The idea was to find a formula for open communication that was more than a repeat of existing open microphone sessions. The chairs also wanted to create a forum that could break through the silos of discussion and communication in which ACs and SOs often operate. And, lastly, they wanted the opportunity to discuss topics of mutual interest and importance, and to have those topics suggested by ACSO members.

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Each time, feedback has been taken from the community and the session adjusted to reflect that. For Sydney, the decision has been taken to reduce the time taken on Monday to just one session of 90 minutes and to concentrate on a single topic (albeit with multiple arms).

The colored cards used by the audience to express agreement, disagreement and either neutrality or uncertainty are back by popular demand, and a whiteboard will be introduced so that the discussions that take place can be captured and something tangible produced as a result of the conversation.

The ACs and SOs will again be represented by anywhere between one and four representatives and the session will be moderated again by Patrick Sharry. More details on the precise format will be run through at the start of the session.

For the dedicated ACSO session webpage, please visit: http://syd.icann.org/acso

AGENDA

The ACSO session will have as its focus the following topic:

Institutional Improvements

The roles and responsibilities of ACs, SOs, Policy Staff and Board in ICANN’s processes: current situation and possible evolutions

This topic will be explored within the current context of where ICANN is an organization, particularly: current practices and their contribution to transparency and accountability; ongoing independent reviews of the ACs and SOs and the subsequent reorganizations; the Improving Institutional Confidence (IIC) consultation that followed the midterm review of ICANN’s Joint Project Agreement (JPA) with the US government; and the current review of the JPA that is underway.

The Chairs of each of the ACs and SOs would like to note that discussing the current systems in place does NOT imply any implicit criticism of either the community or the staff. The aim of the discussion it to identify areas of improvement.

Instead, the Sydney meeting provides a unique opportunity to take at look at some of the practical aspects of ICANN’s continuing internal effort to improve institution confidence.

Current community topics that the conversation is expected to touch upon include:

• The ongoing independent reviews of the different parts of the ICANN model
• The Improving Institutional Confidence consultation and recommendations
• The conclusion of the Joint Project Agreement with the US government in September

Specific questions that will be explored include:

1. Roles and responsibilities of the ACs, SOs and Policy staff:

a. What should these roles be? 
b. What is the right balance between volunteer activity and policy staff activity?
c. Is the current balance correct or should it be altered?
d. Does the current balance lead to volunteer exhaustion?
e. Would shifting the balance diminish the degree of private bottom-up policy making?

2. Policy staff as Board intermediary:

a. Should all communications between the SOs be moderated by Policy staff?
b. Should there be direct communication between the Councils and the Board?

3. Board communication with Advisory Committees:

a. Should all ACs have the same rights in terms of recommendations and response by the Board to their issues?

4. Transparency of communications:

a. Should staff communications to the Board be confidential? 
b. Should communications regarding AC or SO activities be confidential?
c. Which other communications need to remain confidential?
d. What would be the effect of making most communications between staff and the Board open to community review?

The meeting will be held in two 90-minute sessions, separated by a 30-minute break, and with a 30-minute feedback period at the end. There will be two broad discussion topics of common interest, with specific sub-questions. They are:

14:00-15:30 — EXPANDING THE NAME SPACE
- What is the impact of the new gTLD and IDN Fast Track processes on the market structure of the Domain Name Space and ICANN’s processes?
- How should geographic names be handled and is there a blurring of “cc” and “g” spaces ?
- What should be the cost and the pricing structure for new TLDs (both application fee and ongoing fees)?

Sessions will be public and transcribed, but they are not a public forum. Opinion will however be sought during the discussion through the use of coloured cards to represent whether people agree or disagree with a particular comment or proposal put forward. A feedback period will follow at 17:30 where members of the community will be invited to comment on any of the topics discussed in the previous two sessions.

Please note that the session and its format remain experimental in an effort to improve discussion and interaction between Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees. As such, not only do we expect to learn from the session in Mexico but we will be seeking feedback from the SOs and ACs themselves after the meeting is over in order to identify improvements for ICANN’s next meeting in Sydney in June.

Each issue covers the latest news and events, plus outlines how you can interact with the organization. This month, alongside the usual policy rundown, compliance summary, Board meeting precis, public comment digest, and blog complendium, is a briefing note for the recent Paris meeting and some early details about the Cairo meeting.

The hope is that, no matter which part of ICANN you are interested in, this magazine will act as an entry point and make people more aware of the other work that the organization carries out every month.

Feedback, as ever, is welcome. If you wish to receive the magazine automatically to your inbox, there is a very simple sign-up box above the magazine on the main magazine webpage at http://www.icann.org/magazine/.

Each issue covers the latest news and events, plus outlines how you can interact with the organization. It should also give you an insight into the upcoming month, including the upcoming meeting in Paris between 22 and 26 June. This issue is slightly different in that two parts of it — the Policy update and the Compliance section — are previews of new newsletters we produce each month.

The hope is that, no matter which part of ICANN you are interested in, this magazine will act as an entry point and make people more aware of the other work that the organization carries out every month.

Feedback, as ever, is welcome. If you wish to receive the magazine automatically to your inbox, there is a very simple sign-up box above the magazine on the main magazine webpage at http://www.icann.org/magazine/.