Schedule: At-Large

Saturday, 28 February 2009

(All day)

09:00 - 19:15
Don Alberto 1

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

What it is | The Opening General Session of the At-Large Summit is the first meeting of representatives of the worldwide At-Large community participating in ICANN.

Elements of the session include:

  • An opening keynote address by Alejandro Pisanty, former Director, ICANN Board;
  • Opening addresses from ICANN Board Chair, Peter Dengate-Thrush, and ICAN President and CEO, Paul Twomey;
  • An overview of the various ICANN Departments, and ICANN’s Advisory Committees and Supporting Organisations;
  • Expert panel discussions with Q&A on IDNs, DNSSec, the IPv4-IPv6 transition, and last but not least Transparency and Accountability in ICANN.

Why it is important | This opening Session will be a unique event in which representatives of the worldwide At-Large community are physically assembled to work on user issues as a global community.

Who should attend? | All At-Large Summit delegates, anyone interested in At-Large or the issues being discussed from the perspective of an Internet end user.

Interpretation | The session will be simultaneously interpreted into English, French, and Spanish

Remote Participation Options |

  1. Telephonic remote participation (English only)
  2. Live audio streaming (English, Spanish, and French)
  3. Chat between remote participants and those in the room (English, Spanish, and French)

Instructions on how to participate remotely may be found at this URL: https://st.icann.org/alac-docs/index.cgi?Remote%20Participation%20in%20Summit%20General%20Sessions.

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

Background: What is the “At-Large Summit”?

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

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

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

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

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

 


Sunday, 1 March 2009

(All day)

09:00 - 10:30
Alameda 4/5 (Hotel Meliá)

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

Instructions on how to participate remotely may be found at this URL: https://st.icann.org/alac-docs/index.cgi?remote_participation_wg1

Interpretation into EN, ES and FR provided.

Organiser: Patrick Sharry for the Board At-Large Review Working Group
 
Format: Short presentation and then interactive discussion with members of the ALAC Review Working Group.
 
Description: The purpose of this session is to involve summit participants in a discussion of the final report of the Board ALAC Review Working Group.  This report, which will be submitted to the ICANN Board's Structural Improvements Committee for consideration, recommends some important changes in the way that the At-Large Advisory Committee works and in the way that At-Large interacts with other parts of ICANN.  The session will begin with a brief overview of the contents of the report. The panel of members from the Working Group would then like to engage the participants in an interactive discussion of the issues. This report is part of ICANN’s organizational review and continuous improvement initiative, which includes an independent examination of the role and operation of key structures of ICANN. The report can be found at <http://www.icann.org/en/reviews/alac/final-report-alac-review-28jan09-en.pdf>.


10:45 - 18:15
Alameda 4/5 (Hotel Meliá)

What it is | This working group is tasked by the At-Large community with completing a written statement on the subject of “At-Large Engagement in ICANN”.

Discussions about At-Large and its relationship to other segments of the ICANN community, have never been timelier. This is due in part to the current ALAC external review process and the related questions regarding the manner in which ALAC and the wider At-Large community interact with each other and other parts of ICANN. At the same time, the At-Large community has frequently pointed out that their resourcing needs for participation in ICANN is fundamentally different (and greater) than that required for participation of other groups. Given that many ICANN community members have made statements about the need for ICANN to contribute greater resources to various aspects of participation, the Board of Directors of ICANN is convening a special subcommittee on participation at the initiative of the Chair of the Board.

Thus, the subject of participation is likely to be the focus of much discussion during the At-Large Summit and ICANN Meeting taking place in Mexico City. This discussion will include travel support provided by ICANN, remote participation for ICANN meetings, public forum constructs, translation support, and information sharing, among others.

Why it is important | As an extremely diverse group, it is very important that the At-Large community has a “shared vision” of what participation in ICANN means and what motivates community members to participate. At the same time, it is important for the community to articulate which elements it believes are required for effective participation.

Who should attend? | Summit delegates who are members of this working group and anyone attending the Mexico City meeting interested in the subject.

Interpretation | The session will be simultaneously interpreted into English, French, and Spanish

Remote Participation Options|

  1. Telephonic remote participation (English only)
  2. Chat between remote participants and those in the room (English, Spanish, and French)

    Chatroom: http://icann.na3.acrobat.com/summit-wg1/

Instructions on how to participate remotely may be found at this URL: https://st.icann.org/alac-docs/index.cgi?remote_participation_wg1

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

Working Group 1 Microsite | http://www.atlarge.icann.org/summit/wg/engagement-en.htm

Background on At-Large Summit Working Groups

The At-Large community was surveyed in December 2008 and January 2009 and asked to choose in order of importance from amongst 15 of the most important subjects under consideration in the ICANN community today.

Their top five choices overall are the subjects for five working groups that are tasked with drafting and coming to agreement on five statements on these important subjects during the course of the Summit.

Each Summit participant has been assigned to the working group that they selected as of most interest to them; accommodations were made to ensure regional balance and address language needs.

