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RE: [council] Announcement from JAS working group
In advance of our consideration of this motion I want to propose a
couple amendments (re just a typo) and ask a few questions that
hopefully can be answered on the list before our meeting on the 18th.
Resolved 1(a)
* The second sentence of this part of the resolution says,
"Financial need has been established as the primary criterion for
support. The group should be argumented to have the necessary expertise
to make a specific recommendation in this area, especially given the
comparative economic conditions and the cross-cultural aspects of this
requirement."
* Proposed amendment (typo correction): In 1(a) under Resolved,
change 'argumented' to 'augmented'.
* Have the experts needed been identified yet? If not, how will
they be identified?
* Is it anticipated that adding experts will require funding?
If so, from where would the funding come?
Resolved 1(c)
* The resolution says, "Establishing a framework, including a
possible recommendation for a separate ICANN originated foundation, for
managing any auction income, beyond costs. for future rounds and ongoing
assistance".
* What does 'ICANN originated foundation' mean?
* Has this idea been vetted with the ICANN General Council's
office?
Resolved 1(h)
* The resolution says, "Review the basis of the US$100,000
application base fee to determine its full origin and to determine what
percentage of that fee could be waived for applicants meeting the
requirements for assistance."
* Understanding that the application fees are intended to cover
application processing costs and no more, from where is it envisioned
that the offset of the fee waivers would come?
* Proposed amendment: Add a new sentence that says, "Work with
the ICANN new gTLD implementation staff to determine how the fee waivers
would be funded."
If the answers to the questions can be provided in advance of the
Council meeting on 18 November, I think the chances of acting on this
motion on the 18th will be increased and the sooner the better so that
Councilors can provide the answers to their respective groups.
Rafik/Bill: Do you consider the two proposed amendments as friendly?
Chuck
From: owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of William Drake
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 9:30 PM
To: rafik.dammak@xxxxxxxxx
Cc: Council GNSO
Subject: Re: [council] Announcement from JAS working group
Rafik
While it might have been preferable to get this from another SG, to move
things along I second your motion on the JAS WG charter extension.
Best
Bill
On Nov 12, 2010, at 10:51 AM, Rafik Dammak wrote:
Hi,
regarding the JAS working, an announcement was just posted at ICANN
website about the milestone report
http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-11nov10-en.htm
Regards
Rafik
Developing Economies and the New gTLD Program
11 November 2010
A message from the JAS WG:
The Milestone Report
<http://icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/jas-milestone-report-11nov10-en.pd
f> [PDF, 1.2 MB] and accompanying Addenda
<http://icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/jas-milestone-report-addenda-10nov
10-en.pdf> [PDF, 1.07 MB] published for public comment today deals with
a very important issue: how can ICANN assist applicants from developing
economies to increase their participation in the new generic Top-Level
Domain (New gTLD) Program?
A Working Group (WG) formed by ICANN stakeholders has been working since
April 2010 to address this issue. This followed a Resolution
<http://icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-12mar10-en.htm> from ICANN
Board of Directors in Nairobi, on March 2010 that asked ICANN's
stakeholder community
"...to develop a sustainable approach to providing support to applicants
requiring assistance in applying for and operating new gTLDs."
Here are some basic aspects of this important work.
1. What is this all about? What is a Milestone Report?
The Milestone Report is a document produced by this Working Group that
offers recommendations on how ICANN should develop a sustainable
approach to providing support to applicants from developing economies
requiring assistance in applying for and operating new gTLDs Registries.
The Report proposes initial criteria for qualification as well as
several other types of support to be considered, for example, technical,
informational.
Although this work presents the foundation for ICANN to establish a
Support Development Program dedicated to this issue, the work is not
final yet. This report is going to be considered by the Board, staff and
ICANN's supporting chartering organizations.
This initiative is related to the New gTLD Program, which in the near
future will allow entities from around the world to apply for a generic
top-level domain. The applicants passing the evaluation process, will
sign a contract with ICANN and run a Registry.
2. Who is being considered to receive support? Who benefits from
this?
