[soac-newgtldapsup-wg] Fwd: [council] Announcement from JAS working group

[Rafik Dammak <rafik.dammak@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi everyone,

I got this amendement at GNSO council and I am forwarding it to get your
feedback about.
thanks

Rafik



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <HughesDeb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: 2010/11/18
Subject: RE: [council] Announcement from JAS working group
To: rafik.dammak@xxxxxxxxx, william.drake@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: Mary.Wong@xxxxxxxxxxx, wendy@xxxxxxxxxxx, rosemary.sinclair@xxxxxxxxxxx,
NCSG-EC@xxxxxx


 Rafik and Bill,



I definitely support the work of the JAS working group and submitted
comments to that effect when the initial report was published.  Thanks for
your efforts, Rafik!



I was wondering if you would consider a friendly amendment to your Motion
for JAS WG charter extension.  I would like to add the concept of bundling
applications for multiple IDN scripts in small or underserved languages, at
discounted fees.



Rationale:  For example, a multinational organization could consider
multiple IDN scripts (like Arabic or Korean) to connect with a community in
their native language.  At $185,000 per application, that becomes very cost
prohibitive, especially for NGOs trying to deliver services.



In my reading of the report, it seems the WG considered bundling
applications for multiple IDN scripts at discounted fees.  (See “Support for
Build-out in Underserved Languages and Scripts*”* Item 2.2.1)



So, would you consider a friendly amendment adding the following objective
to the list provided in the Motion?



*“Design mechanisms to encourage the build out of Internationalized Domain
Names (IDNs) in small or underserved languages.”*



Thanks,

Debbie





*Debra Y. Hughes** l** Senior Counsel*
*American Red Cross*

Office of the General Counsel
2025 E Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
Phone: (202) 303-5356
Fax: (202) 303-0143
HughesDeb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


 ------------------------------

*From:* owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] *On
Behalf Of *William Drake

*Sent:* Thursday, November 11, 2010 9:30 PM
*To:* Rafik Dammak
*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.pdf>
* [PDF, 1.2 MB] and accompanying
Addenda<http://icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/jas-milestone-report-addenda-10nov10-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.

   1. *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.

   1. *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.

   1. *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.

   1. *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.

   1. *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-milestone-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.


   1. *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-milestone-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).

   1. *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

***********************************************************