ARPA, DNX SIGNING .ARPA IS ONE OF THE MORE INTERESTING ONES BUT I WON'T GO INTO SIGNIFICANT DETAIL ON THOSE. THERE ARE JUST WAY TOO MANY OF THEM.
IN THE FUTURE, LOOKING AT THE MEDIUM TO LONG TERM, MY FOCUS HAS BEEN ON HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO IMPROVE IANA? WHAT IS IT THAT WE NEED TO DO TO MAKE THINGS BETTER?
AS A SERVICE COMPANY, IANA HAS THE NEED TO CONTINUALLY IMPROVE OUR SERVICES TO TRY TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
THERE ARE ALSO A BUNCH OF OTHER ISSUES THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT. FOR EXAMPLE, DNSSEC SIGNING OF THE ROOT AND X.509 CA ADDRESSING TRUST ANCHOR THAT'S INVOLVED WITH THE RIRS. AND IT'S NOT CLEAR TO ME AT THIS STAGE WHAT IANA'S ROLE IS.
THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DOT INT POLICY. IANA IS BOTH THE REGISTRY AND REGISTRAR FOR DOT INT, AND IT'S NOT CLEAR, SINCE IANA DOES NOT MAKE POLICY, WHO ACTUALLY DOES MAKE THE POLICIES WITH REGARDS TO DOT INT.
THERE'S A GLOBAL IPV6 POLICY THAT'S BEING -- SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO ICANN'S BOARD IN THE NEAR FUTURE. AND THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN RAISED WITH REGARDS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE CHANGE IN THE WAY END-USER ALLOCATIONS ARE BEING DONE WILL -- SHOULD OR WILL IMPACT THE ALLOCATIONS FROM THE IANA TO THE RIRS. BUT THAT GETS ALL COMPLICATED UP IN THE WAY THE POLICIES ARE ACTUALLY GENERATED.
AND THEN THERE'S THE -- WHAT IS EXACTLY IANA'S FUTURE IN THE POST-MOU WORLD? WILL I BELIEVE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO SIT AND DRINK PINA COLADAS THAT I HAVE BECOME SO FOND OF.
WITH THAT, I WILL PASS IT BACK.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU, DAVID. IT HAS CERTAINLY BEEN GOOD TO HAVE YOU ON BOARD AND WORKING HARD ON ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS THAT ICANN PERFORMS.
WE HAVE SOME TIME NOW FOR QUESTIONS, NOT ONLY FOR DAVID BUT ALSO FOR GEORGE OR OTHERS WHO WERE UP IN THIS LAST CYCLE.
SO VENI, YOU HAD A QUESTION FOR GEORGE.
>>VENI MARKOVSKI: YES.
GEORGE, YOU'RE HAVING A WORKSHOP TOMORROW AFTERNOON.
>>GEORGE SADOWSKY: (NODS HEAD.)
>>VENI MARKOVSKI: AND I SAW A BUNCH OF ADVERTISEMENTS PRINTED, WHICH UNFORTUNATELY STAY UPSTAIRS ON ONE TABLE, WHICH MEANS NOBODY IS PICKING THEM UP. I WAS EXPECTING THEY WOULD BE OVER BY NOW.
ONE OF MY CONCERNS IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, UNFORTUNATELY ONLY IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, HAS BEEN THE AMOUNT OF TIME THE FUTURE DIRECTORS ARE GOING TO SPEND IS ONLY INCREASING. IT DOESN'T SEEM THAT IT'S GOING TO DECREASE. AND THE CALCULATIONS THAT I HAVE MADE SHOW THAT WE, AT THE MOMENT, SPEND ABOUT 26 WEEKS A YEAR ON THE ICANN BOARD WORK.
THAT IS IF WE ARE NOT NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS, AND WE SPENT ON AVERAGE FIVE MINUTES PER WRITING OR READING E-MAIL. NOW, WHEN I SAY "AVERAGE," SOME OF THEM CONSIST OF HUNDREDS OF PAGES OF DOCUMENTS. SOME OF THEM ARE REALLY SHORT.
IT WOULD BE GOOD TO WARN PEOPLE IN ADVANCE WHAT THEY HAVE TO EXPECT IN TERMS OF TIME, BECAUSE TO BE REALLY ANNOYING YOU, THEY START TO GET UPSET -- I MEAN IF THEY ARE UPSET BY YOU, THAT'S OKAY, BUT THEY MAY GET UPSET BY THE WORK ON THE BOARD.
AND I REALLY DON'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN, BECAUSE ICANN NEEDS PEOPLE WHO CAN ALLOCATE THIS TIME. AND THIS TIME ALLOCATION SHOULD NOT INFLUENCE THEIR USUAL WORK.
SO IT'S NOT REALLY A QUESTION. IT'S LIKE AN OBSERVATION.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU, VENI. THAT NUMBER OF 26 WEEKS, I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT CAME FROM. I DON'T CALCULATE THAT NUMBER MYSELF. I SPEND ABOUT A QUARTER OF MY TIME ON ICANN-RELATED MATTERS BUT MAYBE THAT'S BECAUSE I AM A NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER.
>>VENI MARKOVSKI: THAT MAY BE THE CASE, PLUS THIS IS 26 WORKING WEEKS, MEANING I EXCLUDED SATURDAYS AND SUNDAY. SO IT'S LIKE 130 DAYS, WHICH IF YOU PUT IT IN TERMS OF A YEAR, IS ONE-THIRD OF A YEAR.
SO IT'S EIGHT-HOUR DAYS. IT'S JUST -- THAT'S WHY I CALL THIS 26 WORKING WEEKS.
AND I CALCULATE THE MEETINGS WHERE WE ARE NOW AS ONLY EIGHT HOURS, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE 16, 18.
>>VINT CERF: OKAY.
THE PROBLEM WITH 26 WEEKS IS THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE HALF A YEAR SINCE THERE ARE 52 WEEKS A YEAR.
SO TRUTH IN ADVERTISING NEEDS TO BE REFINED A LITTLE BIT.
DID I SEE A HAND GOING UP? YES, DEMI, PLEASE.
>>DEMI GETSCHKO: JUST A QUESTION TO GEORGE.
IF THERE IS A THRESHOLD UNDER WHAT -- IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO SELECT CANDIDATES AND HOW WE ARE NOW (INAUDIBLE).
>>GEORGE SADOWSKY: CAN YOU SAY A LITTLE BIT MORE? I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION.
>>VINT CERF: I THINK WHAT HE'S SAYING, GEORGE, IF YOU WILL PERMIT ME TO INTERPRET, IS THAT IS THERE SOME AMOUNT OF TIME, PERCENTAGE OF YEAR OR SOMETHING, BELOW WHICH YOU CAN GET CANDIDATES AND ABOVE WHICH YOU JUST CAN'T GET ANY AT ALL? OR IT MAY NOT BE THAT TIGHT, BUT MAYBE THERE'S A FAIRLY OBVIOUS PLACE WHERE SOMEBODY SAYS, "I'M SORRY, I COULDN'T POSSIBLY SPEND THAT AMOUNT OF TIME ON THAT PARTICULAR TASK."
>>GEORGE SADOWSKY: WE REALLY HAVEN'T TESTED THAT HYPOTHESIS BECAUSE WE CAN'T OFFER THE LOW-AMOUNT-OF-TIME POSITION, UNFORTUNATELY.
BUT SOMETHING VENI SAID LED ME TO REMEMBER I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT IN THIS ROOM TOMORROW AT 2:00, WE WILL BE HAVING A ONE-HOUR NOMINATING COMMITTEE PRESENTATION IF ANY OF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE. WE ARE HAVING IT IN THIS ROOM BECAUSE WE ARE WEBCASTING IT AND THIS IS THE ROOM FROM WHICH WEBCASTING IS DONE.
>>VINT CERF: OKAY, GEORGE. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, EITHER FROM THE BOARD OR FROM THE FLOOR? OR ANY SPEAKERS?
YES, BECKY BURR.
>>BECKY BURR: SORRY, I'M SHORTER THAN THE AVERAGE SPEAKER, I GUESS.
I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS, ONE FOR FRANK FOWLIE AND ONE FOR DAVE CONRAD.
I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU WANT ME TO --
>>VINT CERF: START WITH FRANK AND THEN GO TO DAVID.
WHERE IS FRANK?
FRANK IS DASHING BACK TO THE LECTERN.
AND THERE COMES DAVID.
>>BECKY BURR: WE'LL ALL STARE AT HIM WHILE HE DASHES SO AS TO MAKE HIM MOST UNCOMFORTABLE.
JUST A JOKE.
THANKS.
I WAS INTERESTED IN YOUR REPORT THAT OF ALL OF THE CASES OVER WHICH YOU HAD JURISDICTION, NOT THE CASES THAT WERE UNRESOLVED, BUT IN THE CASES WHERE YOU HAD JURISDICTION, YOU LISTED THEM AS EITHER BEING RESOLVED OR ABANDONED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
ONE OF THEM MIGHT HAVE BEEN REFERRED OR THE LIKE.
THAT SURPRISES ME, BECAUSE I -- AS YOUR ROLE IS ADVISORY, I WOULD EXPECT THAT THERE WOULD BE CASES WHERE THERE WOULD BE A SORT OF CATEGORY OF OVERTAKEN BY EVENTS COMPLAINTS, IN OTHER WORDS, SOMEBODY RAISED AN ISSUE, THE BOARD OR THE STAFF SAID, "WE HEAR YOU.
WE'RE DOING WHAT WE WANT ANYWAY."
SO MY QUESTION IS, WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE COMPLAINTS?
AND HOW CAN WE REALLY EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR OFFICE IF WE DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION?
LET ME JUST SAY, I WAS ASKED DURING THE EVOLUTION AND REFORM COMMITTEE TO DRAFT THE CHARTER FOR THE OMBUDSMAN.
AND THE INITIAL CHARTER I DRAFTED GAVE THE OMBUDSMAN SIGNIFICANTLY MORE INDEPENDENCE.
SO MY QUESTION IS, DID WE GET IT WRONG?
AND WHERE IS THAT CATEGORY OF "OVERTAKEN BY EVENTS" COMPLAINTS?
>>FRANK FOWLIE: I THINK YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO ASK ONE QUESTION, BUT I THINK I HEARD ABOUT EIGHT.
>>BECKY BURR: WELL, OKAY, WHERE ARE THE "OVERTAKEN BY EVENTS" ONE?
>>FRANK FOWLIE: I THINK THE FIRST THING IS, IT'S NOT A BINARY CODING AT THE END OF A FILE.
IT ISN'T EITHER THAT THE FILE IS RESOLVED OR ABANDONED.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER CATEGORIES, FOR EXAMPLE, NO FURTHER WORK IS -- OR -- CAN'T REMEMBER THE EXACT WORDING, BUT NO FURTHER WORK IS REQUIRED, WHICH INDICATES ALONG THE WAY THAT EITHER THE -- IT'S FOUND THAT THE COMPLAINT IS NOT SUBSTANTIATED OR THERE'S NOT ANYTHING FURTHER THAT'S REQUIRED.
IN THE CODING COMING UP IN THE FORTHCOMING FISCAL YEAR, I'VE ADDED IN AN ADDITIONAL CLOSING CATEGORY ON ESCALATED FOR THOSE COMPLAINTS THAT GO THROUGH MY OFFICE AND ARE ESCALATED TO EITHER THE BOARD RECONSIDERATION OR THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW PROCESS BECAUSE PEOPLE AREN'T SATISFIED WITH IT.
WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING -- AND YOU'LL, I'M SURE, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG -- IS THAT IF I GET INTO A SITUATION WHERE THERE'S INTRANSIGENCE ON ONE PARTY OR THE OTHER TO DRAW AN ADR PROCESS TO A SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION, I THINK THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT CAN HAPPEN.
THE FIRST THING IS, IF THAT PARTY HAPPENS TO BE AN ICANN BOARD, STAFF, OR SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION, I HAVE THE ABILITY UNDER THE OMBUDSMAN FRAMEWORK TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS.
I HAVE MADE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THREE OR FOUR FILES OVER THE PAST YEAR WHERE I FELT IT'S NECESSARY TO INVOLVE THE BOARD TO CURE SYSTEMIC ISSUES OR TO CURE SPECIFIC ISSUES BY THE CHANGE OF A BYLAW OR SOMETHING WITHIN THEIR REALM OF EMPOWERMENT.
I'VE ALSO USED THAT POWER TO GO TO THE BOARD WHERE I FEEL THAT THERE'S BEEN STAFF ACTION THAT'S NOTEWORTHY AND NECESSARY FOR THEM TO DEAL WITH.
THE SECOND STEP IS AN UNDERSTANDING THAT NOT ALL DISPUTES CAN BE DEALT WITH BY ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION.
AND AT SOME POINT, IF THERE IS A DIFFICULTY IN DRAWING THE PARTIES TOGETHER, ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION MAY NOT BE THE MOST APPROPRIATE PROCESS FOR THE PARTIES TO TRY TO GET A RESOLUTION THAT EACH OF THEM CAN GET A BUY-IN TO AND EACH OF THEM CAN AGREE TO.
VERY OFTEN, IT WILL BE -- OR SOMETIMES IT WILL BE THE CASE THAT IT WILL BE THE CHOICE OF A PERSON MAKING A COMPLAINT TO ME TO THEN GO TO A BOARD RECONSIDERATION OR TO GO OUTSIDE OF THE INTERNAL PROCESSES AND LOOK AT COURTS.
IT IS A NORMAL STANDARD FOR OMBUDSMAN AROUND THE WORLD THAT THEY ACT AS THE LOWEST LEVEL OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION POSSIBLE AFTER ALL ADMINISTRATIVE ROUTES HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED.
AND IF AT THAT POINT THE COMPLAINANT DECIDES THAT THAT LOW LEVEL OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION ISN'T APPROPRIATE TO THEIR NEEDS OR THE INSTITUTION, BECAUSE THERE IS A PRINCIPLE THAT DOESN'T PERMIT THEM TO DO ADR AS OPPOSED TO FORMAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION, THAT'S BEYOND MY CAPACITY TO DICTATE.
THAT HAS TO BE ORGANIC TO THE PARTIES.
>>BECKY BURR: I JUST THINK THAT THERE'S -- THAT CATEGORY THAT YOU DESCRIBED OF "NO FURTHER ACTION," COULD IMPLY TO FURTHER ACTION WAS NEEDED BECAUSE IT WAS RESOLVED OR THE PARTIES WERE HAPPY.
AND I'M JUST SAYING THERE'S NO TRANSPARENCY ON THAT ISSUE OF RECOMMENDATIONS.
I MEAN, DO WE KNOW -- HAVE A WAY OF KNOWING WHEN OR WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS --
>>FRANK FOWLIE: YES, IF YOU READ THE ANNUAL REPORT, ALL MY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE REPORTED TO THE PUBLIC.
THEY MAY NOT BE IN DETAIL, AGAIN, BECAUSE I HAVE A DUTY TO PROTECT THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF THE PROCESS AND OF THE PEOPLE MAKING COMPLAINTS AND THE MANNER THAT RESOLUTION TAKES PLACE, BECAUSE IT IS AN INFORMAL PROCESS.
BUT IN THE ANNUAL REPORT OF LAST YEAR AND IN THE ANNUAL REPORT THAT WILL BE FORTHCOMING IN THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS AND MONTHS, YOU WILL SEE MY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE PUT IN THE PUBLIC FORUM.
>>BECKY BURR: GREAT.
THANK YOU.
>>VINT CERF: AND THE NEXT QUESTION, I GUESS, IS NOW TO DAVID CONRAD.
THANK YOU, DAVID.
>>BECKY BURR: THANKS.
I WAS -- WELL, LET ME JUST -- YOU TALKED ABOUT ROUTE MANAGEMENT ISSUES AS BEING THE MOST POLITICALLY SENSITIVE AND THEREFORE THE ONES WHERE THE SLOPE OF IMPROVEMENT WAS FLATTER THAN THE REST.
AND THAT'S NOT A CRITICISM.
THAT'S JUST A QUESTION -- I MEAN, IN OTHER WORDS, THAT WAS THAT LAST CATEGORY WHERE THE DECLINE WAS LESS STEEP THAN OTHERS.
THAT -- IN THE LAST YEAR, A NUMBER OF NEW STLDS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE ROOT.
BUT THE LAST REPORT THAT HAS BEEN POSTED WAS POSTED ON AUGUST 5TH WITH RESPECT TO THE DOT TRAVEL.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE REPORT THAT NEEDS TO GO TO THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT WITH RESPECT TO THOSE ADDITIONS AND REDELEGATIONS AND STUFF.
CERTAINLY JOBS AND CAT AND MOBI HAD REPORTS.
SO I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS.
ONE, WHEN ARE THOSE REPORTS GOING TO GET POSTED?
AND HAS THERE BEEN ANY CHANGE IN THE -- THE FORMAT OR NATURE OF THOSE REPORTS IN THE LAST YEAR?
>>DAVE CONRAD: ANSWERING YOUR SECOND QUESTION FIRST, NO, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THE -- SINCE I'VE BEEN AT ICANN, THE FORMAT HAS NOT CHANGED.
I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHAT THE FORMAT WAS BEFORE I JOINED ICANN IN NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR.
>>BECKY BURR: OKAY.
SO THE LAST ONE THAT'S POSTED PREDATES YOU?
>>DAVE CONRAD: IS THAT TRUE?
>>BECKY BURR: AUGUST OF TWO THOUSAND AND --
>>DAVE CONRAD: I THOUGHT THERE WERE REPORTS SINCE MY JOINING. BUT WITH REGARDS TO YOUR SECOND QUESTION, THE PROCESS BY WHICH WE ACTUALLY TAKE THE INTERNALLY GENERATED REPORT AND PUT IT ON THE WEB DOES INVOLVE WORKING WITH THE DELEGATEE TO REMOVE INFORMATION THAT THEY CONSIDER SENSITIVE.
AND THAT PROCESS CAN TAKE SOME TIME.
IT'S -- WE HAVE NOT HELD UP A REPORT FOR ANY REASON INTERNALLY WITHIN ICANN OR IANA.
>>BECKY BURR: SO THEY GO UP WHEN THEY'RE DONE, BASICALLY?
>>DAVE CONRAD: EXACTLY.
>>BECKY BURR: AND THAT WOULD MEAN, LIKE CAT AND --
>>DAVE CONRAD: CORRECT.
I THOUGHT CAT WAS POSTED, BUT --
>>BECKY BURR: ONE PIECE OF THAT -- OH, I SEE, YOU'RE SAYING THAT AFTER THEY ARE SENT TO THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT, THEN THERE'S A DISCUSSION --
>>DAVE CONRAD: EXACTLY.
>>BECKY BURR: -- ABOUT REMOVING PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.
>>DAVE CONRAD: ONCE WE SEND IT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, THEN WE ALSO WORK WITH THE DELEGATEE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE HAPPY WITH THE REPORT, THAT THERE IS NO SENSITIVE BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL DATA IN THAT REPORT BEFORE THAT'S PUT UP ON THE WEB FOR ALL TO SEE.
>>BECKY BURR: OKAY.
THANKS.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU, DAVID.
WE HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION NOW.
PLEASE GO AHEAD.
>>KEN FOCKLER: KEN FOCKLER, QUESTIONS FOR DAVID.
A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
I WAS INTERESTED IN THE REFERENCE TO A PERFORMANCE MOU --
>>DAVID CONRAD: YES.
>>KEN FOCKLER: WITH IETF?
IS IT IN RELATION WITH THE IETF?
IS IT YOUR PERFORMANCE OR THEIR PERFORMANCE?
AND --
>>DAVE CONRAD: ACTUALLY, IT'S A BIT OF BOTH, TO BE HONEST.
>>KEN FOCKLER: COULD BE. AND AS I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT, I STARTED TO ASK MYSELF OR SEE IF WE COULD EXPAND A LITTLE BIT ON IANA AS AN ENTITY, WHAT IS ITS STATUS.
AND WHEN YOU SIGN AN MOU, DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN LETTERHEAD?
ARE YOU UNDER THE GUARDIANSHIP OF ICANN?
AND JUST KIND OF HOW DOES THAT WORK?
>>DAVE CONRAD: THE MOU WOULD BE WITH ICANN FOR THE IANA FUNCTION.
THE MOU WITH THE IETF IS BASICALLY PROVIDING SLAS FOR IANA SERVICES TO THE IETF WITH REGARDS TO REQUEST PROCESSING AND STATISTICS AND REPORTING GENERATION.
THOMAS, ACTUALLY, WHO'S BEEN INVOLVED IN SOME OF THESE DISCUSSIONS MIGHT WANT TO ADD ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
BUT, BASICALLY, IT'S A WAY THAT THE IETF AND IANA, ICANN, CAN AGREE UPON SORT OF WHAT THE BASELINE PERFORMANCE OF THE IANA FUNCTION WITH RESPECT TO IETF FUNCTIONALITY WILL BE.
>>KEN FOCKLER: OKAY.
>>DAVE CONRAD: IT IS ACTUALLY A -- A MUTUAL THING.
THERE ARE TIMELINES THAT THE IETF, IESG BODIES MUST PERFORM CERTAIN DUTIES FOR IANA AS WELL.
>>KEN FOCKLER: OKAY.
JUST BACK TO THE OTHER -- IS THE IANA FUNCTION, THOUGH, IN LOCKSTEP CONTRACTUALLY WITH ALL THE ICANN FUNCTION?
LIKE, DOES THE MOU WITH THE D.O.C. JUST COVER IT ALL?
I DON'T KNOW IF I'M MAKING MYSELF CLEAR.
IS IT KIND OF -- HISTORY DIDN'T --
>>VINT CERF: THE IANA FUNCTION AND THE MOU WITH ICANN, BETWEEN ICANN AND THE D.O.C, ARE SYNCHRONIZED NOW.
>>KEN FOCKLER: OKAY.
THANK YOU.
>>SABINE DOLDERER: SABINE DOLDERER.
I HAVE ONE QUESTION TO DAVID, TOO.
IT STRIKES ME WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT SLAS FOR THE IANA FUNCTION FOR THE IETF.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF -- A LOT OF MOVEMENT AHEAD IN THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, AND I CONGRATULATE YOU ON THAT.
THE QUESTION IS, IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A SIMILAR LIST OF SLAS FOR THE TLD FUNCTION OF IANA?
>>DAVE CONRAD: I'M HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN THE DISCUSSIONS.
I MEAN, IT LARGELY DEPENDS ON WHAT COMMUNITY THAT I'M WORKING WITH.
IANA IS A SERVICE ORGANIZATION, AND OUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE THE BEST SERVICE TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
>>SABINE DOLDERER: THANK YOU.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU, SABINE.
AND THANK YOU, DAVID.
THERE BEING NO MORE -- VENI.
SO YOU'RE NOW FILLING IN A FUNCTION THAT ONE OF OUR FORMER BOARD MEMBERS USED TO HAVE.
HE ALWAYS HAD A QUESTION.
GO AHEAD.
>>VENI MARKOVSKI: I JUST WANTED TO ASK YOU, YOU SAID THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED NOT THAT MANY RESPONSES TO THE NEW WEB SITE.
WHEN YOU SAY "NOT THAT MANY," ONE?
FIVE?
TEN?
>>DAVE CONRAD: FIFTYISH.
>>VENI MARKOVSKI: OKAY.
>>DAVE CONRAD: TWENTY-FIVE-ISH. KIM DAVIES ACTUALLY PUT HIS PERSONAL E-MAIL ADDRESS AS THE CONTACT POINT.
AND HE WAS JUST REALLY HOPING THAT HE WAS GOING TO GET BURIED.
>>VENI MARKOVSKI: I JUST NEED -- SORRY. I JUST NEED THIS INFORMATION FOR LATER COMMENTS WHICH ARE GOING TO COME UP PROBABLY.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I THINK, DAVID, YOU CAN STAND DOWN.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE'LL TAKE A BREAK NOW.
THIS BREAK IS A LITTLE LATE STARTING, SO I WILL RECONVENE AT 4:00.
(BREAK.)
>>VINT CERF: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WOULD YOU KINDLY TAKE YOUR SEATS.
WE'RE GOING TO RESTART THE PUBLIC FORUM SESSION.
IF YOU'LL KINDLY TAKE YOUR SEATS, WE'LL BEGIN WITH OUR REPORT FROM THE CCNSO, GIVEN BY CHRIS DISSPAIN, ITS CHAIRMAN.
CHRIS, BEFORE YOU START, I HAVE A NETWORK ALERT.
SOMEONE HAS A PEER-TO-PEER NETWORK ENABLED CALLED TSD0.
IT'S DYNAMICALLY CHANGING ITS I.P. ADDRESSES AND INTERFERING WITH EVERYONE ELSE IN THE ROOM.
WHOEVER HAS TSD0 OPERATING, WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT IT OFF.
CHRIS, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
>>CHRIS DISSPAIN: THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, VINT.
GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY.
THIS IS A VERY BRIEF REPORT FROM THE CCNSO.
I JUST -- WE HAVE PREPARED A FORMAL DOCUMENT, WHICH WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO EVERYBODY AND PUBLISHED.
I DON'T PROPOSE TO RUN THROUGH IT IN DETAIL.
BUT THERE ARE A FEW POINTS I'D LIKE TO MENTION.
WE'VE HAD A VERY SUCCESSFUL MEETING, AND WE'VE DISCUSSED A NUMBER OF ISSUES WHICH ARE OF REAL RELEVANCE TO THE CCTLD COMMUNITY.
THE FIRST ONE THAT I'D JUST LIKE TO TOUCH ON IS THE REGIONS, THE ICANN REGIONS.
UNDER THE TERMS OF THE -- YOUR BYLAWS, THE REGIONS ARE UP FOR REVIEW THIS YEAR, THIS BEING THE THIRD YEAR OF THE CURRENT STATUS.
THE CCTLD COMMUNITY AND THE CCNSO DIDN'T REALLY PARTICIPATE IN THE PREVIOUS REVIEW.
WE WERE BUSY FORMING THE CCNSO AT THE TIME.
WE DO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF INPUT TO GIVE YOU IN RESPECT TO THE REGIONS WHICH, AS I'M SURE YOU'LL APPRECIATE, AFFECTS THE CCTLD COMMUNITY VERY SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND WE RESOLVED TODAY THAT WE WOULD BE PROVIDING YOU WITH A PAPER REQUESTING THAT THE REVIEW BE CONDUCTED IN A PARTICULAR WAY, THAT IT BE A FULL REVIEW, PERHAPS INVOLVING A TASK FORCE TO CONSIDER THE WHOLE REGIONAL SITUATION.
SO THAT WILL BE COMING.
SOME GOOD NEWS.
OUR BUDGET WORKING GROUP -- THIS IS THE WORKING GROUP THAT IS DEALING WITH FINDING A METHODOLOGY UNDER WHICH CCTLDS CAN MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS TO ICANN -- SHOULD IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE BE PUBLISHING A SET OF GUIDELINES, OBVIOUSLY, SUBJECT TO MEMBERS' COMMENTS, BUT PUBLISHING A SET OF GUIDELINES MAKING A SUGGESTION AS TO HOW THE CCTLD COMMUNITY SHOULD CONSIDER MAKING PAYMENTS TO ICANN, IN MUCH THE SAME WAY AS OUR ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK GUIDELINES WHERE THESE ARE, AS I SAY, PURELY GUIDELINES.
HOWEVER, WE HOPE THAT GIVEN THAT THE GUIDELINES WILL MEET CONSENSUS IN THE COMMUNITY, THAT THEY WILL AT LEAST ACT AS A GUIDE TO CCTLDS WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING BUDGETARY CONTRIBUTIONS.
WE HAVE FORMED A TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP.
THE IDEA OF THIS TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP IS TO START PRODUCING A HANDBOOK FOR CCTLD MANAGERS IN RESPECT TO THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF RUNNING A CCTLD, AND ALSO LOOKING AT SOME POLICY ASPECTS THAT ARISE FROM THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS.
IT'S NOT INTENDED TO BE A MINIMUM STANDARD OR BEST PRACTICE, BECAUSE THAT, AS I'M SURE YOU'LL APPRECIATE, IS POLITICALLY SENSITIVE.
BUT WE CERTAINLY HOPE THIS WORKING GROUP, WHICH IS CHAIRED BY EBERHARDT LISA, WILL PRODUCE SOME TECHNICAL INFORMATION FOR THE COMMUNITY.
FINALLY, ON IANA, WE ARE ONCE AGAIN EXTREMELY ENCOURAGED BY THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE AND THE EFFORT THAT'S BEING MADE ON IANA.
THERE IS ONE ISSUE WHICH WE HAVE SENT OFF TO OUR JOINT IANA WORKING GROUP, AND THAT IS THAT THERE IS A CONCERN THAT THERE IS CURRENTLY NO MECHANISM AS FAR AS WE ARE AWARE IN PLACE TO DECIDE WHETHER SOMETHING THAT IS BEING CHANGED OR SOMETHING THAT IS BEING INTRODUCED IS POLICY OR ADMINISTRATION.
CLEARLY, IF IT'S POLICY, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE FEEL, WHILST IT MIGHT NOT NECESSARILY NEED TO GO THROUGH A POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD NEED TO BE INVOLVED IN, WHEREAS IF IT'S ADMINISTRATION, IT MAY SIMPLY BE A MATTER THAT CAN BE -- THAT CAN BE DEALT WITH BY NOTIFICATION AND DISCUSSION.
FINALLY, IF I COULD ASK, AS A FAVOR, IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS, IF I COULD DEAL WITH THEM NOW, AS I HAVE A JOINT CCNSO, GOVERNMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, GOING ON UPSTAIRS AT WHICH I WOULD LIKE TO BE PRESENT.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHRIS, AS ALWAYS, FOR YOUR VERY HARD WORK ON BEHALF OF THE CCNSO.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS EITHER FROM THE FLOOR OR FROM THE BOARD FOR CHRIS?
SUSAN.
>>SUSAN CRAWFORD: VERY BRIEF QUESTION, CHRIS.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REPORT.
I WAS INTRIGUED BY THE MENTION OF REVIEWING THE ICANN REGIONS.
CAN YOU GIVE US ANY DETAIL ABOUT THAT?
OR INDICATION OF WHAT THAT'S ABOUT?
>>CHRIS DISSPAIN: WELL, THE ICANN REGIONS ARE SET UP UNDER THE ICANN BYLAWS, I BELIEVE.
BUT THERE IS A COMMITMENT IN THERE THAT THEY SHOULD BE REVIEWED EVERY THREE YEARS.
FROM THE CCTLDS' POINT OF VIEW, THERE ARE THINGS THAT MAY NEED TO BE LOOKED AT IN THAT REVIEW.
TO GIVE YOU A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES, THE -- THERE ARE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF ARAB NATIONS WHO BELIEVE THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE THEIR OWN REGION.
THERE IS ALSO AN ISSUE IN RESPECT TO TERRITORIES.
WE HAVE A SITUATION AT PRESENT WHERE, TO TAKE ONE EXAMPLE, THE CAYMAN ISLANDS ARE PART OF EUROPE.
THE REASON FOR THAT IS THAT THEY ARE A TERRITORY OF BRITAIN.
IT CAUSES SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS FOR US IN MANY WAYS.
LANGUAGE PROBLEMS IN SOME CASES, CULTURAL PROBLEMS, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
THERE IS A PROVISION IN THE CCNSO BYLAWS THAT SAYS THAT WHERE A CCTLD MANAGER IS IN DOUBT ABOUT WHAT REGION -- WHICH REGION THEY SHOULD BE IN, THEY HAVE AN OPTION TO CHOOSE.
HOWEVER, IN ORDER FOR US TO USE THAT TO SOLVE, SAY, THE CAYMAN ISLANDS PROBLEMS, WE WOULD HAVE TO INTERPRET THE WORD "DOUBT" TO MEAN "NOT COMFORTABLE" OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.
AND WHILST I SUPPOSE WE COULD DO THAT, IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE WOULD PARTICULARLY WANT TO DO.
WE WOULD PREFER THAT THE WHOLE THING BE LOOKED AT.
AND SO OUR SUGGESTION TO YOU IN OUR PAPER IS GOING TO BE THAT THERE IS, EFFECTIVELY, A TASK FORCE OF ALL THE VARIOUS GROUPS, INCLUDING, OBVIOUSLY, THE GAC, AND THAT THE TABLE IS EFFECTIVELY CLEARED, AND WE START FROM A BLANK SHEET OF PAPER.
WE MAY END UP IN THE SAME PLACE AS WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
BUT AT LEAST IF WE START FROM A BLANK SHEET OF PAPER, WE CAN MAYBE COME UP WITH SOME OTHER IDEAS.
JUST ONE OTHER POINT, IF I MAY.
THERE IS A PERCEPTION THAT THE CURRENT ICANN REGIONS ARE BASED OR BUILT AROUND THE UNITED NATIONS REGIONS.
THAT'S NOT STRICTLY TRUE.
THERE ARE, IN FACT, SIX U.N. REGIONS.
THERE IS A REGION CALLED OCEANIA, WHICH INCLUDES AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND AND THE PACIFIC ISLANDS.
AND I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO THINK THAT I AM MAKING A PLUG FOR AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND TO HAVE THEIR OWN REGION.
BUT IT'S NOT THE CASE THAT WE CAN SAY THAT WE'RE SIMPLY FOLLOWING THE U.N. REGIONS, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT.
SO I THINK IT'S A MATTER WORTHY OF WORK AND CONSIDERATION.
>>VINT CERF: ROBERTO.
>>ROBERTO GAETANO: YES.
THANK YOU.
YEAH, IN FACT, IT IS -- ACTUALLY, I AM MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THIS ONE, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
IN FACT, IT IS DUE THIS YEAR, IF I'M RIGHT, IT WAS IN MONTREAL WHERE WE HAD THE LAST REVISION.
>>CHRIS DISSPAIN: CORRECT.
>>ROBERTO GAETANO: BEAR IN MIND THAT THE CHANGE IN THE REGIONS IS SOMETHING THAT IS OF INTEREST ALSO OF THE AT-LARGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, BECAUSE WE ALSO HAVE SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS THE WAY THE REGIONS ARE SORTED.
AND WE HAVE SIMILAR PROBLEMS IN THE SENSE THAT WE HAVE RECENTLY FOUND THAT WE CAN, QUOTE, CALL THE FIRST EUROPEAN RALO MEETING IN TAHITI AND WE ARE SURELY LOOKING FORWARD TO DO THIS, BUT THAT WILL INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY THE FLYING TIME OF EVERYBODY.
BESIDES THAT, THE QUESTION IS, ARE YOU THINKING OF SWITCHING -- CHANGING THE BORDERS OR ARE YOU ALSO PROPOSING SOMETHING THAT WILL CHANGE THE NUMBER OF REGIONS?
BECAUSE THAT MIGHT HAVE A HIGHER IMPACT IN TERMS OF THE ICANN BYLAWS AND EVERYTHING.
>>CHRIS DISSPAIN: OKAY.
I -- THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS OF APPROACHING THIS ISSUE IS WHY I'M RECOMMENDING THAT IT BE A CLEAN TABLE SUGGESTION.
THERE'S NOTHING INTRINSICALLY WRONG WITH, JUST TO TAKE AN EXAMPLE, THE CCNSO OPERATING UNDER A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT REGIONAL STRUCTURE TO THE ICANN BOARD, FOR EXAMPLE.
HOWEVER, MY PERSONAL PREFERENCE WOULD BE THAT IF WE HAVE A REGIONAL STRUCTURE, IT'S A REGIONAL STRUCTURE THAT EXISTS THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION.
I DON'T HAVE AN OPINION ONE WAY OR THE OTHER AS TO -- AS TO WHAT'S MORE EASILY WORKABLE.
I MEAN, THE RIRS, FOR EXAMPLE, OPERATE UNDER A DIFFERENT REGIONAL STRUCTURE.
SO IT MAY BE THAT -- OR DID, ANYWAY, OPERATE UNDER A DIFFERENT REGIONAL STRUCTURE.
SO I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER, BUT, YES, I THINK THIS REVIEW IS A REVIEW OF EVERYTHING, AS I UNDERSTAND IT.
AND I THINK EVERY COMMUNITY HAS AN INPUT IN RESPECT TO REGIONS.
WHAT I'M CONCERNED TO ENSURE IS THAT EVEN IF IT TAKES LONGER, I'D RATHER GET A RESULT THAT IS BUILT FROM THE BOTTOM UP RATHER THAN SIMPLY LOOKING AT THE EXISTING THING AND SAYING, WELL, IT'S OKAY, WE'LL LEAVE IT AS IT IS.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU, CHRIS.
RAIMUNDO.
>>RAIMUNDO BECA: THANK YOU, VINT.
LET ME RECALL AT THIS REGARD THAT WHEN LACNIC WAS CREATED, LACNIC WAS SPLIT FROM ARIN.
AND THEN AT THAT MOMENT, THERE WAS A STUDY OF THE CARIBBEAN ISLANDS OR THE CARIBBEAN TERRITORIES, ISLAND BY ISLAND, SAYING WHICH ONE WILL REMAIN IN ARIN AND WHICH ONE WILL BE IN THE LACNIC REGION.
AND THE SPLIT WAS MADE MAINLY FOR PRACTICAL REASONS.
SO TO THE EXTENT THAT THE -- WHILE THE -- ALL THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING CARIBBEAN ISLANDS WERE LEFT IN ARIN, EVEN IF IN THE UNITED NATIONS THEY ARE IN THE OTHER REGION.
AND IT WORKS LIKE THIS. I DON'T KNOW, BUT I IMAGINE THAT WHEN AFRINIC WAS CREATED, SOMETHING OF THE SAME STYLE MAYBE HAPPENED.
BUT THIS IS MORE WHAT ROBERTO WAS SAYING, CHANGING THE BOARD OF THE REASONS FOR THE PRACTICAL REASONS THAT I EXPLAINED.
>>VINT CERF: FIRST, WITH REGARD TO AFRINIC, I THINK IT WAS PROBABLY MORE GEOGRAPHIC THAN LANGUAGE-ORIENTED.
BUT, IN ANY CASE, WHILE STARTING FROM A CLEAN SHEET IS ONE WAY TO START, AND MAY BE THE ONLY WAY TO START, I HAVE TO SAY THAT THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THE ICANN STRUCTURE THAT HAVE REGIONAL BEARING THAT IF WE WERE TO DO AS YOU SUGGEST -- AND THERE'S -- I'M NOT OBJECTING TO IT -- WE MAY END UP WITH A VARIETY OF ALTERNATIVE CHOICES WHICH ARE IN FUNDAMENTAL CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER WITH REGARD TO THE DIFFERENT PURPOSES FOR WHICH REGIONS ARE USED, IN WHICH CASE THE RESOLUTION EITHER MIGHT BE VERY, VERY LENGTHY, MIGHT NEVER RESOLVE, OR WE MIGHT END UP DECIDING THAT, FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES, WE WILL END UP WITH DIFFERENT REGIONAL DEFINITIONS.
IT'S SIMPLY AN OPEN QUESTION.
BUT, IN ANY EVENT, WE SHOULDN'T FOOL OURSELVES, THAT THAT PARTICULAR ANALYSIS WILL HAVE MANY FACETS TO IT WELL BEYOND THE CCNSO SCHEME.
>>CHRIS DISSPAIN: ABSOLUTELY, YEAH.
>>VINT CERF: BEFORE I CALL ON PAUL, I JUST WANTED ALSO TO RESPOND ON YOUR POINT ABOUT PAYMENTS.
MY PREFERENCE WOULD BE THAT THE PAYMENTS ARE MADE IN TYPE O BLOOD FROM THE CCNSO COMMUNITY.
BUT OTHERS MIGHT PREFER A DIFFERENT MEDIUM.
PAUL.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: THANK YOU, VINT.
JUST ON THIS ISSUE OF REGIONS, I, EARLY IN MY EXPERIENCE IN THIS ORGANIZATION, IN ITS FORMATION, WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN DISCUSSIONS AROUND REGIONS.
AT THE VERY BEGINNING, IN '98, MUCH OF THE DISCUSSION AROUND REGIONS, WHICH, TO BE TRUTHFUL, WAS ACTUALLY A FAIR AMOUNT OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL DISCUSSION, TOOK PLACE ABOUT THE FIVE REGIONS.
AT THAT STAGE, SOME OF US MADE IT QUITE CLEAR WE THOUGHT THE ASIA-PACIFIC WAS JUST TOO BROAD A DEFINITION TO BE USEFUL.
