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What does the ALAC do?

In accordance with ICANN’s Bylaw, the ALAC has the duty to understand, represent, and advocate for the best interest of Internet end users worldwide. To fulfill this duty, the ALAC focuses on two general areas of work:

1) Policy Advice Development

While the ALAC does not develop policies directly, it works to publicize, analyze, and provide policy advice on proposed ICANN policies and decisions that accurately reflect the views and needs of individual Internet users at regional and global levels.

Not just limited to the TLDs related policies created through the formal PDPs in the SOs, the ALAC comments and advises on the work deliverables and decisions from ICANN Community, Board, and Staff in a wide range of topics, ranging from ICANN operational and strategic planning to the organizational review of other SOs/ACs.  

For a full list of ALAC policy advice, search at newatlarge.icann.org/policy-summary

ICANN Public Comment proceeding is a main channel for the ALAC to provide policy advice. In addition, the ALAC also provides policy advice through other methods, such as responding to the input request from other communities’ working groups, writing reports/analysis or sending correspondents on issues with end user impacts, and working collaboratively with other community groups to submit joint policy advice to the ICANN Board.

 

2) Organization Building

As ICANN manages the logistical infrastructure layer of the Internet Governance Ecosystem and the policy topics that it deals with are quite technical and niche, the ALAC plays an important role in making sure that ALSes and individual members are in touch with ICANN’s core mission and value, contribute to ICANN activities and policy developments, and provide sustainable flow of end user volunteers into the multistakehoder model of ICANN. These are the important goals for organization building.

Organization building encompasses a variety of areas, such as:

A lot of organization building related work is done through At-Large working groups, which are established by the ALAC. ALAC Members and Appointees often chair in those working groups, while RALOs provide volunteers.