APTLD Sponsorship Guidelines  

Purpose:-

The purposes of the APTLD Sponsorship Programme (the Programme) are to

• increase awareness of the benefits of being a member of the APTLD, and so encourage ccTLDs to join APTLD
• contribute to the adoption of best practice in DNS matters among ccTLDs in the Asia Pacific region.

Assistance:-

The Programme will provide a financial contribution to the costs of air fares and accommodation. This contribution may cover all or part of such expenses.

Limit of Funding:-

At the beginning of each year the APTLD Board (the Board) will set a budget for the Programme for that year. The amount spent on each sponsorship will vary depending on the individual requirements of applicants as approved by the Board.

One ccTLD may apply for assistance for the expense of one (1) person each time. The maximum number of grants one ccTLD may be offered is two (2): a grant for one person when the ccTLD is a non-member and a grant for one person when it is a member.

The above limitation applies to all sponsorship grants made after 1 September 2006.

Applicants:-

An application will only be considered if it is received from a person or organisation that is listed as the 'sponsoring organisation' for the ccTLD in the IANA database.

Recommendations (or suggestions of sponsoring recipients may be made by APTLD members in which case the Secretariat will contact the ccTLD concerned and request that they lodge an application.

Applications:-

Applications can be made at any time, but need to be lodged with the Secretariat no later than 8 weeks prior to the APTLD meeting that the applicant wishes to attend. Applications received closer to a meeting will only be considered under exceptional circumstances.

Applications must be on the form provided on the APTLD web site and sent by fax or email attachment to the Secretariat.

All applications will be considered by the Membership Committee whose recommendations will be submitted to the Board and approved by the Board within 2 weeks of receipt, and applicants will be notified of the result by the Secretariat as soon as possible thereafter.

Payment:-

Payment of air fares (or the agreed contribution) will be made directly to the airline or travel agent with whom the booking has been made OR may be made to the applicant provided that the applicant has provided evidence (acceptable to the Membership Committee) that it has paid for the air fare.

Payment of accommodation expenses (or the agreed contribution) will be made directly to the hotel whenever possible.

In usual practice, the Secretariat will reimburse after the meeting.  However, if the Board decides, payment may be done in advance in some cases.  If payment is made before the meeting but the applicant does not show up at the meeting, the applicant must pay all the money back to the Secretariat.

ICANN Meetings:-

Although it is not the purpose of the Programme to fund attendance at ICANN meetings, where an ICANN meeting takes place in the APTLD region and there is an APTLD members meeting set for the same time and location, the Board may consider extending the assistance to cover the accommodation expenses of staying for the ICANN meeting.