BUT THE DYNAMICS OF MEMBERSHIP FROM DIFFERENT REGIONS ON THE BOARD AND CERTAIN DEMANDS OF OTHER REGIONS OF HOW MANY BOARD MEMBERS THEY GOT EMERGED INTO THIS DISCUSSION PRETTY QUICKLY.
SO THAT'S A DYNAMIC THAT I EXPECT WOULD NOT GO AWAY.
AND SOME REGIONS DEFEND THEIR MEMBERSHIPS ON BOARDS IN RATIOS TO THE UNITED STATES IN WAYS THAT ARE QUITE INTERESTING.
THE SECOND -- AND THAT WAS DONE AT A HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL DISCUSSION, WHICH WAS INTERESTING.
THE SECOND ONE IS, THEN, AS CHAIRING THE GAC, SEVERAL TIMES, TWO TIMES THAT I CAN THINK OF, WE WERE ASKED TO ACTUALLY DEFINE THE REGIONS.
NO, I WOULD NOT LIKE TO SPEAK FOR THE GAC NOW.
BUT I WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU THAT AT THE TIME, OUR GENERAL REACTION AT THE TIME WAS, PLEASE DO NOT ASK THE GAC TO DEFINE REGIONS.
THAT'S -- I SEE VANDER NODDING.
WE'VE HAD THAT EXPERIENCE -- IT MAY APPEAR AS AN OBVIOUS THING, BUT I WOULD SAY IT'S ALMOST IMMEDIATELY A POLITICAL TASK THAT GAC MEMBERS IN THE PAST, AT LEAST, HAVE NOT APPRECIATED RECEIVING.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
IF THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS, WE'LL DISMISS YOU TO GO TO YOUR OTHER MEETING.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHRIS.
I'D LIKE TO CALL FOR THE GNSO REPORT FROM BRUCE TONKIN.
>>BRUCE TONKIN: OKAY.
THANK YOU, VINT.
I GUESS IN COMMENCING MY REPORT, IT'S WORTH ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THE GNSO HAS RECEIVED A HUGE AMOUNT OF CORRESPONDENCE IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS ON THE TOPIC OF WHOIS, AND WE'VE ALSO RECEIVED SOME INPUT FROM INDIVIDUAL GOVERNMENTS, SUCH AS THE UNITED STATES, AND WE'VE ALSO RECEIVED INPUT FROM VARIOUS AGENCIES OF OTHER GOVERNMENTS.
THE GNSO OPERATES WITHIN THE CONSTRAINTS OF ICANN'S MISSION, SO IT'S WORTH JUST REITERATING WHAT THOSE CONSTRAINTS ARE.
ICANN'S MISSION IS TO COORDINATE THE ALLOCATION AND ASSIGNMENT OF THE THREE SETS OF UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS FOR THE INTERNET, AND IT COORDINATES POLICY DEVELOPMENT REASONABLY AND APPROPRIATELY RELATED TO THESE TECHNICAL FUNCTIONS.
THE WHOIS PURPOSE THAT WAS AGREED BY THE GNSO COUNCIL IN APRIL IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION SUFFICIENT TO CONTACT A RESPONSIBLE PARTY FOR A PARTICULAR DOMAIN NAME WHO CAN RESOLVE OR RELIABLY PASS ON DATA TO A PARTY WHO CAN RESOLVE ISSUES RELATED TO THE CONFIGURATION OF THE RECORDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DOMAIN NAME WITHIN A DNS NAME SERVER.
THE AREA IN RED I'VE HIGHLIGHTED IS PROBABLY THE AREA THAT IS LEAST -- OR HAS A RANGE OF DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS.
I THINK THOSE THAT DID VOTE FOR THIS PURPOSE ON THE GNSO HAD IN THEIR OWN MIND A FAIRLY CLEAR UNDERSTANDING.
BUT THEN IF YOU COMPARE WHAT DIFFERENT PEOPLE THOUGHT, THEY HAVE SOME DIFFERENT VIEWS.
AND THEN WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE GNSO THAT ARE LESS CLOSE TO THE ISSUES, THE RANGE OF INTERPRETATIONS BECOMES BROADER.
BUT CERTAINLY IT'S -- A READING OF THE MISSION AND A READING OF THE WHOIS PURPOSE, THEY DO -- THEY ARE CONSISTENT WITH EACH OTHER.
THE OTHER THING THAT I THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT TO REITERATE HERE IS THAT DATA IS COLLECTED FOR A RANGE OF REASONS, ONE OF WHICH IS WHOIS.
SO WHOIS ISN'T THE WHOLE REASON WHY WE COLLECT DATA.
AND SO THE GNSO COUNCIL NOTES THAT THE CURRENT DEFINITION IS RELATED TO THE SERVICE THAT PROVIDES PUBLIC ACCESS TO SOME OR ALL OF THE DATA THAT'S COLLECTED AND IS NOT A DEFINITION OF THE PURPOSE OF THE DATA ITSELF.
AND CURRENTLY, GENERALLY, THE DEFINITION OF PURPOSE IS WITHIN THE REGISTRAR AGREEMENTS WITH THE -- THEIR CUSTOMERS.
AND DEPENDING ON DIFFERENT NATIONS, TYPICALLY, THEY'RE ALSO REQUIRED TO BE PUBLISHED IN A PRIVACY POLICY.
SO I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THAT I THINK WHEN PEOPLE LOOK AT THIS PURPOSE, SOMETIMES THEY THINK THAT THAT'S DEFINING THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH WE COLLECT DATA.
AND IT'S NOT.
IT'S THE PURPOSE OF THE SERVICE.
THE GNSO, HOWEVER, HAS RECOGNIZED THAT WE NEED TO RESPOND TO ALL THIS COMMUNITY CONCERN.
AND WE HAD A RANGE OF DIFFERENT SUGGESTIONS FROM GNSO COUNCIL MEMBERS TODAY ON HOW BEST TO RESPOND TO THE COMMUNITY'S CONCERN.
AND WE HAVE A SERIES OF DRAFT RESOLUTIONS.
THESE ARE RESOLUTIONS THAT I WROTE IN ABOUT FIVE MINUTES DURING THE MEETING.
SO THE COUNCIL WILL BE CONSIDERING THE WORDING AND COMING UP WITH A FINAL RESOLUTION IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.
BUT I DID TAKE A STRAW POLL OF THE COUNCIL, AND THESE RESOLUTIONS AS THEY'RE CURRENTLY DRAFTED DO HAVE A STRONG DEGREE OF SUPPORT.
THE FIRST RESOLUTION TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND AT LEAST WHY THOSE WHO VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE PURPOSE, WHAT THEIR INTENT WAS, SO THIS RESOLUTION STATES THAT EACH COUNCIL MEMBER THAT VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE DEFINITION WILL PROVIDE A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE REASON FOR SUPPORTING THE RESOLUTION AND THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF ITS MEANING.
AND THE REGISTRARS, FOR EXAMPLE, HAVE BEEN WORKING ON A STATEMENT THIS WEEK TO MAKE IT MUCH CLEARER WHAT THEIR POSITION IS.
AND IT'S THE REGISTRARS THAT HOLD THE BULK OF THE DATA.
AND I HOPE AT THE END OF MY PRESENTATION THAT VINT WILL ALLOW A COUPLE OF MINUTES FOR THE CHAIR OF THE REGISTRAR CONSTITUENCY TO MAKE A BRIEF STATEMENT THAT'S BEING DEVELOPED ON THAT PARTICULAR TOPIC.
THE SECOND DRAFT RESOLUTION IS A REQUEST TO THE ICANN POLICY STAFF TO PROVIDE A SUMMARY OF THE VARIOUS INTERPRETATIONS OF THE DEFINITION THAT HAVE BEEN EXPRESSED BY THE COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENTS.
THE THIRD RESOLUTION IS THAT THE COUNCIL WILL UNDERTAKE TO -- A DIALOGUE WITH THE GAC AND ALSO THE SECURITY COMMITTEE ON DEVELOPING SOME BROADLY UNDERSTANDABLE -- AND I'VE EMPHASIZED THAT IN RED, BECAUSE, CLEARLY, DEFINITION ON WHOIS -- THE DEFINITION OF THE WHOIS SERVICE WAS NOT BROADLY UNDERSTANDABLE, WE CERTAINLY SEEK HERE TO ACTUALLY HAVE A BIT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THE DATA ITSELF, BECAUSE, OBVIOUSLY, DATA THAT'S COLLECTED CAN BE COLLECTED FOR A RANGE OF REASONS.
AND WE'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION ON SOME OF THE PURPOSES FOR WHICH THAT DATA'S COLLECTED, AS REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRAR ACCREDITATION AGREEMENT.
BUT IT MAY WELL BE THAT THOSE PURPOSES THAT ARE DISCUSSED AND IDENTIFIED MAY WELL BE OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF ICANN.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THOSE PURPOSES DON'T STILL EXIST AND IT'S NOT STILL WHY REGISTRARS BOTH COLLECT THE INFORMATION AND PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO LEGITIMATE USERS OF THAT INFORMATION.
RESOLUTION FOUR IS TO REITERATE THAT THE COUNCIL REQUESTS THAT THE WHOIS TASK FORCE CONTINUE WITH THEIR WORK, AS SPECIFIED IN THE TERMS OF REFERENCE, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE INPUT THAT'S BEEN PROVIDED IN RECENT WEEKS AND ANY FURTHER INPUT THEY RECEIVE FROM COUNCIL.
FINALLY, WHEN THE WHOIS TASK FORCE HAS COMPLETED ITS WORK AND THE OTHER GROUPS HAVE COMPLETED THE WORK, WE'D CERTAINLY BE OPEN TO MAKING THE WHOIS SERVICE DEFINITION MORE BROADLY UNDERSTANDABLE.
BUT JUST TO REITERATE THAT THAT'S NOT STOPPING THE WORK ON WHOIS AND IS NOT INTENDED TO INHIBIT THE PROGRESS OF THE WHOIS TASK FORCE.
THE WHOIS TASK FORCE REPORTED AT THIS MEETING THAT ITS ONGOING TIMELINE IS TO SEEK TO DEVELOP A REPORT INCLUDING ALL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS IN OCTOBER.
THIS INCLUDES THE WORK ON WHAT DATA SHOULD CONTINUE TO BE MADE ACCESSIBLE FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND ANY DATA THAT'S REMOVED FROM GENERAL PUBLIC ACCESS, TO IDENTIFY HOW THAT DATA COULD BE ACCESSED.
THE EXPECTATION IS THAT WE WILL HAVE A REPORT FOR THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER IN THE MEETING IN SAO PAOLO AND FOR THE BOARD TO CONSIDER THAT -- A DECISION ON THAT TOPIC IN EARLY 2007.
AND JUST REITERATING OBJECTIVE HERE.
OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE WHOIS SERVICE WHILST TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE NEEDS TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF PERSONAL DATA RELATED TO NATURAL PERSONS.
ON ANOTHER TOPIC, WHICH IS NEW GTLDS, THIS WORK HAS PROGRESSED FAIRLY SIGNIFICANTLY DURING THIS YEAR.
AN INITIAL REPORT WITH AN INITIAL SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS IS DUE TO BE COMPLETED BY JULY.
THAT'S NEXT MONTH.
THAT WILL THEN OPEN FOR A MORE EXTENSIVE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
WE'RE EXPECTING WE'LL PROBABLY MEET FACE TO FACE PROBABLY IN SEPTEMBER TO PRODUCE A FINAL REPORT IN OCTOBER FOR THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER, AND HOPEFULLY HAVE A SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE BOARD TO CONSIDER IN ITS MEETING IN SAO PAOLO.
ON THE TOPIC OF CONTRACTS FOR EXISTING GTLDS, THIS WORK -- WE'RE EXPECTING THAT WE'LL HAVE A PRELIMINARY TASK FORCE REPORT ON THAT TOPIC PROBABLY, AGAIN, AVAILABLE IN OCTOBER OF 2006.
THAT GROUP IS SEEKING SOME EXPERT ADVICE FROM EXPERTS IN THE AREA OF COMPETITION LAW, PRICE REGULATION, AND DEFINITIONS OF MARKET POWER AND DOMINANCE.
IDNS, A DRAFT ISSUES REPORT IS AVAILABLE.
TINA REPORTED ON SOME OF THIS ALREADY.
THE GNSO FORMED A WORKING GROUP TO CONSIDER THIS REPORT, AND WE ARE LIAISING WITH THE CCNSO AND ALSO THE GAC.
WE EXPECT THE ISSUES REPORT WILL BE FINALIZED IN JULY, AND PROBABLY LATE JULY I EXPECT THE COUNCIL WOULD LOOK TO VOTE ON WHETHER TO COMMENCE A POLICY DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY AROUND IDN-BASED GTLDS.
THE WORKING GROUP SO FAR HAS RECOMMENDED THAT WE STUDY IDN GTLDS, USING THE SAME POLICY FRAMEWORK AS WE'RE USING FOR NEW GTLDS.
AND, ESSENTIALLY, IDNS HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE COMPLEXITIES AROUND INTRODUCING NEW GTLDS.
SO THE NEXT STEPS FOR US IS TO UPDATE THE ISSUES REPORT.
WE'RE TRYING TO CLEARLY IDENTIFY THE SCOPE OF THE WORK THAT WILL BE DONE WITHIN THE GNSO AND THEN IDENTIFY WHERE WORK WOULD BE DONE ELSEWHERE.
AND ONE OF THESE TOPICS COULD BE, FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE CCTLDS WISH TO CREATE A TABLE OF SOME FORM, THAT I GUESS EXPANDS ON THE CURRENT ISO3166 TABLE FOR TLDS, WE WOULD EXPECT THAT WORK WOULD BE DONE ELSEWHERE.
HOWEVER, WE WOULD ALSO EXPECT THAT THAT WORK WOULD BE CONSTRAINED TO ONLY RELATE TO IDN STRINGS THAT RELATE TO COUNTRY NAMES, AND THAT THAT WORK WOULDN'T BE USED AS SOME SORT OF BACK DOOR TO INTRODUCE MORE GENERIC TLDS.
I JUST WANTED TO PICK UP ON A COMMENT THAT MARILYN CADE MADE EARLIER, AND THAT IS THAT THE WORK ON NEW GTLDS HAS PROGRESSED EFFECTIVELY THROUGH FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS, IN ADDITION TO THESE ICANN FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS.
AND WHAT WE'RE FINDING NOW IS THAT WE'RE SPENDING MOST OF OUR TIME IN THE ACTUAL ICANN MEETINGS, LIKE THIS MEETING IN MARRAKECH, REALLY SPENT LIAISING WITH OTHER GROUPS.
WE DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE ANY TIME TO DO POLICY DEVELOPMENT WORK.
WE SPEND MOST OF OUR TIME LIAISING WITH GROUPS LIKE THE GAC AND THE BOARD AND THE CCNSO AND ALL THE VARIOUS WORKSHOPS THAT ARE CONDUCTED.
SO CERTAINLY I THINK WE'RE FINDING THE NEED TO TRY AND HAVE SOME SUBSTANTIAL PERIODS OF TIME FACE TO FACE WHERE YOU GET SORT OF PEOPLE WORKING CLOSELY TOGETHER FOR THREE DAYS AND YOU GET THE GROUP DYNAMIC SO THAT THEY'RE NOT ALL OPPOSING EACH OTHER.
BUT AFTER THE END OF THREE DAYS, THEY'RE ACTUALLY WORKING TOGETHER, EVEN IF THEY HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS.
MY PAST EXPERIENCE IS WHEN PEOPLE ARE OPERATING PURELY VIA E-MAIL AND SOMETIMES VIA PHONE CALLS BETWEEN MEETINGS, THAT KIND OF GROUP WORKING DYNAMIC DOESN'T WORK AS EFFECTIVELY, AND IT'S MUCH EASIER TO SORT OF STAY ON YOUR POSITION AND POSSIBLY PASS INSULTS AROUND THE GROUP.
I THINK THE COUNCIL, AS VINT AND OTHERS HAVE MENTIONED, WAS VERY SADDENED TO HEAR THE NEWS REGARDING PETER DENGATE THRUSH'S FAMILY.
THE PRECURSOR TO THE GNSO, THE NAMES COUNCIL, DID INVOLVE THE CCTLDS, AND THE COUNCIL HAS HAD MANY INTERACTIONS WITH PETER.
SO THE COUNCIL FORMALLY EXPRESSED ITS CONDOLENCES TODAY.
AND FINALLY I'D LIKE TO REPORT THAT THE GNSO COUNCIL HAS APPOINTED RITA RODIN TO THE ICANN BOARD AT ITS MEETING TODAY.
THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT.
AND I'D ALSO JUST ASK IF VINT WOULD ALLOW IF THE REGISTRARS MAKE A BRIEF STATEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE WHOIS DATA.
>>VINT CERF: CERTAINLY.
ALTHOUGH, DO YOU WANT TO TAKE QUESTIONS FIRST?
>>BRUCE TONKIN: MIGHT BE BEST IF WE HAVE THAT STATEMENT AND THEN TAKE QUESTIONS.
>>VINT CERF: OKAY.
LET'S ALLOW THE REGISTRARS TO MAKE THEIR STATEMENT.
PLEASE GO AHEAD.
>> JONOTHAN NEVETT: THANKS, VINT.
VERY CONSISTENT WITH THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE THAT I SAW THIS MORNING, THE REGISTRARS GOT TOGETHER AND WISH TO ISSUE THIS FORMALLY STATEMENT, WE, THE UNDERSIGNED REGISTRARS WISH TO CONFIRM THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO COLLECT THE DATA COMMONLY CALLED WHOIS DATA, AS REQUIRED BY THE REGISTRAR ACCREDITATION AGREEMENT, ALL OF WHICH IS CURRENTLY DISPLAYED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, AND WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO SUCH DATA TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INTERESTS, ISPS, AND OTHERS, THROUGH APPROPRIATE PROCESSES.
REGISTRARS ARE OPEN TO APPROVE THOSE PROCESSES FOR MORE EFFICIENT ACCESS BY LEGITIMATE USERS.
REGISTRARS STORE THIS INFORMATION FOR THE LIFETIME OF THEIR AGREEMENT WITH ICANN, PLUS AN ADDITIONAL THREE YEARS.
REGISTRARS ALSO NOTE THAT OTHER USEFUL DATA, SUCH AS THE I.P. ADDRESS USED BY A REGISTRANT WHEN REGISTERING A DOMAIN NAME, AND CREDIT CARD INFORMATION ALSO IS STORED.
THIS INFORMATION ALSO IS AVAILABLE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCESS THROUGH APPROPRIATE PROCESSES.
REGISTRARS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT PRIVACY PROTECTION FOR THE PERSONAL DATA OF NATURAL PERSONS.
AND THIS IS SIGNED BY 30 OR SO VARIOUS REGISTRARS.
THANK YOU.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
I THINK THESE VARIOUS EXCHANGES WILL HELP PEOPLE APPRECIATE MORE FULLY WHAT IT WAS THAT YOU INTENDED, LET ALONE WHAT WAS CONVEYED BUT PERHAPS MISUNDERSTOOD IN THE LANGUAGE THAT WAS WRITTEN.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR BRUCE?
SUSAN.
>>SUSAN CRAWFORD: BRUCE, PEOPLE DON'T GET THANKED OFTEN ENOUGH IN THIS PROCESS, AND IT'S BY VERY CLEAR TO ME HOW HARD YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON THESE POLICY PROCESSES, AND STAFF, AND ALL THE MEMBERS OF THESE GROUPS ARE REALLY FORGING FORWARD.
AND THIS IS A KEY MOMENT FOR THE ICANN POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, BOTH OF THESE TASK FORCES, THE WHOIS AND THE NEW GTLDS.
AND WORLD WARS HAVE TAKEN LESS TIME THAN THE WHOIS TASK FORCE.
SO I WANT TO ENCOURAGE US TO KEEP MOVING.
AND I WAS VERY GLAD TO HEAR YOUR STATEMENT THAT THE DRAFT RESOLUTIONS UNDER CONSIDERATION NOW BY THE GNSO COUNCIL ARE, INDEED, IN DRAFT, FOR ONE THING, AND ALSO DON'T INTERRUPT THE WORK OF THE TASK FORCE.
