ATRT Comment

[Andrew Mack <amack@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In July I submitted comments to the ATRT public forum.  In them I mentioned two 
issues that affect non-English speakers as crucial to ICANN’s commitment to 
accountability: translation of the sessions and papers, especially earlier, so 
non-native speakers can review them, and the question of having a fast track 
for 
ccIDNs but not gIDNs.
 
Though the  report has a lot to say about process it seems largely mute on 
these  
two issues.  I know I may sound like a broken record on this issue, but as  we 
talk about the need for ICANN to become more inclusive and more  international 
in its approach, this issue remains a major barrier to  participation in many 
sessions of most meetings.  While I am hopeful  that this won’t be the case, I 
fear that Colombians who don’t speak perfect English will still find the lack 
of 
translation a barrier to their participation to an ICANN meeting in  their own 
country.  As we strive to make ICANN truly international, this is an area where 
 
significant improvement can be made quickly.
On the second issue – and on the question of IDNs generally -- the report has 
almost nothing to say.  Progress continues getting 

IDNs to the web, but like many users around the world I remain concerned that 
the IDN fast track contains only IDN ccTLDs.  Why 

still no plan to fast track IDNs gTLDs?  Many NGOs or academic groups (.org or 
.edu users) may for any number of reasons wish to have a web 

identity independent of government.  Many businesses may want a web IDN that is 
not tied to one country.  Common sense suggests that if 

a fast track for key ccIDNs is worthwhile, a fast track for common gIDNs is 
important as well.  Given the number of gTLD users around
the world, making them wait into the indeterminate future for IDN versions of 
their gTLDs seems unfair -- and not very sustainable, 

given the fact that most of ICANN’s budget comes from gTLDs, not cc’s.  

Lastly, I'd like to echo a point from Kieren McCarthy's statement.  In this 
report and in general, keep it simple and please say what you mean.  

UN-speak can be a real barrier to participation.  As I said in my July comment, 
accountability and transparency issues are fundamentally about access and 
choice 
-- and that includes people with different languages and scripts around the 
world. 


Thank you

 
Andrew A. Mack 
Principal
AMGlobal Consulting

+1-202-256-1077  
amack@xxxxxxxxxxxx  
www.amglobal.com