The Working Group is proposing the following group to be eligible for
support once the "need" criterion is met:
* Community-based applications such as cultural,
linguistic and ethnic;
* Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), civil society and
not-for-profit organizations;
* Applicants geographically located in emerging
markets/developing countries;
* Applications in languages whose presence on the web is
limited;
* Entrepreneurs wanting to serve a developing market that
might not be sustainable under the current cost structure.
At this phase, the Working Group has not adopted any specific
classification for developing economies and recommends using a
classification that is internationally agreed upon, for example, G-77 or
United Nations or World Bank classifications.
We all benefit from this initiative. The Internet belongs to all as well
as the responsibility to look into effective ways to reduce the Digital
Divide, in this particular case, by delivering a sustainable and
critical support for applicants from developing economies and looking
for a solution not only at the application phase but also through to the
initial years of these new Registry operators.
3. Why is it important?
It is important because the Internet is a virtual real estate that
belongs to everyone. Entities from around the world should be able to
increase their participation in the top-level expansion. The Working
Group also stresses it is important not only to increase participation
from developing economies, but also to increase the likelihood of
success by these new participants that will be delivering Domain Name
Services (DNS).
The current New gTLD Program, as design, has an evaluation (and several
other fees) that are considered high for a significant number of
potential participants from around the world. Besides the issue of high
fees, the program is in English only and has an evaluation process with
criteria and requirements that are quite complex to navigate.
4. What are the highlights of this report?
This report approached the issue of accessibility from several angles.
First, there are recommendations to lower the fees for applicants the
meet the criteria recommended by this group. The initial focus is on a
relatively limited and identifiable set of potential applicants that is
often considered not controversial to support. The main criterion for
eligibility is "need". The detailed definition of financial need and the
method for determining the needs of an application will be part of a
continued work.
5. Who is part of this Working Group?
This Working Group, also called Joint SO/AC WG on New gTLD Applicant
Support or simply "JAS WG", is comprised of highly respected and
experienced volunteers from the Supporting Organization and the Advisory
Committee. This all-volunteer group teleconferences twice each week, and
works through a wiki and mailing lists. These active contributors are
located in Australia, Africa, Europe and North America.
6. What happens next?
Few things will happen in the upcoming months:
* The general public is strongly encouraged to participate
in the public forum that can be found
here:http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201012-en.htm
#jas-milestone-report
<http://icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201012-en.htm#jas-mil
estone-report>
* The Board, staff, supporting organizations will review
the Milestone Report and public comments received.
* The Supporting organizations and Board will allow for
the continuation of this initiative, which means that this or a new
Working Group will carry this work to a next phase.
* Staff might initiate working on the Support Development
Program, depending on the Board's direction.
7. How can one get involved?
One way to get involved is to provide a feedback using ICANN's public
comment forum. This is one of the ways ICANN listens to the global
Internet community. You can find the link to this forum
here:http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201012-en.htm
#jas-milestone-report
<http://icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201012-en.htm#jas-mil
estone-report> . The public forum will close on 15 December 2010.
If you feel strongly about this (and other Internet related issues)
attend ICANN Meetings - in person or remotely. The next one is in
Cartagena <http://cartagena39.icann.org/> beginning of December).
8. Where to find more information?
Relevant Resolutions:
*
http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-12mar10-en.htm#20
<http://icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-12mar10-en.htm#20>
*
http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-25sep10-en.htm#2.2
<http://icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-25sep10-en.htm#2.2>
*
http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-28oct10-en.htm
<http://icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-28oct10-en.htm>
* http://gnso.icann.org/resolutions/#201004
Information about the New gTLD Program:
http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm
<http://icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm>
Archive regarding the WG activities:
* E-mail: http://forum.icann.org/lists/gnso-irtp-b-jun09/
* Wiki: https://st.icann.org/so-ac-new-gtld-wg/index.cgi
***********************************************************
William J. Drake
Senior Associate
Centre for International Governance
Graduate Institute of International and
Development Studies
Geneva, Switzerland
william.drake@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.williamdrake.org
***********************************************************
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