SO THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR.
AND ON THE RESOLUTIONS, I WAS IN THE ROOM WHILE THOSE WERE UNDER CONSIDERATION.
I HAVE TO SAY, I WAS SLIGHTLY CONFUSED BY WHAT WAS GOING ON.
SO I HOPE THERE WILL BE AMPLE TIME FOR EVERYBODY TO DISCUSS THOSE DRAFTS.
THANKS.
>>BRUCE TONKIN: I'LL JUST RESPOND BRIEFLY THAT AFTER I DRAFTED THOSE RESOLUTIONS, THEY ALREADY HAD MANY INTERPRETATIONS.
>>VINT CERF: OTHER QUESTIONS FROM BRUCE?
ANNETTE, YOU'RE SITTING ON THE FLOOR.
NO, OKAY.
PLEASE GO AHEAD.
>>MILTON MUELLER: BRUCE, COULD YOU BRING UP THE THIRD POINT OF YOUR RESOLUTION PROPOSED TODAY?
JUST WANTED TO MAKE A COMMENT AND A QUESTION ABOUT THAT?
>>BRUCE TONKIN: THIS ONE?
>>MILTON MUELLER: YES, FIRST SIMPLE QUESTION IS, I'M WONDERING WHY SSAC WAS INCLUDED IN THIS DIALOGUE.
I WASN'T AWARE THAT THEY HAD EXPRESSED ANY CONCERNS ABOUT THE DEFINITION OF PURPOSE.
THE MORE SUBSTANTIVE POINT I WANT TO MAKE IS ABOUT THE GAC.
NOW, THE PURPOSE OF THE GAC IS TO PROVIDE A CHANNEL FOR COMMUNICATION WITH GOVERNMENTS ABOUT PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES.
BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND VERY CLEARLY IN THIS CASE THAT GOVERNMENTS DO NOT SPEAK WITH A UNIFIED VOICE ON PRIVACY ISSUES.
FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE UNITED STATES, JUST TO USE AN EXAMPLE THAT IS OUTSIDE OF THE ICANN PURVIEW BUT WHICH IS FAIRLY WELL KNOWN, THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT CURRENTLY BELIEVES THAT IT HAS A RIGHT TO LISTEN IN ON TELEPHONE CONVERSATIONS CONDUCTED INTERNATIONALLY BY ANY PURPOSE FOR -- BY ANY PERSON FOR ANY PURPOSE RELATED TO THE PURSUIT OF TERRORISM.
THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT BELIEVES THAT THIS IS A DIRECT VIOLATION OF THE LAW AND THERE'S EVEN SOME TALK OF IMPEACHING MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH ON THOSE GROUNDS.
LIKEWISE, IN THE WHOIS DEBATE, WHAT WE FIND ARE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES ASSERTING THAT THEY WANT EASIER AND MORE EXPEDITIOUS ACCESS TO DATA.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE SEE DATA PROTECTION AUTHORITIES WITHIN THE SAME GOVERNMENTS ASSERTING THAT UNDER THEIR NATIONAL LAW, THAT THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND THE PUBLIC SHOULD NOT HAVE THIS LEVEL OF ACCESS THAT THEY'RE DEMANDING.
AND BY THE SAME TOKEN, THERE'S ALSO CONTRADICTIONS BETWEEN THE POSITIONS ASSERTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND THE ACTUAL PRACTICES OF SOME OF THE COUNTRY CODE TOP-LEVEL DOMAINS.
SO I WOULD ASK -- AND WE WILL SO MOVE WITHIN THE COUNCIL, THROUGH THE NON-COMMERCIAL CONSTITUENCY, THAT YOU REPLACE GAC IN THIS RESOLUTION WITH GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES, AND THAT THIS BE SPECIFIED TO INCLUDE LAW ENFORCEMENT, DATA PROTECTION AUTHORITIES, WHERE RELEVANT, AND COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION MINISTRIES, SO THAT YOU'RE GETTING THE FULL RANGE OF GOVERNMENTAL VIEWS AND NOT SIMPLY THE VIEW OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT ACTUALLY BE ASSERTING A POSITION CONSISTENT WITH NATIONAL LAW.
>>BRUCE TONKIN: I THINK I'LL JUST TAKE THAT COMMENT ON BOARD.
YEAH.
>>BRUCE TONKIN: I THINK WE'LL JUST TAKE THAT COMMENT ON BOARD.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MILTON AND BRUCE.
NEXT QUESTION, PLEASE.
>>DIRK KRISCHENOWSKI: YEAH, I'D LIKE TO MAKE SOME COMMENTS ON THE CURRENT PDP PROCESS AND THE ROLE -- ESPECIALLY THE ROLE OF THE GAC, AND IT'S A PITY THAT GAC ISN'T SO MUCH REPRESENTED HERE AT THE MOMENT.
I THINK WE ALL KNOW THAT AMONG THE NEW TLD APPLICATIONS, TLDS FOR REGIONAL, CULTURAL, LINGUISTICAL OR RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES WILL PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE. AND FROM THE AROUND TEN POTENTIAL NEXT RFP APPLICANTS WHOSE IDEAS HAVE BECOME PUBLIC ON THE WEB, MORE THAN HALF OF THEM DERIVE FROM THESE NETWORK COMMUNITIES.
AND THEREFORE, WE THINK THERE SHOULD BE AN ADEQUATE MECHANISM TO PROTECT THESE COMMUNITY STRINGS FROM MISUSE FROM UNAUTHORIZED PARTIES.
AND WE FULLY SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE GAC IN THIS CONTEXT, AND WE WELCOME THAT THE GAC HAS IDENTIFIED THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE IN THE EVOLVING GAC PRINCIPLES FOR NEW TLDS.
WE ALSO APPRECIATE THE GAC'S ATTENTION TO REGIONAL AND GEOPOLITICAL TLD STRINGS. WE FULLY AGREE THAT TLDS RELATED TO SUCH STRINGS SHOULD BE GRANTED ONLY IF THE APPLICANT IS AN APPROPRIATE REPRESENTATIVE ORGANIZATION OF THAT COMMUNITY.
OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL AS OTHER CITY COMMUNITIES LIKE WE ARE TALKING TO SUCH, LIKE HAMBURG OR NEW YORK OR LONDON WILL ALSO BE DELIGHTED TO SEE THAT THEIR COMMUNITY STRINGS ARE PROTECTED AGAINST MISUSE BY THE NEW GAC PRINCIPLES.
THIS GIVES ESPECIALLY THE CITY COMMUNITIES THE CERTAINTY THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING VERY HASTILY. IT ENABLES THEM TO WORK ON THE FOUNDATIONS OF THEIR ORGANIZATIONS AND THE CREATION OF ADEQUATE SPONSORING ORGANIZATION.
IN OUR CASE, DOT BERLIN, THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN OUR PRINCIPAL TASK, AND WE ARE PLEASED WITH THE PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE, ABLE TO MAKE FOR BERLIN IN THIS RESPECT.
WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO SHARING THIS WITH ALL THE PARTIES INTERESTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRITERIA FOR TLDS REFLECTING THE SKILL, POLITICAL, AND GEOGRAPHICAL STRINGS.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. BRUCE, DID YOU WANT TO RESPOND?
>>BRUCE TONKIN: VERY BRIEFLY ON THAT, AND THAT IS THAT THE COUNCIL HAS, IN ITS MEETING WITH THE GAC ON SUNDAY, ASKED THE GAC TO PROVIDE ANY ADVICE WITH RESPECT TO CHOICE OF STRINGS.
AND IN TERMS OF PRINCIPLES, THE GAC HAS INFORMED US, I BELIEVE, THAT THEY ARE AIMING TO HAVE A SET OF PRINCIPLES, I THINK, ON THE TOPIC OF BOTH WHOIS AND NEW GTLDS BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
>>VINT CERF: MICHAEL.
>>MICHAEL PALAGE: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. BRUCE I DON'T KNOW IF THIS QUESTION IS BETTER DIRECTED TO YOU OR ICANN STAFF.
THE QUESTION IS WITH REGARD TO THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND THEIR REVIEW OF THE GNSO.
THIS WAS THE -- THE BOARD AUTHORIZED THIS IN FEBRUARY. THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS BEGAN TO CONDUCT THEIR OUTREACH IN WELLINGTON.
I WAS WONDERING WHEN WE MIGHT HAVE AN IDEA OF WHEN THIS WAS -- IS DUE IN. IT WAS MY IMPRESSION BASED ON THE CONSULTATIONS IN WELLINGTON THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BEFORE THIS MEETING.
SO IF ANYONE MIGHT BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT, I'D -- WITH NEW --
>>VINT CERF: THE RESPONDENT IS COMING FORTHWITH. THE ANSWER IS IT'S STILL IN PROGRESS BUT WE WILL GET A BETTER SENSE OF HOW FAR ALONG IT IS.
>>DENISE MICHEL: YES, THE LONDON SCHOOL'S WORK IS STILL ONGOING, AND THEY HAVE JUST THIS WEEK SENT ANOTHER REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL DATA AND INFORMATION TO THE GNSO CONSTITUENCIES.
AND WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT WITHIN A MONTH THEY'LL HAVE A DRAFT THAT CAN BE DISCUSSED WITH THE BOARD AND THE GNSO.
>>MICHAEL PALAGE: THANK YOU.
>>VINT CERF: NEXT QUESTION, PLEASE.
>>KATHERINE KLEIMAN: KATHY KLEIMAN WITH THE NONCOMMERCIAL CONSTITUENCY AND ALSO FOUR YEARS ON THE WHOIS TASK FORCE. IT'S A LONG TIME.
THIS IS ACTUALLY ADDRESSED TO THE BOARD AND THEN A QUESTION FOR BRUCE.
I KNOW YOU ARE GETTING A LOT OF CORRESPONDENCE, AND IT LOOKS VERY CONFUSING. THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT VIEWS COMING IN, AND I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU I THINK THIS IS ACTUALLY VERY GOOD NEWS. FOR A LONG TIME WE DIDN'T HAVE A REAL DIALOGUE AND DEBATE ON ISSUES THAT ARE IMPORTANT NOT JUST TO THE ICANN COMMUNITY BUT TO THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE. TO THE INTERNET COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE. AND NOW YOU ARE BEGINNING TO HEAR.
IN FACT, IN VANCOUVER, WE ACTUALLY HAD THIS WONDERFUL DIALOGUE AT A PRIVACY CONFERENCE OF CCTLDS TELLING US ABOUT THEIR PRIVACY POLICIES.
WE HAD TELUS THE NUMBER TWO ISP TELCO IN CANADA TELLING US ABOUT THEIR PRIVACY POLICY, JUST AS AN ISP AND HOW THEY ARE -- HOW THEY DISCLOSE E-MAIL AND CHAT ROOM IDENTITIES AND WHAT PROCEDURES THEY USE IN WORKING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT.
THIS IS A BREAKTHROUGH IN GETTING COMMUNICATION INTO THE GNSO.
HERE, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAD A GAC/GNSO MEETING AND WHILE I WAS PERSONALLY VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT THERE WAS NO DATA PROTECTION COMMISSIONER, NONE HAD BEEN INVITED THAT I KNOW OF, AND IT WAS ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT, THERE WAS A DIALOGUE. THERE WAS TIME FOR QUESTIONS, AND I REALLY APPRECIATED THAT.
SO I WANTED TO EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION TO YOU, THE BOARD, FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THE GNSO PROCESS. AND TO BRUCE AND THE COUNCIL FOR THE SUPPORT WHOIS TASK FORCE, AND TO TELL YOU I THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET THERE IN THE END, AND THANKS FOR LETTING THE PROCESS WORK.
AND I HAD A COMMENT FOR BRUCE. I THINK THERE IS MORE CORRESPONDENCE AHEAD. SHOULD IT BE DIRECTED TO THE BOARD, TO THE TASK FORCE, OR TO THE COUNCIL.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU FOR THAT HEAD'S UP. WE WILL OF COURSE TAKE ANY CORRESPONDENCE COMING TO THE BOARD AND POST IT ON THE ICANN WEB SITE. NEXT QUESTION, PLEASE.
>>STEVE DELBIANCO: STEVE DELBIANCO WITH THE NET CHOICE COALITION. IT'S E-COMMERCE COMPANIES, INCLUDING E-BAY, AOL, VERISIGN, YAHOO!, AND ABOUT 18,000 SMALL E-COMMERCE BUSINESSES THAT USE THE WEB.
WITH RESPECT TO BRUCE'S DRAFT NUMBER 3 RESOLUTION, IF YOU COULD BRING THAT UP, BRUCE. IT'S A QUESTION AND A SUGGESTION.
I ATTENDED THE COUNCIL MEETING THIS MORNING, AND DESPITE THE DIFFERENCES ABOUT PURPOSES OF WHOIS AND THE NOTION OF IP PROTECTION, AND MY OWN MEMBERS ARE SOMEWHAT SPLIT ON IT, ALTHOUGH I WOULD PREFER THE STATUS QUO OVER ANY CHANGE, I WOULD STATE THIS. MARILYN CADE MADE AN OBSERVATION AT THIS MORNING'S COUNCIL MEETING THAT I THINK WAS OUTSTANDING. I THINK IT'S THE CORE BEHIND THIS RESOLUTION, BUT I WANTED TO SEE WHETHER WE CAN STRENGTHEN IT. MARILYN NOTED CORRECTLY THAT DESPITE OUR DIFFERENCES ON WHOIS, I THINK WE ARE ALL UNITED AT TRYING TO ENSURE THAT WORLD GOVERNANCE AND THE IGF IN PARTICULAR DON'T TAKE THIS AS AN EXCUSE TO TAKE A MORE ACTIVE POSTURE TO TAKE AWAY THE INDEPENDENCE THAT ICANN IS WORKING TOWARDS. AND I BELIEVE THE OPPORTUNITY IS GOING TO BE PRESENTED TO THEM IF WHAT WE DO IN THIS CASE IS DO ANYTHING SHORT OF FULL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND INVOLVEMENT OF GOVERNMENTS IN HELPING TO DEFINE THE WHOIS.
SO IT'S A PROCESS SUGGESTION.
I THINK TO USE A WORLD CUP ANALOGY, A MOST EFFECTIVE DEFENSE MIGHT BE THAT WE KEEP THE BALL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PITCH. AND I HAVE TWO STRATEGIES OR SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS DRAFT.
THE FIRST MIGHT BE TO ACTIVELY AND EXPLICITLY SOLICIT THE VIEWS OF GOVERNMENTS. AND I AGREE WITH THE EARLIER SPEAKER, I BELIEVE IT WAS MILTON MUELLER WHO SAID NOT THE GAC BUT OTHER GOVERNMENTS. ALTHOUGH YOU DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING TO CUT THE GAC OUT OF THIS, THERE HAS TO BE A WAY TO ALLOW THEM BECOME THE CONDUIT FOR THE OPINIONS OF OTHER GOVERNMENTS, I SHOULD HOPE.
BUT KEEP THE BALL ON THAT SIDE OF THE FIELD, BY THE BOARD, NOT JUST THE COUNCIL, BUT THE BOARD EXPLICITLY ASKING THE GOVERNMENTS TO PROVIDE INPUT AND TO CHANNEL IT PERHAPS THROUGH THE GAC.
THE SECOND IS TO MAKE SURE WE ARE PLAYING BY THE SAME RULES IN THIS GAME, I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST TWO THINGS. THE DISTINCTION THAT BRUCE MADE THIS MORNING, THE DISTINCTION WAS BETWEEN SERVICES AND DATA. AND IT'S A FUNDAMENTAL DISTINCTION.
IT'S INHERENT IN THE FIRST COUPLE PARTS OF THIS DRAFT RESOLUTION THAT PART OF THAT DISTINCTION SHOULD BE CONVEYED TO THESE GOVERNMENTS WHEN WE ARE ASKING THEM FOR THEIR OPINIONS SO THEY CAN PROVIDE OPINIONS THAT ARE POINTED TOWARDS THE DATA OR OPINIONS THAT ARE POINTED TO THE SERVICES. WHOIS IS A SERVICE THAT ONE DOES TO ACCESS DATA.
AND FINALLY, I'D SUGGEST THAT WE TRY TO BE MORE FACT BASED IN THIS.
SO, FOR INSTANCE, WITH THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, THAT STUDY WAS COMMISSIONED, I BELIEVE, BY THE BOARD. AND WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND IS ANOTHER STUDY, A QUICK, FACT-BASED ANALYSIS BY AN INDEPENDENT GROUP WHO CAN OBJECTIVELY ASSESS WHAT IS WHOIS BEING USED FOR TODAY.
AND PERHAPS EVEN THEY WILL INVESTIGATE AND SEE WHETHER THERE HAVE BEEN ABUSES OF WHOIS DATA.
SUCH A FACT-BASED STUDY WOULD PROVIDE EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO TRY TO CALM DOWN THE RHETORIC A LITTLE BIT AND ASK GOVERNMENTS TO RESPOND IN A POINTED WAY.
I REALIZE CHARTERING A STUDY COULD DELAY A LITTLE BIT THE TIME LINE BRUCE LAID OUT HERE, BUT I BELIEVE IT'S WORTH IT TO GET CLARITY, CLARITY ABOUT WHAT WHOIS IS AND CLARITY ABOUT HOW IT'S BEING USED. AND IF IT DOES DELAY THINGS A BIT, I GUESS WE COULD THINK OF THAT AS STOPPAGE TIME ON AN OTHERWISE LONG GAME.
THANK YOU.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR MAKING ACTIONABLE SUGGESTIONS. THOSE ARE ALL HELPFUL.
>>BRUCE TONKIN: VERY JUST A QUICK RESPONSE ON ASKING GOVERNMENTS. I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT THE WHOIS TASK FORCE HAS CONSISTENTLY ASKED GOVERNMENTS FOR INPUT OVER SEVERAL YEARS. SO WE ARE PLEASED TO BE RECEIVING IT. BUT IT'S NOT AS THOUGH WE HAVEN'T ASKED FOR IT.
>>VINT CERF: IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION. PLEASE GO AHEAD.
>>WENDY SELTZER: SURE, WENDY SELTZER, MEMBER OF THE AT-LARGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND LIAISON ON THE WHOIS TASK FORCE.
WHERE I WANT TO, FIRST OFF, STRONGLY SUPPORT, I THINK IT WAS THE FIFTH OF THE RESOLUTIONS WHERE YOU SAID, ALONG WITH ALL OF THESE OTHER THINGS, TO ENCOURAGE THE WHOIS TASK FORCE TO CONTINUE ITS WORK AND TO REACH A CONCLUSION. YES. FOURTH, I'M SORRY. TO PUSH FORWARD WITH THAT WORK BECAUSE ALTHOUGH WE'RE BRINGING TOGETHER MANY DIFFERENT CONSTITUENCIES AND MANY DIFFERENT INTERESTS IN THAT TASK FORCE, WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS AT GETTING TO THE CORE OF WHAT WHOIS IS NEEDED FOR.
AND SO TO BRING A BIT OF DIFFERENCE WITH THE LAST SPEAKER, I DON'T THINK THAT WE NEED TO STUDY WHAT WHOIS IS BEING USED FOR RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE NOT ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WHOIS HAPPENS TO BE CONVENIENT FOR ARE THINGS THAT WHOIS IS NECESSARY FOR IN TERMS OF RELATING TO ICANN'S MISSION OF PRESERVING THE SECURITY AND STABILITY AND FUNCTION OF THE INTERNET. SO THE FACT THAT MANY PEOPLE FIND IT CONVENIENT TO HAVE A DIRECTORY OF NAMES AND ADDRESSES AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS AND E-MAIL ADDRESSES CORRELATED TO DOMAIN NAMES DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S ICANN'S ROLE TO MAINTAIN THAT DIRECTORY. AND IN FACT, IN KEEPING WITH ICANN'S MISSION OF PROMOTING COMPETITION, IT MIGHT BE A PERFECT PLACE TO ENCOURAGE COMPETITORS -- COMPETITIVE MARKET ENTRANTS TO PROVIDE DIRECTORIES RELATING TO INFORMATION AND ONLINE SERVICES.
THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU ONLINE AND TRUSTEE AND EVEN VERISIGN PROVIDE VARIOUS SEAL MECHANISMS TO HELP PEOPLE GAUGE THE CREDIBILITY AND TRUSTWORTHINESS OF SITES WITH WHICH THEY ARE DOING BUSINESS. THERE'S NO REASON THAT ICANN NEEDS TO BE ENFORCING PUBLICATION OF ADDRESS INFORMATION IN COMPETITION WITH THESE KINDS OF SERVICES.
THANK YOU.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU, WENDY. BRUCE, WE'RE SEEING IN THIS DISCUSSION NOT A REPLAY, EXACTLY, BY EXAMPLES OF THE TENSIONS THAT HAVE DOGGED THE WHOIS DEBATE FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
I HOPE THAT WE'LL GET SOME CLARITY, ESPECIALLY AS WE CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY THAT NOT EVERYTHING IN THE WHOIS COLLECTED DATA IS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. IF WE HAVE THAT FLEXIBILITY, SOME OF THE CONCERNS MIGHT BE AMELIORATED. SO THANK YOU, WENDY.
I WAS WRONG. THAT WASN'T THE LAST COMMENT. PLEASE GO AHEAD.
>>ERICK IRIARTE: THANKS.
I WILL TO GIVE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT SOME ESPECIALLY THAT I THINK NEED TO BE TAKE CARE ABOUT THAT. IN THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT OF CHILE WITH U.S.A. SAID CCTLD PROVIDES (INAUDIBLE) PUBLIC ACCESS TO (INAUDIBLE) OF CONTACT INFORMATION FOR DOMAIN NAMES (INAUDIBLE).
IN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT OF U.S.A. WITH ALL CENTRAL AMERICA SAID EXACTLY THE SAME.
AND THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH PERU SAY THE SAME.
AND THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT U.S.A./PANAMA SAY THE SAME.
AND THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN U.S.A. AND SINGAPORE BE MORE SPECIFIC AND SAID EACH PARTY SHALL ENSURE THE (INAUDIBLE) CCTLDS PROVIDE PUBLIC ACCESS TO (INAUDIBLE) REALITY AND ADDRESS WHOIS DATABASE.
WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL BECAUSE SOME COUNTRIES, AND SPECIFICALLY U.S.A. IN THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS, MAKE THE WHOIS ISSUE LIKE A VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATIONS. AND IT'S NOT NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THE DATA PROTECTION INFORMATION FROM EACH COUNTRY.
SECOND, IN ESPECIALLY LATIN AMERICA WE ARE NOW VERY LACK OF REGULATION ON PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION. AND ECLAC PROCESS, ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR LATIN AMERICA FOR UNITED NATION, IS SUPPORTING THAT CREATION OF INFORMATION SOCIETY (INAUDIBLE). AND ONE OF THE PRINCIPLE ISSUES WILL BE PRIVACY.
SO AT THIS MOMENT, WE ARE FAR AWAY FROM ONLY BEING A TECHNICAL PROCESS. IT'S MORE POLITICAL. AND WE NEED TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND THAT NOT ALL THE COUNTRIES HAVE SOME KIND OF REGULATION ON PRIVACY. AND THIS NOT BE POSSIBLE THAT COUNTRY THAT HAVE MORE REGULATION ON PRIVACY ISSUE, LIKE EUROPEAN UNION OR U.S.A., PUT THEIR OPINIONS OR PUT THEIR REGULATION BEFORE THE OTHER COUNTRIES THAT JUST DEVELOPING THEIR POSITIONS. THANKS.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH VERY MUCH, ERICK I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU -- YES, JUST ONE SECOND.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU IF YOU WOULD PROVIDE TO US IN AN E-MAIL SPECIFIC REFERENCES TO THE AGREEMENTS. THAT DOCUMENTATION WOULD BE USEFUL TO HAVE.
>>ERICK IRIARTE: YES, I HAVE THAT. I MAKE THE REPORT FOR CCTLD IN LATIN AMERICA.
>>VINT CERF: SUSAN.
>>SUSAN CRAWFORD: ERICK, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND STAYING AT THE MIKE, I WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THE FIRST PORTION OF YOUR REMARKS. SO ALTHOUGH SEVERAL LARGE TLDS, LIKE DOT DE, AND DOT UK, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, OTHERS, SHIELD PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC VIEW FOR THEIR COUNTRY CODES, THE UNITED STATES AS A CONDITION OF ENTERING INTO BILATERAL TRADE AGREEMENTS WITH INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES HAS REQUIRED THAT THOSE PARTICULAR COUNTRIES KEEP THEIR WHOIS DATA PUBLIC. IS THAT THE CASE?
>>ERICK IRIARTE: YES, IS THAT THE CASE BUT IT IS NOT ONLY FOR CCTLDS. IN SOME CASE, IN ESPECIAL FOR THE CENTRAL AMERICA CASE, THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IS OPEN AND (INAUDIBLE) ONLY DOMAIN NAMES, AND PUT THE WORLD CCTLD. SO IS ALL DOMAIN NAMES POSSIBLE.
>>SUSAN CRAWFORD: ALL DOMAIN NAMES POSSIBLE.
>>ERICK IRIARTE: YES, BECAUSE DON'T PUT THE WORLD CCTLDS. IN THE CASE OF SINGAPORE, IN THE CASE OF CHILE, IN THE CASE OF PERU, JUST THEY PUT. I DON'T REMEMBER IF IN THE CASE OF THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH MOROCCO, IF I REMEMBER, IS (INAUDIBLE) IS PUT TO THE -- IT'S NOT INFORMATION AVAILABLE?
>> (INAUDIBLE).
>>ERICK IRIARTE: HOW ABOUT THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH --
>> (INAUDIBLE).
>>ERICK IRIARTE: YOU HAVE MORE INFORMATION THAN ME FOR THIS SPECIFIC CASE.
>>VINT CERF: WE'LL TAKE THIS ONE OFF-LINE, BUT I STILL WANT THE REFERENCES.
>>SUSAN CRAWFORD: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>>VINT CERF: OKAY. THANK YOU.
I THINK THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS FOR YOU, BRUCE. SO WE'LL FINISH UP ON THAT.
WE HAVE SOME TIME FOR OPEN MICROPHONE, BUT BEFORE YOU RUSH TO THE MICROPHONE, LET ME JUST TELL YOU WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE AGENDA.
OUR FRIENDS FROM BRAZIL WHO WANT TO PRESENT SOME ENTICING GLIMPSES OF NIGHT LIFE AND OTHER ACTIVITIES IN SAO PAULO ASKED IF WE COULD MOVE THAT TO TOMORROW BECAUSE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE MAY BE PREOCCUPIED RIGHT NOW WITH OTHER MEETINGS.
SO WE'LL DO THAT JUST BEFORE THE BREAK TOMORROW.
ALSO, TOMORROW WE'LL HAVE THE AT-LARGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT, WHICH HAD BEEN SCHEDULED FOR TODAY.
SO WE'VE COMPLETED ALL THE SCHEDULED REPORTS FOR TODAY AS OF THIS MOMENT.
I'LL ENTERTAIN OPEN MICROPHONE TIME UNTIL AS LATE AS 6:00 P.M. TONIGHT. IF WE RUN OUT OF OPEN MICROPHONE QUESTIONS, WE'LL STOP SOONER, BUT WE WILL NOT STOP ANY LATER THAN 6:00.
SO IF YOU ARE QUEUED UP AND 6:00 COMES ALONG, I WILL ASK YOU TO DELAY YOUR OPEN MICROPHONE QUESTIONS UNTIL THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY TOMORROW, EVEN IF THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE IN THE QUEUE, BECAUSE THERE ARE OTHER MEETINGS THAT HAVE TO BE ATTENDED TO.
SO THE MICROPHONE IS NOW OPEN FOR QUESTIONS OR ISSUES THAT PARTICIPANTS WANT TO RAISE.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: VINT?
>>VINT CERF: YES, PAUL.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: I WONDER IF YOU MAY BEG MY INDULGENCE BEFORE THE OPEN MICROPHONE.
>>VINT CERF: I FORGOT TO REMEMBER, FRANKLY, THAT YOU HAD TWO OTHER ITEMS THAT HE DIDN'T -- YOU DIDN'T PUT INTO YOUR PRESIDENT'S REPORT.
SO PLEASE GO AHEAD, AND THEN WE WILL PICK UP BRUCE.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: THANK YOU FOR THAT.
MY APOLOGIES THAT I DIDN'T INCLUDE THESE BEFORE IN MY REPORT.
PERHAPS I AM JUST PROVING THE CONCERN YOU EXPRESSED AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MEETING OF MY LACK OF MENTAL CAPACITY.
TWO THINGS I WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO MY REPORT, AND THEY ARE TIMELY AFTER THE REPORT FROM THE GNSO COUNCIL CHAIR.
FIRST OF ALL, AN ITEM CONCERNING DOT BIZ, DOT INFO, AND DOT ORG.
FOLLOWING THE RECEIPT OF LETTERS FROM AFILIAS, NEUSTAR AND PIR, ICANN CHAIRMAN VINT CERF HAS REQUESTED THE POSTING OF THE PROPOSED AGREEMENTS FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION. HE HAS DONE THAT BECAUSE THE ICANN BOARD HAS NOT YET REVIEWED THESE PROPOSED AGREEMENTS. AFTER THE BOARD HAS HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE AGREEMENTS, A PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD OF NO LESS THAN 21 DAYS WILL BE CONSIDERED AT AN UPCOMING BOARD MEETING. SO THESE AGREEMENTS ARE NOT YET AT THE STAGE OF CONSIDERATION BY THE BOARD BUT THE CHAIRMAN HAS ASKED FOR THEM TO BE POSTED FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION IN RESPONSE TO THE LETTERS RECEIVED BY THE THREE REGISTRIES.
THIS PROCESS ACTUALLY PROVIDES MORE TIME FOR SCRUTINY BY THE COMMUNITY. THE POSTING INFORMATION WILL BE IN ADDITION TO ANY PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
THE SECOND POINT, AROUND COMMUNICATIONS. AS MANY OF YOU ALL KNOW, WE HAVE APPOINTED A NEW EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND VICE PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS, MR. PAUL LEVINS.
I THINK MANY OF YOU MET HIM AT HIS FIRST CONFERENCE AT VARIOUS MEETINGS. HE HAS BEEN LISTENING TO THE VIEWS OF THE COMMUNITY OVER THESE PAST DAYS. HE HAS BEEN MAKING HIS OWN OBSERVATIONS. HE IS ALSO WELL AWARE OF THE COMMENTS YOU HAVE MADE TO ME AND THE BOARD AT RECENT TIMES FOR NEED OF GREATER ACCESSIBILITY AND BETTER MESSAGING OF WHAT WE DO AND WHY WE DO IT.
AS A CONSEQUENCE, HE WILL BE INITIATING A PLAN TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY AND APPEARANCE OF OUR PUBLICITY MATERIALS ON OUR WEB SITE. HE ALSO WANTS TO REDOUBLE OUR EFFORTS TO HAVE A REAL DIALOGUE WITH THE COMMUNITY. THIS WILL INCLUDE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A BLOG WITH REAL-TIME RESPONSES.
THERE ARE A RANGE OF OTHER TOOLS FOR COMMUNICATING AND MAKING WHAT WE DO MORE ACCESSIBLE, AND I ENCOURAGE YOU TO TALK TO PAUL EITHER HERE OR VIA E-MAIL. HE IS IN VERY ACTIVE LISTENING MODE BUT HE IS ALSO A VERY ACTIVE INDIVIDUAL AND WE EXPECT TO SEE ACTION ON THIS VERY SHORTLY.
THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, PAUL.
BRUCE, YOU ARE BACK ON.
>>BRUCE TONKIN: THANK YOU, VINT.
MY NAME IS BRUCE TONKIN FROM MELBOURNE I.T.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A SUGGESTION, I GUESS, AND THAT IS THAT THE BOARD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER RESTRUCTURING THE WAY THESE ICANN MEETINGS ARE CONDUCTED.
I THINK SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES WE'VE HAD WITH THE DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS ON THE PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF WHOIS IS THAT THOSE THAT ARE MOST EFFECTED OR WOULD BE MOST INTERESTED TYPICALLY ARE NOT ATTENDING THE MEETINGS, WHERE THE PURPOSE IS DISCUSSED IN MORE DETAIL.
IN THE WELLINGTON MEETING, IN THE GNSO COUNCIL MEETING, THERE WAS AN EXTENSIVE DISCUSSION AROUND THE TOPIC OF PURPOSE, INCLUDING GOING THROUGH WHAT THOSE DEFINITIONS MEANT.
NOW, I ACCEPT THAT WE PERHAPS WEREN'T AS EFFECTIVE IN COMMUNICATING THAT PURPOSE TO THE OUTSIDE COMMUNITY, BUT I WOULD POINT OUT THAT THAT PURPOSE WAS PURELY A DECISION TO GIVE BACK TO THE WHOIS TASK FORCE TO CONTINUE THEIR WORK. SO IT WAS A WORK IN PROGRESS, NOT SOME FINAL OUTCOME THAT WE WERE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE TO THE WORLD GOVERNMENTS.
NOW, IN THE GNSO PUBLIC FORUM WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT WHOIS AND VARIOUS OTHER TOPICS YESTERDAY, THERE WAS HARDLY ANYONE HERE. AND THAT WAS BECAUSE THE BOARD WERE AT OTHER MEETINGS, THE GAC WERE AT OTHER MEETINGS. SO ALL THESE PEOPLE THAT CAME HERE AND SENT LETTERS OR COMPLAINED OR HAD SESSIONS, NONE OF THEM, OR VERY FEW OF THEM, WERE IN ATTENDANCE WHEN WE ACTUALLY DISCUSSED THEIR CONCERNS, AND THEY COULD HAVE HEARD SOME OF THE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.
SO I THINK THESE SORT OF MEETINGS HERE ARE VERY GOOD. BUT STILL, WE DON'T HAVE THE GAC HERE IN THIS ROOM TODAY BECAUSE THEY ARE MEETING IN PARALLEL. AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE WAS SOME VERY GOOD POINTS RAISED BY MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE HERE.
SO I JUST THINK INSTEAD OF HAVING LOTS OF MEETINGS, IF THE GAC IS GOING TO HAVE A CLOSED MEETING, WHY BOTHER HAVING IT HERE? THEY MIGHT AS WELL HAVE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE CLOSED AWAY.
I'D RATHER, WHEN THE GAC CAME HERE, THEY WERE HERE TO LISTEN. AND WE, IN TURN, WERE HERE TO LISTEN TO WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY. AND THAT'S PROBABLY BEST IF WE ARE ALL IN ONE PLACE AND WE CAN ALL HEAR EACH OTHER'S VIEWS
[ APPLAUSE ]
>>VINT CERF: I'M SURE THAT THE MEETINGS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN WILL GET A NUMBER OF PROPOSALS FOR RESTRUCTURING OF MEETINGS.
WE'RE ALL INTERESTED IN MAKING THIS MORE EFFICIENT, PERHAPS EVEN MAKING SOMETHING THAT TAKES LESS TIME.
LET ME HAVE SUSAN AND THEN THE NEXT PERSON FROM THE FLOOR.
>>SUSAN CRAWFORD: JUST VERY BRIEFLY, I AM OPTIMISTIC.
THAT LAST TWO SUBJECTS REALLY TIE TOGETHER, THAT PAUL LEVIN'S ARRIVAL AND HIS FOCUS ON COMMUNICATION MEANS WE WON'T JUST BE WORKING ON THE QUALITY AND APPEARANCE OF OUR WEB SITE, BUT THAT WE'LL ACTUALLY BE HAVING REMOTE PARTICIPATION THAT MAKES SENSE, ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO DO THINGS ONLINE AS WELL AS IN PERSON, FIND A WAY OF HAVING MEANINGFUL DIALOGUE THAT ISN'T CUT OFF BETWEEN MEETINGS, THAT KEEPS GOING INTERSESSIONALLY.
SO I HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR PAUL L., AND I LOOK FOR ALL OF US TO SUPPORT HIS WORK, PARTICULARLY AS HE'S DIRECTING THE MANAGER OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, WHICH I VIEW AS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ROLES IN THIS ORGANIZATION.
SO I'M ALSO ON THE MEETINGS COMMITTEE, SO I'M ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT ALL THESE DEVELOPMENTS.
THANKS.
>>KEITH DRAZEK: THANK YOU.
HELLO, MY NAME IS KEITH DRAZEK, I'M WITH NEULEVEL, THE DOT BIZ REGISTRY.
JUST WANTED TO MAKE A BRIEF COMMENT AND THEN A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION REGARDING THE POSTING OF THE BIZ AGREEMENT AS I UNDERSTAND, YOU HAVEN'T ALL HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE AGREEMENTS IN ANY DETAIL.
FIRST, I WANT TO THANK JOHN JEFFREY AND KURT PRITZ FOR THAT'S FOCUS AND ATTENTION AND ASSISTANCE IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS TO REALLY PUSH THIS TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
NEULEVEL HAS BEEN WORKING WITH ICANN FOR MORE THAN A YEAR TO RENEGOTIATE THE DOT BIZ AGREEMENT, THE EXISTING DOT BIZ AGREEMENT.
LAST WEEK, WE REACHED FINAL AGREEMENT ON ALL POINTS.
AND WE FEEL STRONGLY THAT THE POSTED AGREEMENT IS A POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT FOR BOTH PARTIES, FOR THE ICANN COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE, AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, FOR THE STABILITY AND SECURITY OF THE DNS.
WE HAD HOPED THE AGREEMENT WOULD BE POSTED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT BEFORE THE START OF THE ICANN MEETING THIS WEEK IN MARRAKECH.
BUT WE RESPECT THE BOARD'S DESIRE TO CAREFULLY REVIEW THESE AGREEMENTS BEFORE THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD BEGINS.
WE ARE AVAILABLE TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS THAT MIGHT ARISE DURING YOUR REVIEW.
WE BELIEVE OUR NEGOTIATIONS WITH ICANN STAFF HAVE PRODUCED AN AGREEMENT THAT REFLECTS NEULEVEL'S CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO ICANN AND TO THE LONG-TERM SECURITY AND STABILITY OF THE DNS.
CONCURRENTLY, THIS PROPOSED AGREEMENT ALSO BEGINS TO ADDRESS THE COMPETITIVE IMBALANCE IN OUR MARKETPLACE BY ENSURING EQUITABLE TREATMENT OF GTLD REGISTRIES, AS REQUIRED BY ICANN'S BYLAWS AND OUR EXISTING AGREEMENT.
THE TERMS OF THE POSTED AGREEMENT ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE CONTRACTUAL UPDATES TO RECENTLY CONCLUDED AGREEMENTS, INCLUDING PRESUMPTIVE RENEWAL AND A NEW FEE STRUCTURE.
PRESUMPTIVE RENEWAL WILL HELP TO SECURE NEULEVEL'S LONG-TERM INVOLVEMENT AND INVESTMENT IN THE GTLD COMMUNITY AND THE DNS.
AND TO HELP US COMPETE FAIRLY WITH OTHER GTL REGISTRY OPERATORS.
WE HAVE INCREASED OUR FEES TO ICANN IN RECOGNITION OF THE KEY ROLE REGISTRIES MUST PLAY IN SUPPORTING ICANN'S OPERATIONS AND THE IMPORTANT AND CHALLENGING ISSUES THAT LIE AHEAD FOR THE COMMUNITY.
THE PROPOSED BIZ AGREEMENT IS CONSISTENT WITH ICANN'S CHARTER, BYLAWS, AND OUR EXISTING AGREEMENT.
UPON APPROVAL, AFTER THE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD AND BOARD REVIEW, WE WILL BE BETTER POSITIONED TO MAKE ADDITIONAL LONG-TERM INVESTMENT IN THE REGISTRY INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH WILL IN TURN ENHANCE THE SECURITY AND STABILITY OF THE DNS.
WITHOUT THIS AGREEMENT, NEULEVEL WOULD BE FORCED TO OPERATE THE DOT BIZ REGISTRY AT A SEVERE COMPETITIVE DISADVANTAGE TO THE DOMINANT REGISTRY OPERATOR, WITH 85% GTLD MARKET SHARE AND GROWING.
AND OUR CAPACITY FOR LONG-TERM INVESTMENT IN THE DOT BIZ REGISTRY INFRASTRUCTURE WOULD BE COMPROMISED.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO DISCUSSING THE AGREEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY AND RESPONDING TO ANY QUESTIONS GENERATED DURING THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR DECISION TO POST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AT YOUR NEXT MEETING.
