A key element of the At-Large Summit are the slots available for 10 90-minute Thematic Sessions, half on Sunday, 1st March 2009 and the other five on Tuesday, 3rd March 2009 in Mexico City.
Thematic Sessions are intended to educate and provoke dialogue on a specific issue and be focussed on the At-Large community. The contents of Thematic Sessions should take the following into account:
- The Summit organising team has stated subjects which are unrelated to the mission of ICANN should not be a part of the Summit’s work, and this includes the content of Thematic Sessions. (For more information on the mission of ICANN, please see http://www.icann.org/en/about/).
- Thematic Sessions should be targeted at the At-Large community, and it should be assumed the participant has only a slight familiarity with the subject (don’t be too technical without explanations, and when using acronyms, explain what they mean the first time they are used).
- There should be ample opportunity for questions from the audience as a part of the session either throughout the session or at the end. The summit organisers are looking to ensure Thematic Sessions provoke thought, debate and discussion, rather than simply being presentations of information.
The following sessions have been proposed, and those who are known to be interested in the subjects have been contacted to see if they wish to organise Thematic Sessions on the following topics:
Proposed Thematic Sessions Information | |
| Tentative Title | Further Information / Description |
| Participation and Outreach – a Regional Perspective | |
| IDNs, IDN Fast Track and End-Users | |
| Role of At-Large and the Review of ALAC | |
| Debate: WHOIS – Privacy of Data vs. Accuracy of Data | Which is more important, privacy of WHOIS data or accuracy? Prominent advocates for each perspective debate one another, with Q&A at the end |
| The Role of ALAC, as seen by others | |
| Registries, Registrars, an the Abuse of Domains | |
| Geographic Regions at ICANN – an At-large perspective | |
| The ALAC Review and the Way Forward | |
| What kind of basic principles could be usefui in the ICANN context regarding respect for user interests (pricing, WHOIS privacy, etc.) | |
The following subjects or ideas have been proposed, but there is currently nobody who has said they are available to organise the session – would you be interested in doing so?
| Tentative Title | Further Information / Description |
| Competition and anti-trust rules on the registrar and registry level | |
| Freedom of Expression and New TLDs |
If you have another subject you believe should be discussed, or if you can commit to organising one of the two above who do not have organisers, we need the following information from you not later than 10th February 2008
Once we have received your information, the Summit organising committee will allocate slots for the 10 sessions chosen overall for inclusion. If we have more workshops than 10, don’t worry – there’s a room available for ad-hoc sessions that we can schedule your workshop or session in.
Name of Session: [Insert tentative name here]
Format: For example, panel discussion, presentation or presentations, will Q&A be taken, if so when.
Language Requirements: Note that only 2 of the 3 Thematic Session rooms feature simultaneous interpretation facilities – one allows for English, Spanish, and French simultaneously and the other for English and French only.
Brief Description: This should be not longer than half a typed page, but should include the following information. It should be ‘catchy’ and help sell the session to potential participants; this description is what will form the source of the description (subject to editing) on the main ICANN meeting site:
- What the purpose of the meeting is – discuss an issue, present various points of view, etc.
- Why is the meeting important?
- What will participants take away from the session (for example, a better understanding of an issue)?
- What format is the meeting (roundtable discussions, panel with Q&A, etc.)
Participants: This section should include the names and contact information for all those who are a part of the session as a presenter or panellist, and whether or not they are confirmed to participate.
Materials: What materials will be needed for the session, and where are they to be found? If ICANN documents should be available in printed form, which ones; if materials are being prepared by presenters, they need to be sent to alex@kc-a.com no later than 13th February in order to allow them to be translated. If materials are not available well in advance it may not be possible to have them available in the room in time for your session.
Scheduling: Five sessions will be held on Sunday, 1st March, and five on Tuesday, 3rd March. If there is a logistical reason that your session needs to be held on one or the other of those days, please provide details.
Audio Visual: The following audio visual equipment will be provided in each room:
- Microphones, both wired and wireless
- Teleconference line
- Power to use for laptops
- LCD projector package (screen, projector and table)
- Audio Streaming
- Audio Recording
- Remote eChat
- Telephone Remote Participation
- Headphones for Interpretation (limited to a few Thematic Sessions)
If there is an item you would like to request that is not listed above, please indicate your request and reason for here:
Where do I send my proposal?
Send it by email to alex@kc-a.com. If you need help or have questions, send it to the same address, and copy staff@atlarge.icann.org
We look forward to welcoming you to Mexico City!