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.
