Membership/Sponsorship Committee Report

November 7, 2006

The Membership/Sponsorship Committee has left most of the recruitment activities to the new General Manager who reports similar challenges of engagement that the Committee had in the past.

New Members

.ws (Samoa), .fj (Fiji) and .sb (Solomon Islands) have applied and been approved for membership.

Membership interest has been expressed by .tl (Timor Leste) & .ki (Kiribati) & .nr (Nauru).

These ccTLD’s are all based in the Pacific and have all recently committed to put renewed focus on their ccTLD, the services provided and the growth of registrations. They are looking to leverage the experience of existing APTLD members.

Sponsorship Guidelines

The sponsorship guidelines have been revised since the last meeting. The procedure for application was clarified based on the experience gained so far. Also, the section "Limit of Funding" is more clearly defined in order to make the programme function, with a limited budget, as an incentive for potential members to join APTLD.

Sponsorships were awarded to .sb & .tl since the last meeting.

Recruitment

The information card has been revised and printed and will be distributed to all known potential members. Existing members will receive copies as well so that they can distribute them to potential members they encounter. Detailed schedule will be informed by the GM.

According to the GM, the recruitment process is, as previous experience has shown, challenging. E-mails and phone calls are either bounced or unanswered.

The most effective way of engaging with potential members is through a network. At the end of the Bangkok meeting we’ll have a very good story to tell to potential members. What we now need is for existing members to provide an introduction for the GM to non-members that you know. He’ll then make the engagement.

Proposal – Closure of the Membership/Sponsorship Committee

As the GM is now fully in place, it is about time APTLD Membership/Sponsorship Committee closes itself and transfers its role to the GM. The Committee completed its job which had been assigned in 2003 to complement the function of the then-nonexistent GM. This closure will improve efficiency of the membership recruitment as well as processing of the applications.

Revised membership functions and responsibilities: