[bc-gnso] IMPORTANT: GAC-Board meeting: need to rsvp to ICANN for attendance on site /Reminder that we may need to vote on BC statements/possible BC members 'gathering'

[Marilyn Cade <marilynscade@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Please see an important announcement pasted below. ICANN updated this late last 
week, and it just came to my attention late last night. Apologies that I didn't 
catch it earlier. Others may have.  The new news is required RSVP, with proof 
of travel somehow shown. I have a call into ICANN staff to verify how this will 
work. 
 
I am planning on attending, and I think that Steve DelBianco is also planning 
to travel. Other members may be as well. There will not be a guarantee of 
seats, it appears. I will do my best to find out how much room there is, 
however. 
As you all will recall from the BC call with members, Steve and I and others 
will be working on a document which summarizes the present BC positions against 
the GAC/Board discussion topics.  Where we do not have a position and it seems 
advisable to do so, we will use a shortened voting period. The ExComm does 
believe that would only be necessary in one or two instances, but we won't know 
until we see the GAC and Board discussion papers. 
I have asked for the Constituency Chairs or their designees to be designated 
'experts' to respond to questions about formalized positions of the individual 
constituencies. That would allow the BC's views to be heard regarding the items 
of priority to the full BC. 
 
I also want to have a brief gathering of BC members from the Brussels area and 
those who travel while we are there. One of our members located in Brussels has 
volunteered space, so stay tuned for further details on what seems feasible on 
that front. We may also want to invite some business guests who may be 
prospective members to drinks or breakfast, and Chris and I will work on 
whether that seems doable, depending on who from the BC is actually in Brussels 
at that time/dates. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Updated: ICANN's Board and GAC to Meet on New gTLDs
Updated: 2 February 2011
21 January 2011
 
RSVP to Attend ICANN Board-GAC Meeting in Brussels
A message to those who wish to attend the ICANN Board-GAC Meeting in Brussels 
on 28 Feb-1 Mar.
If you wish to attend as an observer the upcoming meeting of the ICANN's Board 
and the GAC to discuss new gTLDs [see below], please RSVP by sending an email 
to GAC-BoardRSVP@xxxxxxxxx no later than 8 February 2011. Space in the room is 
limited and we don't wish to have people traveling and find there is no space 
for them to attend. Therefore it was necessary to come up with a limited 
procedure for seat allocation. If the number of RSVPs exceeds the amount of 
available seating, ICANN staff will allocate the seating in an equitable 
manner. To ensure maximum attendance, those whose RSVPs are confirmed will need 
to submit a copy of an airline ticket, hotel reservation or other indication of 
their intent to attend in person.
As previously announced, the meeting will be open, scribed and streamed live 
over the Internet. Only GAC members, ICANN Board members, select ICANN staff 
members and subject matter experts will participate in the meeting. Please note 
that in addition to the open plenary sessions, smaller meetings focused on 
specific issues may also take place and may be closed to non-participants. If 
they occur, those in these smaller meetings will report on their work during 
the open plenary sessions.


During the recent ICANN meeting in Cartagena, the ICANN Board of Directors and 
Governmental Advisory Committee agreed to meet at some time prior to the 
upcoming Silicon Valley/San Francisco meeting in order to devote significant 
time in the interest of resolving the outstanding issues the GAC has identified 
with the new gTLD process.
Planning for that meeting has occurred and the Board and the GAC have agreed to 
meet on 28 February and 1 March 2011, in Brussels, at the Square Brussels 
Meeting Centre, Mont des Arts – Kunstberg, Brussels.
The purpose of the meeting is to:

Identify the specific differences between Governmental Advisory Committee 
("GAC") advice and the current implementation of the GNSO New gTLD Policy 
recommendations embodied in the Applicant Guidebook.

Through discussion among Board and GAC members, either:

arrive at an agreed upon resolution of those differences, or
for those issues not resolved, identify what differences remain. This meeting 
is not intended to address the requirements/steps outlined in the Bylaws 
mandated Board-GAC consultation process.
The meeting will be open, scribed and streamed live over the Internet. Only GAC 
members, ICANN Board members, select ICANN staff members and subject matter 
experts will participate in the discussion, whether in person or remotely. It 
will be possible for interested parties to attend and observe proceedings.  
Remote participation facilities will also be made available. 
Papers to inform the discussions will be published prior to the meeting. 
Details of the agenda and logistics will be made available closer to the 
meeting.
Background
ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) plays a key role within ICANN, 
particularly with regard to providing advice to the Board on public policy 
issues. The GAC has been actively involved in the discussions on the 
introduction of new gTLDs and has regularly provided advice to the ICANN Board 
on a number of issues, which the Board has sought to address. The most recent 
GAC communiqué [PDF, 45 KB] identified a number of issues associated with the 
introduction of new gTLDs that the GAC considers outstanding, or unresolved to 
the GAC's satisfaction.
The new gTLD program has its origins in carefully deliberated policy 
development work by the ICANN community. In October 2007, following more than 
18 months of community discussions, the GNSO formally completed its policy 
development work on new gTLDS and approved a set of 19 policy recommendations. 
In June 2008, ICANN's Board of Directors adopted the policy recommendations and 
directed staff to commence work on an implementation plan.
The first version of the Applicant Guidebook was posted for public comment on 1 
October 2008, and since that time a further four versions have followed with 
the most recent, the Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook published on 10 
November 2010. Each version has been revised as a result of comments received 
via the respective public comment fora. The ICANN meeting in Cartagena provided 
the platform for discussion of the latest version, and provided an opportunity 
for the Board to hear first hand, the community's views.