AND MY FOLLOW-UP QUESTION, BECAUSE THE PUBLIC INFORMATION PERIOD IS SOMEWHAT OF A NEW THING, I THINK, IN ICANN PROCESSES, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH US EITHER NOW OR IN A FOLLOW-UP CONVERSATION OR PUBLIC POSTING THE TIME FRAME THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR THOSE NEXT STEPS.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE DISCUSSED AT YOUR NEXT MEETING ON FRIDAY OR IN JULY OR AT SOME OTHER DATE?
>>VINT CERF: IT PROBABLY WON'T BE DISCUSSED FOR THE NEXT MEETING ON FRIDAY, BECAUSE THE BOARD HAS NOT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO READ THAT MATERIAL AND DECIDE WHETHER IT SHOULD POST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, WHICH INITIATES A SPECIFIC PROCESS LEADING TOWARDS EITHER THE APPROVAL OF THE CONTRACT OR POSSIBLY CONTINUED DISCUSSIONS AND NEGOTIATIONS.
FRANKLY, I WANTED TO ACCOMMODATE THE REQUESTS OF THE CEOS OF THE THREE ORGANIZATIONS TO HAVE THE INFORMATION UP AND AVAILABLE FOR THE PUBLIC TO KNOW THAT THOSE CONTRACTS HAD REACHED THE STATE THAT THEY'RE IN.
BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO IMPLY THAT THE BOARD HAD APPROVED THEM.
SO THE TERM "PUBLIC INFORMATION" WAS CHOSEN SIMPLY TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THAT AND POSTING FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH A FORMAL ACTION WHICH INITIATES A PROCESS.
SO THAT'S REALLY THE ONLY DIFFERENCE.
IT WOULD BE MY EXPECTATION THAT, YOU KNOW, PENDING UNEXPECTED ISSUES, THAT AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING, NOT THE ONE COMING UP THIS FRIDAY, BUT THE ONE AFTER THAT, THAT WE MIGHT BE IN A POSITION TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION.
>>KEITH DRAZEK: OKAY.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.
>>VINT CERF: MARILYN CADE.
>>MARILYN CADE: THANK YOU, VINT.
I WILL OPEN MY COMMENTS BY REITERATING HOW VALUABLE THE OPPORTUNITY IS TO THE COMMUNITY, TO ME PERSONALLY, I THINK TO THE COMMUNITY, TO HAVE THE PUBLIC FORUMS AND TO HAVE THE BOARD SPEND THIS TIME WITH US.
AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE I THINK THAT WE IN THE GNSO HAVE LEARNED FROM THIS, AND WE HAVE NOW MODIFIED OUR APPROACH AND HAVE OUR OWN PUBLIC FORUM, WHICH IS GROWING IN ITS IMPORTANCE TO US.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO NOW, GIVEN THAT I HAVE HEARD THAT WE HAVE NEW BLOOD, A NEW BODY, AND MAYBE SOME SPARE THOUGHTS AVAILABLE, IDENTIFY AN AREA THAT I THINK -- WHERE I THINK ICANN CAN MAKE DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT AND IN VERY SHORT TIME, AND ENHANCE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHERS IN THE COMMUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ICANN MEETINGS.
AND THAT IS BY QUICKLY IMPLEMENTING A FORM OF A PROGRAM COMMITTEE TO IDENTIFY AN AGENDA VERY SHORTLY AFTER EACH ICANN MEETING FOR THE NEXT ICANN MEETING, WITH DETAILED INFORMATION.
WE FIND IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, AND I THINK ELSEWHERE, THAT BUSINESSES NEED AGENDA INFORMATION IN ORDER TO GET APPROVAL FOR TRAVEL.
THEY NEED INFORMATION AHEAD OF TIME ON THE SUBJECTS AND THE GENERAL DIRECTION SO THAT THEY CAN NEGOTIATE WITH THEIR BOSSES IN ORDER TO SPEND THE TIME.
SO IF WE COULD MOVE AGGRESSIVELY ON IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM COMMITTEE.
AND I TAKE THAT AS SOMETHING SEPARATE THAN MEETING SCHEDULING OR EVEN IDENTIFICATION OF A PLACE TO HOLD A MEETING.
I THINK YOU WOULD FIND THAT VERY WELCOMED AND SUPPORTED BY THE COMMUNITY.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU, MARILYN.
IT IS GOOD TO MAKE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN WHAT WILL WE TALK ABOUT AND PRECISELY WHEN WILL WE TALK ABOUT IT.
BECAUSE GETTING THE ACTUAL DETAILED SCHEDULE DOWN TO THE DAY AND THE HOUR IS ALWAYS HARD.
ON THE OTHER HAND, HAVING ADVANCE NOTICE OF WHAT WILL BE DISCUSSED IS VERY HELPFUL, AND A NUMBER OF PEOPLE HAVE OBSERVED THAT, INCLUDING MYSELF.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT, MARILYN.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD OR FROM THE FLOOR?
WENDY.
>>WENDY SELTZER: THANKS.
THIS TIME -- SINCE MANY OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE COME UP AND SAID HAVE BEEN CRITICAL OF ICANN, I WANTED TO COME UP AND MAKE ONE NOTE OF THANKS HERE, WHICH IS THAT MY NAME BADGE THAT I REGISTERED FOR THE ICANN MEETING IS NOT WENDY SELTZER, BUT "ANONYMOUS."
AND IN REGISTERING THAT WAY FOR THE MEETING, I WAS NEVER REQUESTED TO HAVE IDENTIFICATION OR REQUESTED TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED.
SINCE THIS WAS A CONCERN THAT I HAD RAISED AFTER THE WELLINGTON MEETING, I'M VERY PLEASED TO FIND THAT ANONYMOUS REGISTRATION WAS FULLY PERMITTED HERE, AND FOUND THAT VERY HELPFUL TO BE ABLE TO REPORT OUT TO MEMBERS OF THE INTERNET COMMUNITY WHO HAD ASKED THE ALAC ABOUT THAT.
SO THANK YOU.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU.
THAT WAS AN UNEXPECTED COMPLIMENT.
OF COURSE, NOW, YOU REALIZE HAVING MADE THIS PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT THAT WE'LL HAVE TO MAKE A RECORD THAT YOU HAVE FORMALLY USED AN ALIAS WHICH WE'LL HAVE TO KEEP IN OUR RECORDS FOR FURTHER USE IN THE FUTURE.
[ LAUGHTER ]
>>WENDY SELTZER: (INAUDIBLE) POLICIES.
>>VINT CERF: WELL, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, -- AHA, MR. MUELLER.
YOU HAD TO -- YOU HAD TO INTERCEPT MY LINE, DIDN'T YOU?
OKAY, GO AHEAD.
>>MILTON MUELLER: YOU WANTED TO ESCAPE, DID YOU?
>>VINT CERF: DRINKS ARE ON THE HOUSE.
BUT GO AHEAD.
>>MILTON MUELLER: WELL, I JUST HAVE AN OPEN QUESTION FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS.
AND I'M NOT REALLY TRYING TO CAUSE TROUBLE, ALTHOUGH WHEN YOU HEAR THE QUESTION, YOU'LL PROBABLY THINK THAT I AM.
JUST BUILDING ON THE POINT THAT WENDY, AND TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, MARILYN MADE, IT IS, INDEED, A VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF INSTITUTION, ICANN.
IT IS A -- BASICALLY, A NONGOVERNMENTAL FORM OF GOVERNANCE.
AND MOST OF US, AFTER INTERACTING WITH THE WSIS PROCESS, FOUND IT SLIGHTLY PREFERABLE TO THE FORMAL GOVERNMENTAL PROCESSES.
THAT BRINGS TO MIND THE NTIA NOTICE OF INQUIRY, WHICH IS COMING UP.
AND I REALLY WOULD JUST LIKE TO HEAR -- THE FIRST AND PROBABLY MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THAT INQUIRY TALKS ABOUT THE PRINCIPLES THAT WERE FORMULATED IN THE WHITE PAPER, AMONG WHICH IS THE IDEA OF (INAUDIBLE) PRIVATE-SECTOR COORDINATION.
AND THE IDEA OF WHETHER WE SHOULD COMPLETE THE TRANSITION -- THIS IS A PHRASE THAT'S USED FREQUENTLY IN THE NTIA NOTICE OF INQUIRY, "COMPLETING THE TRANSITION," PRESUMABLY TO A PRIVATE SECTOR GOVERNANCE AUTHORITY INDEPENDENT OF GOVERNMENT CONTROL, BUT, OF COURSE, ACCOUNTABLE TO A COMMUNITY.
SO WHAT THOUGHTS DO THE BOARD MEMBERS HAVE ABOUT WHAT IS THE MOST CONSTRUCTIVE WAY TO PROPOSE MAKING THIS TRANSITION?
OR DO YOU BELIEVE THINGS SHOULD STAY WHERE THEY ARE NOW?
HOW COULD THE ICANN COMMUNITY PARTICIPATE IN THIS NOTICE IN A WAY THAT GETS ICANN WHERE IT WANTS TO BE?
WHAT CAN WE ADVOCATE IN THIS PROCEEDING THAT MOVES YOU TO A MORE INDEPENDENT, PERHAPS, OR ACCOUNTABLE FORM, OR WHETHER YOU DON'T WANT TO BE INDEPENDENT.
I JUST WANT TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS.
I DON'T WANT TO PARTICULARLY HEAR ANYTHING -- ANY -- MY VIEW REFLECTED UPON.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU -- SORRY?
OKAY.
SO I'M NOT SURE THAT WE'RE GOING TO STEP THROUGH EVERY BOARD MEMBER.
BUT LET ME JUST REMIND YOU OF THE CONTENT OF THE NOTICE OF INQUIRY.
IF YOU READ IT, YOU'LL SEE VERY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE IS ASKING.
IMPLICIT IN THE QUESTIONS, I THINK, IS THE PRESUMPTION THAT A MULTISTAKEHOLDER ORGANIZATION LIKE ICANN IS ASSUMED TO BE THE TARGET OF TRANSITION.
THEY ARE ASKING HOW TO IMPROVE THE STRUCTURE OR ORGANIZATION OR OPERATION OF THIS MULTISTAKEHOLDER ICANN.
SO ONE OF THE STRONGEST THINGS THAT YOU COULD DO IS TO RESPOND CONCRETELY TO THOSE QUESTIONS.
IT WOULD HELP A GREAT DEAL, IN MY OPINION, IF YOU WERE TO CONFIRM, IF YOU BELIEVE IT, IF YOU AGREE WITH IT, TO CONFIRM THAT ICANN, AS A MULTISTAKEHOLDER ORGANIZATION, IS A BASIS ON WHICH YOU THINK WE SHOULD PROCEED.
AND SO YOU AT LEAST WILL CONFIRM THAT -- IF YOU CAN CONFIRM THAT, IT WILL HELP.
BECAUSE IF YOU THEN SUBSEQUENTLY MAKE A SERIES OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS, IT WON'T BE CONCLUDED THAT YOU THINK THAT IT'S ENTIRELY BROKEN.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF ALL OF YOUR RESPONSES ARE TO SAY, "HERE ARE THE THINGS THAT NEED IMPROVING."
I DON'T INTEND BY THIS COMMENT TO PUT WORDS IN ANYONE'S MOUTH OR EVEN NECESSARILY THOUGHTS IN YOUR HEAD.
BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT THE INTENT OF THE D.O.C. NOTICE OF INQUIRY IS TO GET BACK ANSWERS SPECIFICALLY TO CONCRETE QUESTIONS THAT THEY RAISED.
PAUL, I SEE YOU HAVE YOUR MICROPHONE LIT, WHICH -- OH, THAT WASN'T INTENTIONAL.
I SEE.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS THAT ANYONE WISHES TO MAKE?
MILTON, DOES THAT -- DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ADEQUATELY?
AT LEAST FOR NOW.
OKAY.
MOUHAMET.
>>MOUHAMET DIOP: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, VINT.
I TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THANK THE WHOLE INTERNET COMMUNITY, BUT I HAVE AN OPERATIONAL QUESTION FOR PAUL.
SO I CAN SAY THAT'S THE FIRST TIME I TAKE THE FLOOR IN FRONT OF THE COMMUNITY AFTER I STEP DOWN FROM THE BOARD.
AND I REALLY TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO THANK ALL THE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE GIVEN CONFIDENCE TO ME.
AND I TOOK DECISION FOR THEM EVERY TIME.
AND MAYBE SOME OF THEM WERE WELL RECEIVED, SOME OTHERS NOT.
SO I REALLY THINK THAT I TRIED TO PUT MY BEST FOR MY HEART AND MY OWN PERSON ON THAT JOB.
SO THE QUESTION I HAVE IS PERSONALLY FOR -- FOR THE CEO OF THE ORGANIZATION.
WE REALLY WANT TO UNDERSTAND REGARDING THE OBJECTIVE YOU HAVE DRAFTED ON THE OPERATIONAL PLAN.
WE GIVE YOU THE MANDATE TO HIRE PEOPLE.
YOU PRESENT A VERY AMBITIOUS PROGRAM THAT'S GOING TO FIT REALLY AND HELP US ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVES OF THE ORGANIZATION.
AFTER YOU GIVE A REPORT OF THE ACTIVITIES, I REALLY WANT TO KNOW IF -- AT WHAT LEVEL OF HIRING PEOPLE ARE YOU NOW?
DO YOU -- CAN WE SAY THAT YOU REACHED OBJECTIVE AT 100%, 50%, 20% REGARDING THE WAY THAT YOU THINK THAT IT WILL BE MUCH MORE EFFICIENT IN TERMS OF OPERATION?
AND I REALLY WANT ALSO, BY THE SAME WAY, IF THE CONSTRAINED BUDGET THAT YOU HAVE INITIALLY THAT DID NOT HELP YOU GET THE PEOPLE THAT YOU REALLY NEED TO GET ON BOARD, IF THAT PROBLEM HAS BEEN SOLVED NOW FOR THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: THANK YOU, MOUHAMET.
I -- EVEN BEFORE WE GET INTO 2006/2007 AND THE BUDGETED STAFF RESOURCES THAT THE OPERATIONAL PLAN CALLS FOR, WE ARE STILL AT STAFFING LEVELS -- I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER THE EXACT NUMBERS.
BUT I THINK WE'RE STILL SOMETHING LIKE 10% BELOW EXISTING BUDGET.
MAYBE MORE.
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES OF MANAGEMENT HAS BEEN, FRANKLY, THAT WE ARE STILL -- IT'S A LITTLE BIT LIKE RUNNING A HOUSEHOLD.
WE STILL MANAGE TO CASH A LOT.
AND THAT HAS BEEN BECAUSE WE HAVE HAD CERTAIN UNCERTAINTIES IN OUR REVENUE STREAM.
AND WE STILL DO HAVE AN UNCERTAINTY IN TERMS OF ONE OF THE ELEMENTS IN THE ICANN BUDGET IS THE DOT COM -- CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE DOT COM ACCORDING TO THE PROPOSED AGREEMENT, WHICH HAS NOT YET BEEN FINALIZED, OR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT HAS NOT YET RESPONDED TO THAT PROCESS.
SO WE STILL MANAGE A LITTLE BIT TO UNCERTAINTY.
THE MANAGEMENT CONSEQUENCE IS THAT WE TEND TO BE CONSERVATIVE ABOUT HIRING PEOPLE.
SO I THINK -- I'M JUST TRYING TO GO QUICKLY FROM MEMORY.
BUT I THINK WE'RE SOMETHING LIKE 10% AT LEAST BEHIND ON PRESENT BUDGET, WHICH WOULD SAY THAT WE STILL HAVE QUITE A LOT -- PROVIDING WE DO HAVE FINANCIAL CERTAINTY ACCORDING TO THE BUDGET NUMBERS THIS COMING YEAR, WE DO HAVE QUITE A LOT OF HIRING STILL TO GO.
I'M SORRY, MOUHAMET, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBERS IN FRONT OF ME TO ACTUALLY GIVE YOU THE EXACT NUMBER.
BUT I POTENTIALLY CAN COME BACK AND FURTHER BRIEF ON THIS POINT.
WE STILL NEED TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE RECRUITING VERY HIGH-QUALITY PEOPLE.
WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO RECRUIT VERY HIGH-QUALITY PEOPLE IN A NUMBER OF PLACES, NOT JUST IN CALIFORNIA.
AND AS IT'S BEEN MENTIONED A COUPLE OF TIMES, WE -- IN WAYS THAT ARE STILL A LITTLE STRANGE, I STILL FIND CHALLENGES ABOUT RECRUITMENT IN -- WHERE WE ARE IN LOS ANGELES.
I THINK IT'S PARTLY BECAUSE -- IT'S PARTLY BECAUSE THE INDUSTRY WE PARTICULARLY ARE IN HAS NOT BEEN TRADITIONALLY FOCUSED IN LOS ANGELES, ALTHOUGH I NOTE THAT VINT AND STEVE AND OTHERS ALL SPENT A LOT OF TIME OF THEIR LIFE THERE.
IT TENDS TO BE MORE SILICON VALLEY IF YOU'RE IN CALIFORNIA.
SO WE STILL ARE HAVING THIS CHALLENGE OF RECRUITING QUALITY PEOPLE.
AND WE ARE TRYING TO USE ALL FORMS WE POSSIBLY CAN TO DO SO, INCLUDING WE ARE NOW, FOR SOME POSITIONS, USING HEAD-HUNTERS, AND WE ARE CERTAINLY TRYING TO ADVERTISE INTERNATIONALLY IN MAJOR NEWSPAPERS TO FIND STAFF.
I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE FULLY ANSWERED THE QUESTION YOU WERE ASKING.
IS THAT SUFFICIENT?
I'LL TRY TO COME BACK ON THOSE OTHER NUMBERS, PERHAPS TOMORROW.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, PAUL.
I DON'T SEE ANYONE ELSE LINED UP TO RAISE ANY FURTHER ISSUES IN THE OPEN MICROPHONE PERIOD, AND I DON'T SEE ANY BOARD MEMBERS RAISING THEIR HANDS.
THIS MAY BE, POTENTIALLY, A RECORD, SINCE WE'RE SOMETHING LIKE 40 MINUTES BEFORE WE HAD ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO FINISH.
HOWEVER, WE DID LOSE A COUPLE OF TOPICS THAT WE HAD TO PUSH OVER TILL TOMORROW.
SO THAT'S PROBABLY PART OF THE REASON THERE'S TIME LEFT.
SUSAN, I SAW YOUR HAND GO UP.
I'D LIKE TO ASK STAFF TO ARRANGE TO HAVE SUSAN'S CHAIR LABELED "AMADEU," BECAUSE SHE NOW FILLS THE ROLE THAT AMADEU PLAYED, WHO HAD A PERENNIALLY RAISED HAND DURING THE COURSE OF ALL BOARD MEETINGS.
SO I'LL JUST REMEMBER TO ALL CALLS ON YOU.
WHAT'S UP?
>>SUSAN CRAWFORD: ALTHOUGH I'M VERY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE GOING, I THINK THE ABSENCE OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IS NOT A GREAT SIGN FOR US, AND WE SHOULD MAKE SURE THAT WE DO A BETTER JOB AT GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT ISSUES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.
AND I AM CONCERNED THAT SOME TRADITIONAL PARTICIPANTS IN THESE MEETINGS HAVE SORT OF GIVEN UP ON US AND DECIDED NOT TO COME.
AND I WANTED JUST TO RAISE THAT POINT SO THAT WE DON'T ONLY PAT OURSELVES ON THE BACK FOR HOW WE'RE DOING.
THANKS.
>>VINT CERF: WELL, I FEEL COMPELLED, SUSAN, TO OFFER A DIFFERENT INTERPRETATION.
LET ME GIVE TWO EXAMPLES, MAYBE THREE.
WE HAVE AN OMBUDSMAN WHO IS QUITE BUSY, BUT YOU NOTICED FROM HIS STATISTICS THAT A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT APPEARED WERE THINGS THAT HE'S NOT CHARGED TO DEAL WITH, BUT THEY SHOW UP ON HIS DOORSTEP ANYWAY.
THERE IS A COMMERCIAL THAT USED TO BE SHOWN IN THE UNITED STATES OF A MAN WHO WAS CALLED THE MAYTAG REPAIRMAN.