Background: What is the “At-Large Summit”?

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

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

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

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

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

10:45 - 18:15
Insurgentes 3 (Hotel Meliá)

What it is | Working Group 2 will prepare a statement encapsulating the views of the At-Large community on the future structure and governance of ICANN. This is a major area of work in ICANN at the present, known as the “Improving Institutional Confidence” process.

More than two years ago, the President’s Strategy Committee (PSC) commenced a series of consultations on how to strengthen and complete the ICANN multi-stakeholder model. In addition, the recent midterm review of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) between the United States Department of Commerce and ICANN produced useful comments about ICANN’s performance and future.

More information about this process may be found: http://www.icann.org/en/jpa/iic/improving-confidence-revised.htm .

Why it is important | The subject of the working group is an important one for all of ICANN’s stakeholder communities. The output of this working group will be the first major statement of At-Large focused specifically on the subject and as such will be an important contribution to the discussion in ICANN of this subject.

Who should attend? | Summit delegates who are members of this working group as well as anyone attending the Mexico City meeting interested in the subject.

Interpretation | The session will be simultaneously interpreted into English, French, and Spanish

Remote Participation Options|

Instructions on how to participate remotely may be found at this URL: https://st.icann.org/alac-docs/index.cgi?remote_participation_wg2

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

Working Group 2 Microsite | http://www.atlarge.icann.org/summit/wg/future-en.htm.

Background on At-Large Summit Working Groups

The At-Large community was surveyed in December 2008 and January 2009 and asked to choose in order of importance from amongst 15 of the most important subjects under consideration in the ICANN community today.

Their top five choices overall are the subjects for five working groups that are tasked with drafting and coming to agreement on five statements on these important subjects during the course of the Summit.

Each Summit participant has been assigned to the working group that they selected as of most interest to them; accommodations were made to ensure regional balance and address language needs.

Background: What is the “At-Large Summit”?

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

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

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

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

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

10:45 - 18:15
Alameda 1 (Hotel Meliá)

What it is | This working group will prepare an At-Large community statement with respect to the introduction of new generic Top Level Domains (“gTLDs”).

ICANN’s stakeholders have been working together for years on the process by which new gTLDs will be introduced. There are currently only a few gTLDs (like .com, .net, .org) and the new process will allow the introduction of many more, including internationalised domain names (IDNs).

Currently, the ICANN community is reviewing and commenting upon a set of draft documents detailing how the process of adding new gTLDs should work. These consultations will continue in Mexico City with several briefings and public discussions focused on updated draft documents and outstanding issues. This will be a major area of work for ICANN over the course of 2009 and beyond.

It is widely believed that the addition of many new gTLDs (including IDNs) will have important impacts on how Internet end-users interact with the Internet. The At-Large community has made many statements in the past about new gTLDs and is preparing to make further comments this year. You may find multilingual versions of previous At-Large statements at: http://www.atlarge.icann.org/en/correspondence]

Why it is important | TheAt-Large community has played an active role in the new gTLDs process since it began several years ago. As is the case with all segments of the ICANN community, At-Large input into the second stage of the consultation on the draft application process will be extremely important.

Who should attend? | Summit delegates who are members of this working group as well as anyone attending the Mexico City meeting interested in the subject matter.

Interpretation | There will be no simultaneous interpretation for this session.

Remote Participation Options|

  1. Telephonic remote participation (English only)
  2. Chat between remote participants and those in the room (English, Spanish, and French

    Chatroom: http://icann.na3.acrobat.com/summit-wg3/

Instructions on how to participate remotely may be found at this URL: https://st.icann.org/alac-docs/index.cgi?remote_participation_wg3

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

Working Group 3 Microsite | http://www.atlarge.icann.org/summit/wg/gtlds-en.htm.

Background on At-Large Summit Working Groups

The At-Large community was surveyed in December 2008 and January 2009 and asked to choose in order of importance from amongst 15 of the most important subjects under consideration in the ICANN community today.

Their top five choices overall are the subjects for five working groups that are tasked with drafting and coming to agreement on five statements on these important subjects during the course of the Summit.

Each Summit participant has been assigned to the working group that they selected as of most interest to them; accommodations were made to ensure regional balance and address language needs.

Background: What is the “At-Large Summit”?

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

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

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

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

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

10:45 - 18:15
Alameda 2 (Hotel Meliá)

What it is | Working Group 4 will prepare a statement of the At-Large community on the subject of transparency and accountability in ICANN.

This subject is regularly discussed in the community - especially at present, as community members reflect on the level of transparency and accountability that ICANN should have as a part of the “Improving Institutional Confidence” process, which is being handled by Working Group 2 of the Summit.

Over the years, the At-Large community has provided significant input regarding the development of transparency and accountability of ICANN within statements on related topics. Details of this communication are available at: http://www.atlarge.icann.org/en/correspondence. (Note that some statements are available in English only at the present time).

Why it is important | At-Large has made many formal statements which incorporate elements about transparency and accountability. However, the statement prepared by this working group will be the first in-depth community statement focussing entirely on this subject.

Who should attend? | Summit delegates who are members of this working group and anyone attending the Mexico City meeting interested in the subject.

Interpretation | There will be no simultaneous interpretation for this session.

Remote Participation Options|

  1. Telephonic remote participation (English only)
  2. Chat between remote participants and those in the room (English, Spanish, and French

    Chatroom: http://icann.na3.acrobat.com/summit-wg4/

Instructions on how to participate remotely may be found at this URL: https://st.icann.org/alac-docs/index.cgi?remote_participation_wg4

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

Working Group 4 Microsite | http://www.atlarge.icann.org/summit/wg/transparency-en.htm.

Background on At-Large Summit Working Groups

The At-Large community was surveyed in December 2008 and January 2009 and asked to choose in order of importance from amongst 15 of the most important subjects under consideration in the ICANN community today.

Their top five choices overall are the subjects for five working groups that are tasked with drafting and coming to agreement on five statements on these important subjects during the course of the Summit.

Each Summit participant has been assigned to the working group that they selected as of most interest to them; accommodations were made to ensure regional balance and address language needs.

Background: What is the “At-Large Summit”?

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

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

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

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

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

10:45 - 18:15
Alameda 3 (Hotel Meliá)

What it is | As noted by some within At-Large (as well as within other segments of the broader ICANN community), issues related to the security and stability of the Internet are of concern to the broadest community of Internet end-users.

A core component of ICANN’s mission is ensuring the stability and security of the domain name system and autonomous number system. There has been much debate concerning where ICANN’s mission begins and ends with respect to issues such as phishing, pharming, and spam.

Members of the ICANN community are exploring how ICANN could work within its remit to help reduce activities that use the DNS in criminal or fraudulent ways.

Two recent ICANN community discussions on security issues relate to Fast Flux Hosting and DNSSEC. Fast Flux Hosting is a practice whereby changes to the DNS entries for Internet sites are made very rapidly in order to “hide” them from attempts to take down sites engaged in fraudulent activity. Implementation of DNSSEC refers to a technical change to certain DNS operations designed to make the DNS more secure from abuse.

The At-Large community has yet to make authoritative statements on these subjects specifically, or to state its views on the dividing line between ICANN’s mission and issues outside that mission. Working Group 5 will take on the challenge and produce a statement for the first time.

Why it is important | The subjects being considered by this working group are of increasing interest for most ICANN stakeholders. Creating an authoritative statement related to these subjects will be an important contribution to the ICANN-wide debates.

Who should attend? | Summit delegates who are members of this working group, any participant in the Mexico City meetings interested in the subject matter.

Interpretation | There will be no simultaneous interpretation for this session.

Remote Participation Options|

  1. Telephonic remote participation (English only)
  2. Chat between remote participants and those in the room (English, Spanish, and French

    Chatroom: http://icann.na3.acrobat.com/summit-wg5/

Instructions on how to participate remotely may be found at this URL: https://st.icann.org/alac-docs/index.cgi?Remote%20Participation%20WG5

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

Working Group 5 Microsite | http://www.atlarge.icann.org/summit/wg/security-en.htm.

Background on At-Large Summit Working Groups

The At-Large community was surveyed in December 2008 and January 2009 and asked to choose in order of importance from amongst 15 of the most important subjects under consideration in the ICANN community today.

Their top five choices overall are the subjects for five working groups that are tasked with drafting and coming to agreement on five statements on these important subjects during the course of the Summit.

Each Summit participant has been assigned to the working group that they selected as of most interest to them; accommodations were made to ensure regional balance and address language needs.

Background: What is the “At-Large Summit”?

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

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

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

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

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

18:15 - 20:15
Revolución 1

What it is | One of the highlights of the Summit is the opportunity for each At-Large Structure (ALS) to exhibit their activities through the submission of posters, written material, audio and audiovisual works, and online materials to the Fair and Poster Exhibition that will be on permanent display throughout the ICANN meeting for all meeting attendees to see. The opening event will give each ALS representative an opportunity to view the ICANN-related activities of the participating ALS organisations and interact with one another in an informal atmosphere.

The opening will feature hosted beer, wine, and soft drinks, as well as hors d’oeuvres.

The attendees from the ICANN Fellowship Programme will be joining the Summit delegates at this event, giving ALSes a chance to meet and speak to this group of attendees, who are new to the ICANN community.

Why it is important | This is a unique opportunity for the whole At-Large community to meet and discuss issues with their fellow delegates in an informal setting and to meet with Fellowship Programme participants. It is also an opportunity for all delegates to see and be shown information on the activities of their At-Large colleagues throughout the world in an interactive, hands-on way.

Who should attend? | At-Large Summit delegates, Fellowship programme participants, and supporting staff for both. Others may attend by invitation only.

Interpretation | Informal interpretation provided by participants.

Remote Participation Options | There will be no remote participation for this session.

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

Background: What is the “At-Large Summit”?

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

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

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

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

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