ALAC (At-Large Advisory Committee) Celebrates 10 Years at ICANN 44 in Prague

ALAC Celebrated 10 years since its inception, recounting activities that they have been able to achieve and their plans for the future, it was Celebrated in the ICANN 44th Meeting at Prague which was also attended by DotConnectAfrica’s President Ms. Bekele among others.
ALAC is the acronym for At-Large Advisory Committee, one of ICANN's advisory committees. It represents a network of regionally self-organized and self-supporting At-Large Structures, which represent individual Internet users throughout the world. The At-Large Structures are divided into five Regional At-Large Organizations (one in each ICANN region – Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, and North America). These RALOs manage public involvement and represent their constituents to ICANN the mission of ALAC is to function as an advocate the interests of individual Internet users.
ALAC Background
The ICANN Board adopted new bylaws that established the ALAC and provided the support for At-Large Organizations  on October 31st, 2002; which were then effected on  December 15th same year. The creation of the ALAC was part of a larger reform effort within ICANN, now known as ICANN 2.0.

Some of ALAC’s responsibilities besides following the provisions of ICANN's new bylaws, include assisting in the formation and qualification of other At-Large Structures and RALOs. Other responsibilities undertaken by ALAC and its organizations include: 
  • Evaluating the accreditation process for At-Large Structures
  • Analyzing and publishing ICANN's policies and decisions
  • Coordinating with the GNSO and other ICANN committees
  • Providing guidance and advice to various organizations regarding ICANN's proposals and activities which are relevant for individual Internet users
  • Analyzing and approving the applications of At-Large Structures
  • Developing Internet-based processes and methods to enable and ease the communication process between At-Large structures.