HE REPAIRED KITCHEN APPLIANCES, INCLUDING WASHING MACHINES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND, OF COURSE, HE WAS BORED BECAUSE NOTHING EVER BROKE.
AND SO HE NEVER GOT TO DO ANYTHING.
AND THE COMMERCIAL SHOWED HIM IN A SAD STATE OF TRYING TO KEEP HIMSELF OCCUPIED.
IF FRANK NEVER GOT ANOTHER COMPLAINT, FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, THAT WOULD BE GOOD NEWS.
IT'S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT ANOTHER REASON FOR NOT HAVING QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW IS, EVERYBODY'S WATCHING THE SOCCER MATCH.
ANOTHER POSSIBILITY IS THAT PEOPLE MIGHT BE SATISFIED, AT LEAST ON THE TOPICS WE'VE DISCUSSED TODAY, THAT THEY DON'T NEED TO BE DISCUSSED FURTHER.
SO I WOULDN'T LEAP TOO QUICKLY TO CONCLUDE THAT THE ABSENCE OF A QUEUE -- WELL, THERE'S ONE -- ABSENCE OF A QUEUE NECESSARILY MEANS THAT PEOPLE ARE DISINTERESTED.
LIKE EVERY OTHER PREDICTION, AS SOON AS YOU KEEP TALKING LONG ENOUGH, SOMEBODY WILL POP UP AT THE MICROPHONE.
SO YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
>> YEAH, MY NAME IS BRANDON SANDERS, COLLABORATION ENTHUSIAST.
AND ONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS FOR ICANNWIKI.
AND I THOUGHT WHAT SUSAN RAISED AS A POINT WAS INTERESTING, BECAUSE I'M ON THE IRC CHANNEL AND, YOU KNOW, I GET TO SEE KIND OF A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE THAN MAYBE SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS DO.
SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF PEOPLE WOULD MAYBE GIVE A SHOW OF HANDS, HOW MANY FEEL THAT THE PROCESS IS LEADING TO LESS PARTICIPATION BECAUSE IT'S BROKEN, OR THAT IT'S ACTUALLY DOING SO WELL THAT NOBODY FEELS LIKE THEY NEED TO COME.
SO THE FIRST ONE, IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT'S KIND OF A LACK OF PARTICIPATION, HANDS?
>>VINT CERF: I'M SORRY.
WHICH ONE WERE YOU VOTING ON?
>>BRANDON SANDERS: SO THE FIRST ONE IS, YOU FEEL LIKE IT'S BROKEN AND THAT'S LEADING TO A LACK OF PARTICIPATION.
HANDS FOR THAT.
SO THERE AREN'T A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO FEEL THAT, BUT THERE ARE SOME.
AND IF YOU FEEL LIKE EVERYTHING IS WORKING PERFECTLY AND IT'S THE MAYTAG REPAIRMAN, THE ANSWER TO THAT, ANYBODY?
>>VINT CERF: WELL, I -- THIS IS JUST A RATHER PECULIAR EXTREME.
I MEAN, I DON'T THINK EVERYTHING'S BROKEN; I DON'T THINK EVERYTHING'S WORKING PERFECTLY.
SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE PURPOSE IS HERE.
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR DO YOU JUST WANT TO JUST RAISE A POINT NOW?
>>BRANDON SANDERS: I GUESS THAT WAS JUST RAISING A POINT.
I WAS JUST INTERESTED IF THERE WAS A STRONG CONSENSUS THAT COULD BE ELUCIDATED.
BUT APPARENTLY NOT.
SO....
>>VINT CERF: OKAY.
WELL, I DID SEE A BUNCH OF ALAC HANDS WAVING.
SO THE IMPLICATION THERE IS THAT SOMEHOW WE HAVE WORK TO DO IN THAT DIMENSION.
MR. HOTTA.
>> NAOMASA MARUYAMA: NO, NO.
THIS IS NAOMASA MARUYAMA.
>>VINT CERF: APOLOGIES.
GO AHEAD.
>> NAOMASA MARUYAMA: MY NAME IS NAOMASA MARUYAMA.
TO SPEAK OF THE PARTICIPATION, I HAVE TO SAY ONE THING.
IT WAS REPEATEDLY SAID BEFORE, BUT IT SEEMS THAT THE -- EVERYONE GAVE (INAUDIBLE) TO SAY THAT.
PLEASE THINK ABOUT THE FOREIGN PARTICIPANTS, NOT -- NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS.
LOTS OF YOU ARE SPEAKING TOO FAST.
[ APPLAUSE ]
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU.
WE HOPED THAT WE WERE SPEAKING SLOWLY ENOUGH THAT THE TRANSCRIBERS COULD KEEP UP.
BUT IF THAT'S STILL NOT ADEQUATE, LET ME ASK ALL NON-ENGLISH, NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS TO FEEL FREE ALWAYS TO REMIND US OF THIS, NOT ONLY AT THE END OF THE MEETING AT OPEN MICROPHONE, BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MEETING, TOO.
SO, MR. MARUYAMA, PLEASE REMIND US WHENEVER YOU SEE THE NEED.
WE WON'T TAKE OFFENSE AT ALL.
MISTER IZUMI.
>>IZUMI AIZU: WELL, I'M MR. AIZU OR IZUMI.
ANYWAY, I WAS JUST CURIOUS.
>>VINT CERF: I HAVE NOW MADE TWO MASSIVE CULTURAL FAUX PAS.
I'M NOT SURE WHAT TO DO NEXT. SO IZUMI-SAN.
>>IZUMI AIZU: NO, YOU SAY AIZU-SAN.
>>VINT CERF: I TELL YOU WHAT, AFTER THIS IS OVER, TAKE ME OFF AND LEARN JAPANESE.
>>IZUMI AIZU: I WOULDN'T CALL YOU WILL MR. CERF.
THAT'S SOMETHING SIMILAR.
>>VINT CERF: MY FRIENDS CALL ME VINT.
YOU CAN CALL ME DR. CERF.
>>IZUMI AIZU: RIGHT.
JUST OUT OF MY CURIOSITY AND WITH SOME REMAINING TIME TO BE CONSUMED, WAS THERE ANY REASON THAT YOU COULDN'T OR DIDN'T PREPARE THE FRENCH INTERPRETATION IN THIS DISCUSSION TIME?
WE HAD ONE IN THE OPENING CEREMONY, BUT I WAS EXPECTING SOMETHING LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, INTERPRETATION MAY HAPPEN IN DIFFERENT SPEAKING TERRITORY. OTHER THAN THE FINANCIAL REASONS, WAS THERE ANY SORT OF INTENTIONAL DECISION? OR JUST IT HAPPENED BECAUSE THE ORGANIZERS SAID NO, NO, DON'T NEED EVERY -- PEOPLE AROUND THIS REGION IS ALL COMFORTABLE IN DOING BUSINESS IN ENGLISH?
>>VINT CERF: THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. WE STRUGGLE, I THINK, AT ALMOST EVERY MEETING AND AT OTHER TIMES TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO COPE WITH LANGUAGE VARIATIONS AND NEEDS WITHOUT NECESSARILY OVERWHELMING OUR BUDGET AND STAFF.
WE'VE HAD STORIES FROM THE ITU AND FROM OTHER UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATIONS ABOUT THE AMOUNT THAT IT COST THEM TO DO EVERYTHING IN FIVE OR SIX LANGUAGES.
THAT, HOWEVER, IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO SAY WE COULDN'T DO SOMETHING IN TWO LANGUAGES.
SO, PAUL, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU SHOULD TAKE UP AS AN ELEMENT OF PLANNING AND THINKING AS YOUR OPERATIONAL WORK GOES FORWARD.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: IF YOU MAY, CHAIR, I DO THINK THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT THE MEETINGS COMMITTEE HAS TO CONSIDER CAREFULLY. IT HAS SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS FOR HOW RFPS WRITTEN AND IT DOES HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS FOR COST.
I AM NOT AT ALL CONTRARY TO THE CONCERN RAISED, BUT I WOULD FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE JUST AT SORT OF THE EXECUTIVE LEVEL TO MAKE THE DECISION.
I THINK WE DO NEED TO CONSULT THE MEETINGS COMMITTEE.
>>VINT CERF: AT THE VERY LEAST, WHEN WE HAVE ORAL EXCHANGES OF THIS KIND, ONE COULD GIVE CONSIDERATION. I THINK THAT'S INDEPENDENT OF WRITING RFPS.
>>IZUMI AIZU: BECAUSE I WAS WONDERING, THE NOT LARGE PARTICIPATION ORALLY AS WELL HERE FROM MANY AFRICAN COLLEAGUES, BECAUSE THIS IS ALSO PART OF THE AFRICAN CONTINENT. AND SO THAT'S ANOTHER REASON. WELL, I WOULDN'T SAY THAT LANGUAGE IS THE BARRIER, PER SE. BUT IF YOU CAN SEND MUCH MORE STRONG MESSAGE INVITING THESE PEOPLE WHOSE LANGUAGE IS NOT YOUR MOTHER TONGUE, THEN CONTINUOUSLY, AS A SORT OF REGULAR OPERATIONAL MODE OF OUR BUSINESS, THEN OUR MEETINGS.
OF COURSE, IT HAS SOME SIDE EFFECT, AS I UNDERSTAND. WHEN WE OR THEY ORGANIZE IN JAPAN BACK IN 2000 IN YOKOHAMA, THEY PREPARED ALL THE BILINGUAL TRANSLATION WITH ENGLISH AND JAPANESE, BECAUSE MANY JAPANESE COULDN'T QUITE CATCH UP THE ENGLISH CONVERSATION. BUT IT PUT A LOT MORE COST TO THE LOCAL, AND I HEARD THEY MADE SIGNIFICANT LOSS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT OR WE COVER THE LOSS.
IF YOU SET THAT KIND OF PARAMETER, PER SE, AND ANY LOCAL HOST HAS TO BEAR THAT COST, THEN THERE MIGHT BE FEWER HOSTS WILL BE WILLING TO SPONSOR OR ORGANIZE. WHICH MAY ACTUALLY, IN REALITY, LIMIT OUR GLOBAL ACTIVITIES.
SO WE NEED TO BE VERY CAREFUL, BUT I THINK WE'D LIKE TO SORT OF ADDRESS THIS IN A RELATIVELY OPEN MANNER.
AND AT-LARGE ALSO IS STRUGGLING WITH THIS LANGUAGE BARRIERS TO REACH OUT THE PEOPLE.
THANK YOU.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU.
IS THIS ANN OR WENDY?
>>WENDY SELTZER: THANK YOU, IT IS WENDY. AND I WON'T APOLOGIZE FOR BEING UP HERE A THIRD TIME BECAUSE I THINK I'M BUT A POOR PROXY FOR THE REMOTE PARTICIPANTS WHO WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THIS MEETING BUT I HAVE BEEN TALKING WITH PEOPLE ON THE IRC CHANNEL WHO ARE, UNFORTUNATELY, HAVING DIFFICULTY HEARING OR SEEING THE STREAMS BECAUSE THEY ARE ONLY BROADCAST IN PROPRIETARY FORMATS.
SO ONE CONCRETE RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE TO USE OPEN-SOURCE STREAMING MEDIA FOR THESE WEBCASTS.
I THINK ANOTHER VERY HELPFUL TOOL TO AUGMENT THE REALTIME SCRIBING THAT WE CAN SEE HERE WOULD BE TO FEED THIS IN REAL-TIME INTO A WEB ACCESSIBLE STREAM SO THAT PEOPLE ON LOW BANDWIDTH CONNECTIONS COULD BE WATCHING THE SAME THING THAT PARTICIPANTS IN THE AUDIENCE HERE ARE WATCHING.
WE KNOW IT'S TREMENDOUSLY EXPENSIVE FOR PEOPLE TO FLY AROUND THE WORLD TO FOLLOW THESE MEETINGS, BUT I DON'T THINK WE CAN SAY THAT THE RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE HERE REFLECTS THAT THERE'S A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THE ISSUES THAT ICANN IS DECIDING UPON.
SO I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO SEE MORE EXPERIMENTATION WITH -- ESPECIALLY WITH ALL OF THE CREATIVE TOOLS THAT COMPANIES LIKE GOOGLE AND OTHERS REPRESENTED UP HERE HAVE AT THEIR DISPOSAL AND HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH, IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL TO SEE EXPERIMENTATION WITH MORE FORMS OF INVOLVING REMOTE PARTICIPATIONS -- REMOTE PARTICIPANTS IN THESE MEETINGS.
SO THANK YOU.
>>VINT CERF: YEAH, YOU'RE WELCOME.
WENDY, YOU SHOULD KNOW, AND I GUESS EVERYONE ELSE SHOULD KNOW, THAT WE RAN INTO A VERY MAJOR LOGISTICS PROBLEM. A LOT OF THE EQUIPMENT THAT NORMALLY IS HERE IS NOT HERE. AND WITHOUT GOING INTO A WHOLE LOT OF DETAILS, GETTING IT IN AND OUT OF THE COUNTRY IS NOT THE FAULT OF MOROCCO AT ALL. THEY HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY HELPFUL. A COMPLICATED SERIES OF THINGS HAPPENED.
SO OUR TEAM HERE DID NOT HAVE EVERYTHING THEY NORMALLY HAVE. SO A LOT OF THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER THAN IT WAS THIS TIME. BUT IT'S NOT ANYBODY'S FAULT. IT'S JUST A SERIES OF INCIDENTS THAT HAPPENED.
I'M GOING TO TAKE TWO BOARD MEMBERS WHO HAVE ASKED TO SPEAK. VENI FIRST AND THEN RAIMUNDO, AND THEN WE WILL COME BACK TO THE FLOOR.
>>VENI MARKOVSKI: IT'S WITH CONNECTION OF WHAT IZUMI OR AIZU-SAN OR MR. AIZU SAID ABOUT THE ENGLISH AND THE TRANSLATION.
FIRST OF ALL, I ACTUALLY AGREE ALSO THAT SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS HAVE SPEAKING FAST. YOU FORGET -- I MEAN, IT WAS NOT YOU. SOMEBODY ELSE MADE THE POINT THAT YOU FORGOT TO MENTION THAT SOME OF THEM EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT WITH A STRANGE ACCENT AND DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND. AND THEY ARE NODDING. YOU CAN RECOGNIZE THEM. THEY ARE NODDING.
BUT --
>>VINT CERF: THIS IS A CLEAR SHOT AT OUR CEO, AND I'M SURE HE RESENTS THAT.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: I HAVE JUST BEEN READING OUR ANTI-DISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS IN EMPLOYMENT, AND I WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THIS LATER.
>>VENI MARKOVSKI: I THINK ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GOOD POINT BECAUSE WE DON'T NO WHETHER YOU ARE BEING DISCRIMINATED OR YOU ARE DISCRIMINATING US IN THE AUDIENCE.
[ LAUGHTER ]
>>VENI MARKOVSKI: BUT THE ISSUE WITH THE TRANSLATION IS AS FOLLOWS. IF THERE IS TRANSLATION IN THE BIG PLENARY HALL LIKE THIS ONE, WHICH PROBABLY CAN BE ACHIEVED, PEOPLE START TO ASK FOR TRANSLATION IN THE SMALLER WORKSHOPS AND SMALLER HOSTS, AND THAT BECOMES VERY SUBSTANTIAL EXPENSE.
SECONDLY, IT'S NOT ONLY -- I MEAN, IT WOULD BE REALLY EASY IF IT'S ONLY LIKE A COUPLE OF INTERPRETERS SITTING SOMEWHERE AND TRANSLATING A COUPLE HOURS OF MEETINGS, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE EQUIPMENT. THIS EQUIPMENT USUALLY IS EXPENSIVE, AND AS YOU HAVE SEEN DURING THE OPENING, THEY TAKE YOUR ID.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT THAT EASY FROM THE LOCAL HOST PERSPECTIVE TO ORGANIZE A TRANSLATION.
WE DID HAVE SOME TRANSLATION IN MARINA DEL REY, WHICH WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL, AND IT MAY HAPPEN AGAIN IN SOME COUNTRIES WHICH ARE WILLING TO PROVIDE THAT ON TOP OF THE USUAL REQUIREMENTS. BUT I WOULD NOT BE REALLY PUTTING THIS INTO THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS AS A CONDITION WITHOUT WHICH YOUR PROPOSAL WILL NOT BE REVIEWED BY THE MEETINGS COMMITTEE AND BY THE BOARD, BECAUSE THAT WILL SERIOUSLY ELIMINATE A NUMBER OF COUNTRIES, FIRST. AND SECONDLY, IN SOME COUNTRIES, LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, HERE FRENCH MAKES SENSE, AND MANY PEOPLE SPEAK FRENCH. BUT IN SOME COUNTRIES, IT MAY BE A VERY SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT WILL BE USING ACTUALLY LIKE THIS LANGUAGE.
LIKE IF WE HAVE A MEETING IN THE U.S., WHAT WOULD BE THE SECOND LANGUAGE TO BE TRANSLATED TO, YOU KNOW?
>>VINT CERF: (INAUDIBLE).
RAIMUNDO IS NEXT, AND -- OH, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GENTLEMAN WHO WAS WAITING? ALL RIGHT.
SO RAIMUNDO, MOUHAMET, AND THEN ROBERTO. SO RAIMUNDO.
>>RAIMUNDO BECA: MERCI, DR. CERF. ONLY TO MAKE A JOKE, BECAUSE IT'S NOT IMPORTANT WHAT I AM GOING TO TELL.
I WILL TELL IT IN FRENCH.
(SPEAKING FRENCH).
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU RAIMUNDO.
[ LAUGHTER ]
>>RAIMUNDO BECA: DID YOU GET IT?
>>VINT CERF: IT'S CLEAR NOW THAT I HAVE BEEN THE BUTT OF A FRENCH JOKE WHICH I DIDN'T INTERPRET. SHOULD YOU TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD BE EMBARRASSED ABOUT?
>>RAIMUNDO BECA: IT'S NOT FOR THE GAME.
>>VINT CERF: WELL, HAVING HAD THAT LITTLE BIT OF FUN, LET ME GO TO MOUHAMET WHO WILL TAKE THE NEXT STEP, AND THEN ROBERTO.
>>MOUHAMET DIOP: THANK YOU, VINT. HE JUST GIVE ME THE FLOOR. I HAVE ALAN LEVIN BEHIND ME, HE HAS ANOTHER ISSUE. BUT I WANT TO EMPHASIS ON THE TRANSLATION.
I THINK THAT IT'S -- I THINK, VINT, IT'S REALLY TIME FOR US TO TAKE A DECISION REGARDING THE COMING MEETINGS WILL HAVE AS AN ORGANIZATION. I MEAN, WE HAVE DONE, IN THE PAST, SOME TRANSLATION INITIATIVE BASED ON THE FACT THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, IN ACCRA WE DID SOMETHING, IN OTHER COUNTRY WE DID SOMETHING.
BUT THE LACK OF CONSISTENCY IS NOT GOOD AT ALL AS AN IMAGE.
WE HAVE AN OBJECTIVE TO BE TRULY AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION.
WE TRY IN THE PAST AND WE SHOW THAT TRANSLATION IS PART OF WHAT PEOPLE ARE ASKING FOR IN ORDER TO BE -- TO PARTICIPATE.
THERE IS ONE MEETING THAT HAVE BEEN FINISHED ON SUNDAY, PAST SUNDAY. ALL THE AFRICAN GROUP ARE MORE THAN 75 PEOPLE, AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT IT WAS BECAUSE TRANSLATION WAS THERE AND THEY SPEAK FRENCH AND ENGLISH.
LOOK AT THE ROOM. I MEAN, YOU SEE VERY FEW OF THEM BECAUSE IN THE WEST AFRICAN COUNTRY WHERE THEY COME FROM, THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, AND I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT THEY CANNOT SIT HERE FOR FOUR HOURS WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING ANYTHING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AND THEY ARE VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE, CAPABLE GUY, BUT THEY DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH.
SO IT'S REALLY TIME TO HAVE A RESOLUTION IN ICANN SAYING THAT FROM NOW, WE DECIDE THAT WE ARE GOING TO DO AN EFFORT TO SHOW TO PEOPLE THAT TRANSLATION IS PART OF OUR AGENDA.
