27 October 2005
Representatives from members.au, .cx, .jo, .jp, .kr, .lk, .my, .nu, .nz, .tw, and Afilias, along with guests from .ae, TAGO and ICANN met in Amman, Jordan on 2 and 3 October 2005 for a Board and Members’ Meeting, under the patronage of H.E. Nadia Hilmi Al-Saeed, Minister for ICT in the Jordanian Government.
The meeting, in the wake of the WSIS PrepCom-3, enjoyed presentations from a range of speakers on this topic, and progressed a number of important APTLD matters, the key being the General Manager’s position.
General Manager position confirmed
APTLD members agreed at their Singapore meeting to establish the position of a General Manager for APTLD. A full time senior staff member will lead the work of the APTLD Secretariat, and will initially focus on outreach and engagement with the ccTLDs in the Asia Pacific Region which are not yet members of APTLD.
The meeting in Amman, following debate and voting by members on APTLD’s members’ list, agreed to proceed with the employment process. Advertisements will be posted by member ccTLDs in their national publications shortly, and it is hoped that an appointment will be made by Christmas.
World Summit on the Information Society: PrepCom-3
Keith Davidson (.nz), Chris Disspain (.au) and Theresa Swinehart (ICANN) formed a panel to discuss recent events at the WSIS PrepCom, held in Geneva in the second half of September. Members discussed the outcomes of the PrepCom, the ongoing debate between a range of possible positions, and reiterated the view of APTLD that fundamental changes are not appropriate to the way the domain name system is governed: APTLD generally continues to support the ICANN model as the most appropriate form of multi-stakeholder governance for DNS.
Fixed Venue for ccTLD manager Training
APTLD members discussed a proposal from AIT in Bangkok to offer ccTLD training. Members remain interested in offering training, and authorised the Secretariat to negotiate a package of one or two courses for 2006. Details will be finalised in time for ratification at the next APTLD meeting.
APTLD Business Plan 2006
Members discussed the first draft of a Business Plan for APTLD for 2006, including a draft Budget. The Plan sets out proposed work areas for 2006 and the strategic basis for these. After revision based on the comments at the meeting, members will debate the draft plan online and it is expected will adopt a budget by electronic vote in time for the start of the 2006 financial year.
Other Presentations
Presentations were received from Jim Reid on DNS security; Theresa Swinehart on /IANA issues; Hirofumi Hotta on Internationalised Domain Names; JPRS on DNS security best practice, and TWNIC on the development of the APTLD Tech forum.
This was the first APTLD meeting where remote participation was available in the form of an audio broadcast. The archive of this (along with all presentations) will be available on the APTLD website from Friday 18 November 2005; future meetings will also be broadcast where possible and appropriate.
Members also received reports on the Secretariat’s work since the previous meeting, a financial report, development of APTLD’s Technical Forum list and IDN Committee, updates from APTLD Committees and presentations on national events from prospective members the UAE, and APTLD members .nz, .tw, .jo and .jp.
APTLD sincerely thanks hosts NIC of Jordan and their director Dr Nusseir, and Mr. Charles Shaban, of TAGI.COM, for a well organised meeting in Amman, and the excellent hospitality provided. We were grateful for the expressions of continued support for APTLD from jo.nic, and for the opening address by the Jordanian Minister of ICT.
The next Members meeting of APTLD will be held in Wellington, New Zealand, in conjunction with ICANN meeting at the end of March 2006.
Signed by: APTLD Chairman: Peter Dengate Thrush
On behalf of the APTLD Board.