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Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

On Monday, 12 November 2001, the ICANN Board will host a 2-hour Public Forum on the Final Report of the At Large Study Committee (ALSC). The Board encourages ICANN meeting attendees to read the Final Report and to participate in the public forum.

The bylaw that enabled the ALSC contemplated that there would be opportunity for community feedback on the ALSC Final Report between the time of submission and the time of any action by the Board. Therefore, the Board at its upcoming meeting on Thursday, 15 November 2001 must decide what action it should take, particularly to ensure adequate opportunity for public comment over the coming weeks and months before taking any final action. To help inform that decision, a Public Forum has been scheduled for Monday, November 12, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel, Marina del Rey, California, USA in conjunction with the other ICANN meetings. The ALSC will present its final report at that time, and there will be opportunity for public comment, both in person and online.

Background

At its meeting on 22 January 2001, the ICANN Board of Directors approved resolution 01.11 that led to the formation of the At Large Study Committee. The ALSC was chartered to "seek input from all interested parties and work to achieve a broad consensus on effective means by which the diverse global Internet communities and stakeholders may participate in ICANN's policy development, deliberations, and actions."

The ALSC was established in response to Article II, Section 5 of the ICANN Bylaws that provides for a comprehensive study of the concept, structure, and processes relating to an "At Large" membership of ICANN. The Bylaw intended that the final report of the ALSC be submitted at the second quarterly ICANN meeting of the calendar year 2001 (that took place in June 2001 in Stockholm, Sweden) with a view to the Board taking final action on the Committee's recommendations at the fourth quarterly meeting (the Annual Meeting in November 2001) following extensive consultation with the ICANN Supporting Organizations and the community. The ultimate objective was to facilitate the holding of elections for new At-Large Directors in time to assume their seats when the terms of the current At-Large Directors expire in November 2002.

The At Large Study Committee was formed in April 2001 under the chairmanship of Carl Bildt. Its members are Carl Bildt (Chair), Chuck Costello (Vice Chair), Pierre Dandjinou, Esther Dyson, Olivier Iteanu, Ching-Yi Liu, Thomas Niles, Oscar Robles, and Pindar Wong (Vice Chair).

The ALSC has now presented its Final Report. This is on a somewhat later schedule than originally intended because of the late schedule in forming the Committee. This final report follows the presentation of a draft report to the ICANN community in August 2001, that was extensively discussed by and with ICANN constituent units at the ICANN meetings in Montevideo, September 2001.