AND NEXT COMING MEETING OFFICIALLY -- I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE ARE GOING TO PAY FROM OUR POCKET, BUT WE DECIDE THE NEXT SAO PAULO MEETING, FROM NOW UP TO, WELL, WHENEVER WE WANT, ICANN MEETING WILL REALLY BE OPEN AND WILL TRY TO MAKE TRANSLATION AS PART OF THE PROGRAM.
SO TOGETHER WE WILL TRY TO SEE WHO WILL HELP. IF IT IS, INDEED, THE CARIBBEAN AREA, SO THEY HAVE LOCAL PEOPLE THAT CAN DO SOMETHING. IN FRENCH-SPEAKING AREA LIKE HERE, IF YOU ARE ASKING, MAYBE THE FRANCOPHONE AGENCY CAN DO SOMETHING, THE OTHER SPONSOR CAN DO SOMETHING.
BUT JUST TRY TO DECORRELATE AND DECIDE FROM NOW, WE WILL DO AN EFFORT AND IT WILL BE FROM THE RESOLUTION SIDE, WE ARE GOING TO DO A RESOLUTION THAT TRANSLATION WILL BE PART OF THE PROGRAM.
AND I THINK THAT THIS WILL HELP TO SEE THE CONSISTENCY ON OUR APPROACH AND OUR RESOLUTION TO HELP BROADEN THE OUTREACH FOR FOREIGN LEGIONS. THANK YOU.
>>VINT CERF: MOUHAMET, LET ME TAKE ROBERTO AND THEN ALAN -- ACTUALLY, ALAN WAS NEXT.
>>HARTMUT GLASER: HE GAVE IT TO ME.
>>VINT CERF: OH. SO ROBERTO.
>>ROBERTO GAETANO: THANK YOU.
WELL, I WILL NOT REPEAT WHAT I HAVE BEEN SAYING FOR YEARS ABOUT THE TRANSLATION. YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT, HOW I FEEL OBLIGED TO MAKE SOMETHING TO GO TOWARDS THE LOCAL COMMUNITY ALSO BY USING THE LANGUAGE.
WE ARE DOING NOW AN EFFORT, FOR INSTANCE, TO -- WITH THE IDN TO GO TO DO SOMETHING -- TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES THAT USE DIFFERENT SCRIPTS. AND I DON'T THINK THAT WE SHOULDN'T DO THE SAME FOR DIFFERENT SCRIPTS, FOR DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.
I WAS, IN FACT, EXPECTING TRANSLATION IN FRENCH IN THIS MEETING. WE HAD THAT IN TUNIS, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY. BUT THAT, AS I SAID, THIS IS -- I AM A LONG-TIME SUPPORTER OF TRANSLATION PROVIDED THAT WE HAVE THE FINANCIAL COVERAGE FOR THIS.
MY POINT IS A DIFFERENT ONE, IS THAT THE LANGUAGE IS NOT THE ONLY REASON IN MY OPINION WHY PEOPLE ARE LESS INTERESTED IN THESE MEETINGS.
I DIDN'T FEEL THAT IN THE AUDIENCE, WHEN A QUESTION WAS RAISED, THERE ARE PLENTY OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE OR PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND PERFECTLY ENGLISH, AND THEY WERE NOT ENTHUSIASTIC IN TERMS OF THE PROCESS ANYWAY. AND I DON'T THINK THAT, ESPECIALLY AS IT HAS BEEN REMINDED, THAT WE HAVE NO FOOTBALL MATCH TODAY, I MIGHT HAVE EXPECTED A HIGHER AUDIENCE.
PROBABLY IT HAS ALSO TO DO WITH NOT ONLY WITH THE WAY WE STRUCTURE THE MEETING, BUT THE CONTENTS OF THE DISCUSSION, HOW THE DISCUSSION FLOWS, AND THE REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO GO AND STEP AT THE MIKE AND SAY SOMETHING MEANINGFUL THAT WAS AN INFLUENCE IN THE PROCESS.
I THINK THAT WE SHOULD -- AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE SHOULD LEAVE THIS HEAVY TASK ONLY TO THE MEETING COMMITTEE. BUT I THINK THAT WE SHOULD HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE REASONS WHY WE ARE FEELING A LOWER INTEREST BY THE INTERNET COMMUNITY.
FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE TO CHECK WITH THE INTERNET COMMUNITY WHETHER THIS IS JUST A FEELING THAT I HAVE BEING ON THIS SIDE OR WHETHER THERE IS REALLY A LACK OF INTEREST.
MAYBE SOME OF THE ISSUES ARE BECOMING REALLY SLIGHTLY TECHNICAL OR RELATED TO CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE REGISTRIES AND REGISTRARS AND USERS MIGHT BE LESS INTERESTED. I DON'T KNOW. BUT I THINK THAT WE SHOULD REALLY NOW, IN COLLABORATION, AS SUSAN POINTED OUT, IN COLLABORATION ALSO, NOW THAT WE HAVE A PERSON THAT IS RESPONSIBLE ALSO FOR CORPORATE COMMUNICATION, I THINK WE SHOULD START AN ANALYSIS AND WE SHOULD GET TO THE ROOT CAUSE AND WE SHOULD REALLY DO SOMETHING. BECAUSE I THINK THAT THE STRENGTH OF ICANN VERSUS ANOTHER TYPE OF ARRANGEMENT TO TAKE CARE OF INTERNET GOVERNANCE IS EXACTLY THIS COMPONENT OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
AND I WONDER HOW MUCH THIS MODEL CAN CONTINUE IF THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION DOES NOT STAY AT THE LEVEL IT USED TO HAVE AT THE BEGINNING.
THANK YOU.
[ APPLAUSE ]
>>VINT CERF: OKAY. THANK YOU, ROBERTO.
LET ME TAKE HARTMUT AND THEN PAUL.
>>HARTMUT GLASER: I DON'T KNOW IF I SOLVE THE PROBLEM BUT I HAVE A SHORT NOTICE FOR THE AUDIENCE.
IN SAO PAULO, WE WILL HAVE TRANSLATION IN TWO LANGUAGES, AND THE HOST WILL PROVIDE TRANSLATION IN TWO LANGUAGES FOR FREE FOR ICANN. THAT WILL BE A TEST BED
[ APPLAUSE ]
>>HARTMUT GLASER: AND THEN WE CAN EVALUATE IF WE CAN FOLLOW OR NOT.
SO PLEASE, IN FRENCH, IN SPANISH, WE PROVIDE EVERYTHING FROM ENGLISH TO TWO LANGUAGES.
[ APPLAUSE ]
>>ROBERTO GAETANO: YOU SAID FROM PORTUGUESE INTO FRENCH AND SPANISH? I THOUGHT HE MEANT FROM PORTUGUESE INTO FRENCH AND SPANISH, BUT....
[ LAUGHTER ].
>>VINT CERF: IT COULD BE ASSYRIAN AND ANCIENT BABYLONIAN.
PAUL.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: A FACT POINT, CHAIRMAN, ON THIS DISCUSSION. THE CONSULTATIONS WE HAVE HAD IN ALL ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN, IN LUXEMBOURG, AGAIN IN WELLINGTON AND PARTICULARLY HERE, IN FRENCH, IN SPANISH, AND PARTICULARLY HERE IN ARABIC.
YOU WOULD THINK WE WERE HAVING A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION. THEY HAVE BEEN VERY ENTHUSIASTICALLY ATTENDED, AND I THINK THE PARTICIPATION HAS BEEN STRONG IN TERMS OF PEOPLE GETTING TO SPEAK IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGES.
I'M TOLD THE ARABIC ONE IN PARTICULAR, IN THIS, TODAY, I'D LIKE TO THANK BAHER, THE REGIONAL LIAISONS PLAY A ROLE IN TRANSLATION IN THIS, WAS VERY EFFECTIVE.
THEY ALSO USE A PARTICIPATORY TOOL, DISTRIBUTED KEYBOARD TOOL, WHICH ALSO HELPS OVERCOME THE TYRANNY OF THE MICROPHONE. AND LETS EVERYBODY PARTICIPATE AT THE SAME TIME TO QUESTIONS. IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE EFFICIENT.
IT WAS CERTAINLY CLEAR IN THE ARABIC CONSULTATION HERE IN MARRAKECH THAT MANY OF THE QUESTIONS BEING ASKED AND THE INFORMATION BEING PURVEYED DIDN'T DEAL WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN. IT ACTUALLY DEALT WITH "I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS. CAN YOU PROPERLY EXPLAIN THESE THINGS TO ME?"
SO I THINK THERE HAS CERTAINLY BEEN SOMETHING THERE ABOUT THAT. THERE'S A LEARNING I THINK WE CAN TAKE FROM THOSE CONSULTATION PROCESSES.
>>VINT CERF: IZUMI.
>>IZUMI AIZU: THANK YOU, VINT, AND THANK YOU ALAN, WHO KINDLY GAVE ME THE FLOOR FIRST, BECAUSE I WANT TO CONTINUE ABOUT THIS LANGUAGE ISSUE.
FOR THE CORPORATE MEMORY, IF YOU REMEMBER, WHEN MR. STUART LYNN CAME INTO THE CEO, HE WAS VERY ENTHUSIASTIC TO INTERNATIONALIZE AND PUT SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THE LANGUAGE AND THE TRANSLATION. AND I BELIEVE THERE WAS SOME KIND OF TASK FORCE FOR THAT, BECAUSE IT WAS AROUND 2000, 2001. I WAS A MEMBER OF THE DOT FORCE, THE DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY TASK FORCE, OF THE G8 WHERE WE REALLY CAMPAIGNED HOW TO PROMOTE UNIVERSAL PARTICIPATION, PARTICULARLY FROM THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO THIS PROCESS SUCH AS ICANN.
AND WE HAVE A SIMILAR CONTEXT IN THE WSIS THAT MANY OF THESE PEOPLE FROM THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WANT TO PARTICIPATE MORE EFFECTIVELY IN ICANN AND OTHER FORA.
AND ONE OF THE AREAS IS LANGUAGE, OR THE, YOU KNOW, HOW TO EFFECTIVELY PARTICIPATE.
SO I THINK WE HAVE TO DECIDE WHETHER IT'S -- IT'S NOT WHETHER IT'S FEASIBLE OR NOT, BUT THE FIRST THING IS WHETHER IT IS REALLY NECESSARY OR NOT.
AND IF SO, WE SHOULD ORGANIZE SOME KIND OF EITHER TASK FORCE OR WHATEVER BY THE STAFF OR BY THE COMMUNITY.
I'M NOT TOO SURE ALAC AS A WHOLE CAN PARTICIPATE OR NOT, BUT CERTAINLY I, MYSELF, IS WILLING TO SORT OF SORT OUT PRAGMATICALLY TO THIS, BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO RAISE THE EXPECTATION AND THEN DISAPPEAR IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMEWHERE. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED BETWEEN 2000 AND 2006.
>>VINT CERF: IZUMI.
A. ERICK.
>>ERICK IRIARTE: THANKS. I WOULD LIKE TO BRING TO THE FLOOR ONE ISSUE THAT APPEAR TODAY. (INAUDIBLE) SPANISH, THAT IS GOOD IDEA, HAVE DIFFERENT STRATEGIC PLAN MEETINGS IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGE. BUT IT'S SOME KIND OF EXCLUSION, BECAUSE WE ARE INTERESTING IN EXPOSING OUR IDEAS, THE SPANISH PEOPLE AND FRENCH PEOPLE, TO ALL (INAUDIBLE) COMMUNITY. NOT ONLY BRING THE RESUME MAYBE FOR THIS KIND OF EXERCISE COULD BE VERY USEFUL, SOME KIND OF (INAUDIBLE) BECAUSE THE POSITION OF THE PEOPLE COULD BE VERY NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND WITH THE PEOPLE THAT MAYBE DON'T SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE, BUT IT CAN BE INTERESTING YOUR OPINION.
PLEASE DON'T TAKE THE IDEA OF SEPARATE THE PEOPLE BY THE LANGUAGE AND THEN ASSUME.
MAYBE WILL BE A PROBLEM IN THE FUTURE, BECAUSE THE SPANISH PEOPLE, THE PORTUGUESE PEOPLE FOR THE OTHER SIDE.
AND SECOND POINT, MAYBE WE HAVE TWO PROBLEMS MORE THAT WHY THE PEOPLE IS NOT HERE, OR THREE.
ONE IS THE TIME.
WE ARE AROUND 6:00 ON THE CLOCK, AND ALL THE PEOPLE WANT TO BE IN BED OR IN THE POOL OR SOMEPLACE.
SECOND IS MAYBE SOME PEOPLE ARE VISITING THE CITY.
IT'S A GOOD CITY.
AND THEY DON'T MEET IN THE TIME OF THE WORKSHOP, BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THE GAMES, THE MATCH OF SOCCER.
>>VINT CERF: LAST COMMENT, I HOPE, IS FROM SEBASTIAN.
>>SEBASTIEN BACHOLLET: YEAH, I WOULD LIKE IN MY FRANGLAIS, TO EMPHASIZE WHAT PAUL IN HIS AUSTRAILIAN SAID ABOUT THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
IN FACT, IT WAS ABOUT STRATEGIC PLAN, BUT MUCH MORE QUESTIONS.
AND THE TIME WAS TOO CONSTRAINED TO HAVE.
BUT I AM SURE THAT THIS TYPE OF MEETING COULD BE VERY USEFUL.
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT WHAT MY PREVIOUS SPEAKERS SAID, WE NEED ALSO TO FIND A WAY TO EXCHANGE WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN DIFFERENT SUBGROUPS IN LANGUAGES.
BECAUSE, OF COURSE, WE NEED ALSO TO HAVE A GLOBAL VIEW.
BUT I AM SURE THAT WE CAN FIND, WITH THE TYPE OF TOOL DEVELOPED AND USED FOR THIS STRATEGIC PLAN CONSULTATION, OTHER TYPE OF DISCUSSION AND MEETINGS AND THE TYPE OF INTERACTION BETWEEN -- BETWEEN THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE MEETING IN OUR OWN LANGUAGE, AND IT COULD BE VERY INTERESTING.
THE SECOND POINT IS THAT THE MEETING IS NOT JUST THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE.
THERE ARE SIDE MEETINGS.
AND I JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THE MEETING BEFORE THE ACTUAL OPENING OF THIS ICANN MEETING, ORGANIZED BY ISOC MOROCCO WITH THE HELP OF ISOC FRANCE, WAS ALSO ONE WAY TO SHOW PEOPLE FROM THE COUNTRY AND FROM THE REGION SOME DIFFERENT FACETS OF THE QUESTION OF ICANN AND MARGINALLY INTERNET GOVERNANCE.
AND I THINK WE MUST NOT MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF AN ICANN MEETING TO THE PEOPLE SEATED HERE, BUT ALSO TO THE WORK DONE AND THE DISCUSSION, BILATERAL OR MULTILATERAL, THAT HAPPENS DURING THIS WEEK OF MEETING.
AND I STILL FEEL THAT IT'S VERY INTERESTING TYPE OF ORGANIZATION AND MEETING.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>>VINT CERF: SEBASTIAN, THANK YOU.
ONE SMALL COMMENT.
OH, ALAN WANTS -- AFTER HAVING GIVEN UP YOUR OPPORTUNITY.
YOU SHOULD GO AHEAD, PLEASE.
>>ALAN LEVIN: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, VINT.
I'M SORRY THAT I DIDN'T ARRIVE HERE ON TIME.
WE HAD AN AD HOC MEETING OF THREE AT-LARGE STRUCTURES, AFRICAN AT-LARGE STRUCTURES, WHICH FOLLOWED THE ISOC CHAPTERS MEETING THIS AFTERNOON.
AND WE HAD A CONCEPTUAL AGREEMENT TO ESTABLISH AN AFRICAN REGIONAL AT-LARGE ORGANIZATION, AND I WANT TO REPORT THIS TO THE BOARD AND ALSO REQUEST SOME COMMUNICATIONS.
WE DO NOT HAVE -- ALTHOUGH WE ARE ARRANGING, THE CONTACT ADDRESSES OF THE OTHER AT-LARGE ADDRESSES WITHIN THE REGION.
IT'S VERY EXCITING.
THE THREE AT-LARGE STRUCTURES WITH ISOC SOUTH AFRICA, ISOC MOROCCO, AND ISOC SUDAN.
AND WE'VE AGREED TO ESTABLISH A VERY LEAN REGIONAL AT-LARGE ORGANIZATION WHICH MEETS THE MOST BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE AT-LARGE COMMITTEE OR THE -- BECAUSE AND THE ICANN BYLAWS.
AND WE REQUEST TO ENGAGE WITH THE BOARD TO ENTER SOME KIND OF FORMAL AGREEMENT TO ESTABLISH A REGIONAL AT-LARGE ORGANIZATION.
>>VINT CERF: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ALAN.
THAT'S GOOD NEWS.
ONE LAST COMMENT BEFORE WE BREAK, THEN.
IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF WE PURSUE THE TRANSLATION QUESTION, WHICH IS CLEARLY OF GREAT INTEREST, WHATEVER EXPENSE IT ENTAILS WILL BE AT THE POTENTIAL COST OF OTHER PRIORITIES.
SO IT'S -- I THINK IT'S TERRIBLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO KEEP IN MIND THAT WHATEVER WE SPEND MONEY ON NEEDS TO BE THAT WHICH WE ALL CONCLUDE HAS HIGH PRIORITY.
I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST TO YOU THAT THE HIGHEST PRIORITY THE ORGANIZATION HAS IS TO PERFORM ITS OPERATIONAL FUNCTION.
SO I WOULD, AS A BOARD MEMBER, ARGUE THAT IN ANY PRIORITIZATION OF OUR BUDGET, THAT WE HOLD ABSOLUTELY AT THE TOP OUR ABILITY TO CARRY OUT OUR WORK IN A SATISFACTORY FASHION, AFTER WHICH ADDITIONAL FUNDING CAN BE ALLOCATED ELSEWHERE.
PAUL.
>>PAUL TWOMEY: SORRY TO KEEP THIS CONVERSATION GOING, CHAIRMAN, BUT JUST TO MARRY THOSE TWO IDEAS TOGETHER, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE AS CEO, IT'S CLEAR TO ME THAT HAVING MULTIPLE LANGUAGES USED FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND PARTICIPATION MAY WELL BE VERY POSITIVE, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO HAVING DOCUMENTATION, PARTICULARLY THE WORKING DOCUMENTATION OF THE ORGANIZATION, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT WE HAVE THAT IN ONE LANGUAGE.
AND AT THE MOMENT, ENGLISH IS THE -- NOT JUST THE UNITED STATES, LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED STATES, IT IS THE INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE.
SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE THAT POINT.
BECAUSE IF WE ARE GOING TO CONSIDER ISSUES ABOUT TRANSLATION AND MULTIPLE LANGUAGES, WHICH I THINK IS RIGHT, I WANT TO SET EXPECTATIONS THAT -- I DON'T THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA AT ALL TO MOVE INTO HAVING MULTIPLE-LANGUAGE OFFICIAL DOCUMENTATION.
I THINK THAT'S -- NOT ONLY IS IT EXPENSIVE, BUT IT ALSO BRINGS UNCERTAINTY THAT -- A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY.
>>VINT CERF: IT SEEMS CLEAR THAT THERE IS SOME UTILITY IN SEPARATING THE WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION FROM THE ORAL COMMUNICATION, FOR ONE THING.
AND, SECOND, I THINK WE HAVE SUCCEEDED IN PRODUCING NON-ENGLISH MATERIAL, WHICH, IF NOT OFFICIAL, AT LEAST IS INFORMATIVE.
AND AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T TAKE ON OFFICIAL MEANING, THEN TO THE EXTENT THAT IT'S AVAILABLE, IT'S USEFUL.
THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I'VE BEEN AN ENTHUSIAST FOR REGIONAL MEETINGS, IS THAT THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT WE CAN HAVE LANGUAGE WORK GOING ON THERE INDEPENDENT OF A TYPICAL ICANN MEETING.
OKAY, WELL, WE ACTUALLY FILLED UP ALL THE TIME ANYWAY.
BUT I APPRECIATE VERY MUCH EVERYONE'S PARTICIPATION.
WE RESTART TOMORROW -- HELP ME HERE.
IS IT AT 9:00? YES, THANK YOU, AT 0900 IN THIS ROOM.
SO I HOPE YOU HAVE A PLEASANT EVENING.
(6:00 P.M.)