ICANN AT-LARGE MONTHLY ANNOUNCEMENT
In this issue:
- AT-LARGE EVENTS IN ROME -- ICANN's meeting in Rome (1-6 March) will feature several At-Large events, including regional At-Large meetings and policy discussions on WHOIS, new domain names, and registry services. All interested individuals are welcome to attend <http://www.alac.icann.org/announcements/announcement-rome-25feb04.htm>.
- MORE AT-LARGE STRUCTURES CERTIFIED -- Another set of At-Large Structures
has been certified by the ALAC to advance the individual user community's
informed, structured participation in ICANN. More certification requests are
pending. Join a group or form a new one
. - ALAC MOBILIZING ICANN STAKEHOLDERS ON WSIS -- A Workshop on WSIS,
organized by the ALAC and others, will be held on 4 March in Rome to advance
understanding of the "World Summit on the Information Society" and encourage
ICANN stakeholder involvement in this process. Participation is encouraged.
The ALAC also recently sent a statement on WSIS to the United Nations.
<http://www.icann.org/meetings/rome/wsis-workshop-04mar04.html>
<http://www.alac.icann.org/wsis/statement-wsis-20jan04.htm>. - REGISTRY SERVICES & WHOIS DATABASE -- Input is needed on several pending policy issues -- How should ICANN handle Verisign's "Sitefinder" and similar registry changes? <http://www.alac.icann.org/registry/> What should be done to address privacy, accuracy, access, and use of the WHOIS database? <http://www.alac.icann.org/whois/>
- AT-LARGE EVENTS IN ROME -- ICANN's meeting in Rome (1-6 March) will
feature several At-Large events, including regional At-Large meetings and
policy discussions on WHOIS, new domain names, and registry services. All
interested individuals are welcome to attend
<http://www.alac.icann.org/announcements/announcement-rome-25feb04.htm>.
ICANN's Interim At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) invites all interested individuals to attend a series of open meetings on 1 - 2 March at Rome's Meliá Roma Aurelia Antica Hotel to advance the interests of individual Internet user communities (At-Large) in ICANN. At the ALAC meeting on Tuesday, 2 March from 14:00 - 16:00, we will discuss efforts throughout the world to involve, and represent in ICANN, a broad set of individual user interests. Attendees also will receive briefings on and discuss key issues of interest to Internet users, including how to address privacy, accuracy, access, and use of the WHOIS database, ICANN's progress on the introduction of new domain names, and developing procedures for handling registry changes that may affect Internet users. Break-out sessions also have been scheduled in Rome to enable members of At-Large communities to discuss local/regional activities. Regional meetings will be held on 1-2 March for At-Large groups in Europe, Asia/Australia/Pacific, and Latin America/Caribbean Islands. - MORE AT-LARGE STRUCTURES CERTIFIED -- Another set of At-Large Structures
has been certified by the ALAC to advance the individual user community's
informed, structured participation in ICANN. More are pending. Join a group
or form a new one <http://www.alac.icann.org/applications/>.
The ALAC certified four organizations in the African and European regions as "At-Large Structures" this month. They join six groups that were certified in December as At-Large Structures and that are helping individual Internet user communities in various regions participate in ICANN.
The newly certified groups are:- Moroccan Internet Society (Region: Africa)
- Anais.AC (Region: Africa)
- Sudan Internet Society (Region: Africa)
- Internet Society - Finland (Region: Europe)
- Internet Society Vasudhay Kutumbhkum (ISVK)- India (Region: Asia/Australia/Pacific)
- ISOC Taiwan Chapter (Region: Asia/Australia/Pacific)
- At Large @ China (Region: Asia/Australia/Pacific)
- National Information Infrastructure Enterprise Promotion Association (Region: Asia/Australia/Pacific)
- Internet Society - Catalan Chapter (Region: Europe)
- Asociación Costarricense de Derecho Informático (Region: Latin America/Caribbean Islands)
- ALAC MOBILIZING ICANN STAKEHOLDERS ON WSIS -- A Workshop on WSIS,
organized by the ALAC and others, will be held on 4 March in Rome to advance
understanding of the "World Summit on the Information Society" and encourage
ICANN stakeholder involvement in this process. Participation is encouraged.
The ALAC also recently sent a statement on WSIS to the United Nations.
<http://www.icann.org/meetings/rome/wsis-workshop-04mar04.html>
<http://www.alac.icann.org/wsis/statement-wsis-20jan04.htm>.
All individuals interested in the Internet and management and coordination of the domain name system (DNS) are encouraged to attend the "Workshop on the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS): Issues of Relevance to ICANN and Next Steps" on Thursday, 4 March, 11:00 - 13:00, in the Goya Room at Meliá Roma Aurelia Antica Hotel in Rome, Italy.
The workshop will provide information on the United Nation's World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and issues of direct impact to ICANN. Positions and actions taken at the Summit by various stakeholders on technical coordination and management of the domain name system (DNS) also will be presented. "WSIS" is a process in which governments are attempting to address a broad range of international legal, regulatory, economic, and policy issues related to the Internet. During this process, some governments proposed that an intergovernmental organization be responsible for "Internet governance," a phrase that remains undefined and some consider to include and/or mean the administration and coordination of the DNS.
The workshop is open to the public and has been organized by the At-Large Advisory Committee, Business Constituency, and the Internet Service Providers Constituency. Internet community leaders will brief participants on WSIS activities and discuss next steps, and a panel discussion will feature perspectives of a variety of Internet user and provider representatives.
In advance of the workshop, the ALAC sent a statement to the United Nations urging that technical management of the Internet should remain the responsibility of the private sector and civil society. - REGISTRY SERVICES & WHOIS DATABASE -- Input is needed on several pending
policy issues -- How should ICANN handle Verisign's "Sitefinder" and similar
registry changes?
What should be done to address privacy, accuracy, access, and use of the WHOIS database? <http://www.alac.icann.org/whois/>
The ALAC is participating (and representing individual Internet users) in the GNSO Task Force on Registry Services, which is creating a proposed policy for the process by which ICANN considers requests to allow changes in the architecture or operation of a gTLD registry. This policy development process was launched as part of ICANN's further evaluation and study of the issues surrounding Verisign Registry's re-direction of queries for non-existent domain names ("Sitefinder"). To share your views, send an email to the At-Large public forum <forum@alac.icann.org>.
The ALAC also is representing individual Internet users on three task forces addressing various issues related to domain name registrant data known as "WHOIS" data. WHOIS Task Force #1 is examining the uses of WHOIS information obtained through Port 43 and the Web (provided by top-level domain registries and registrars). WHOIS Task Force #2 is chartered with reviewing the current ICANN WHOIS policy regarding the collection, disclosure and transmittal of data. One of the milestones of this Task Force is to determine whether the data which is collected and disclosed at present should be changed. WHOIS Task Force #3 is working to determine appropriate practices to verify the accuracy of domain name registrant data. To offer input on these issues, send an email to the At-Large public forum <forum@alac.icann.org>.
The Interim At-Large Advisory Committee
alac@icann.org
http://www.atlarge.icann.org/