RE: [GAC] [board-09georegionswg] Request For Document Review - Final Report of Geographic Regions Review Working Group

[Olof Nordling <olof.nordling@xxxxxxxxx>]

Message sent on behalf of the GAC Chair:

Dear Rob, dear Cheryl,
Thank you for your email of 26 September and the opportunity to provide 
immediate comments to the Final Report of the Geo Regions Review WG. On behalf 
of the GAC, I sincerely congratulate you and the Working Group to the 
achievement of bringing this important work to a conclusion after considerable 
efforts over quite a long period of time.
I also note that an extended period for public comments is foreseen in the near 
future, which can be used by the GAC and its Members for comments on the 
substance of the Final Report.

At this point in time, there is just one observation from a GAC point of view 
that I wish to share, notably that the current ICANN structuring of its 
geographic regions has little or no practical value for the GAC as a framework 
for rotation or geographic diversity of positions.  The reason is quite 
obvious, as the GAC counts governments as its Members and there are only two 
governments in the ICANN North America region, in stark contrast to the much 
more numerous governments in other ICANN regions, making the framework most 
imbalanced from a GAC perspective.

I suggest you consider this GAC observation for inclusion in the Final Report, 
as input for future reviews and also as support for Recommendation III H, where 
this comment could possibly feature as a footnote. On behalf of the GAC, I 
thank you again for the opportunity to comment and for your consideration of 
this input.

Very best regards

Thomas Schneider
GAC Chair

/pp Olof

From: gac-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gac-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
Robert Hoggarth
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2015 1:13 AM
To: board-09georegionswg@xxxxxxxxx
Cc: Cheryl Langdon-Orr <langdonorr@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [GAC] [board-09georegionswg] Request For Document Review - Final 
Report of Geographic Regions Review Working Group

Dear Geographic Regions Review Working Group Members and List Observers,

For review by working group members, attached please find an updated red-line 
version of the Final Report of the Geographic Regions Review Working Group.

Pursuant to my previous communications, please take the next two-week period 
prior to the Dublin Meeting to review the limited redline changes and provide 
any collective or individual comments regarding the document to me by COB on 
Monday, 12 October.

Given the length of time that has transpired since the last review period for 
the document, you'll note that the only few substantive edits generally reflect 
updated information regarding more recently collected IDN and new gTLD data and 
the recommendation that the Board direct staff to manage an extensive public 
review and comment period regarding the document. The latter recommendation 
anticipates the need of some communities that did not have regular dedicated 
working group participation (e.g., GAC, SSAC and RSSAC) to evaluate the working 
group recommendations and otherwise have the opportunity to query working group 
members and staff for background and deliberation information.

The current plan is to process any final edits received over the next couple of 
weeks and for Cheryl (as Chair) to transmit the Final Report to the Board in 
conjunction with the ICANN Public Meeting in Dublin. Based on the current Board 
calendar, the Board would likely move to direct the opening of a public comment 
review period at its next post-Dublin meeting scheduled for mid-November 
creating the next formal opportunity for community comment and feedback to 
extend to or beyond the ICANN Public Meeting in Marrakech (ICANN 55). Your 
feedback on the proposed timing for review and comment would be most welcome.

Cheryl and I look forward to moving this matter toward Board consideration and 
welcome any further dialogue with any of you on the process over the coming 
weeks and months.  Thank you very much for your attention to this matter. I 
look forward to seeing many of you in Dublin in a few weeks!

Best regards,

Rob Hoggarth
-
Robert Hoggarth | Senior Director Policy and Community Engagement
robert.hoggarth@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:robert.hoggarth@xxxxxxxxx>  |  +1 (424) 
558-4805

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