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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">On behalf of Telecommunities Canada,
I
attended the General Assembly of the North American Regional At
Large
Organization (NARALO) held in New Orleans April 2-5. TC is one
of 29
At Large Structures (ALSs) in NARALO. RALOs serve as
coordination
points for public input into policy and procedures at the
Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and a focal
point
for ICANN outreach activities. For more info on how this works
please
see: <a
href="https://atlarge.icann.org/about/roles-and-responsibilities-of-ralos">https://atlarge.icann.org/about/roles-and-responsibilities-of-ralos</a>.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Canadian ALSs comprised almost half
of
the approx. 25 attendees. Canadian community networking
representatives included Monique Chartrand from Communautique,
Shelley Robinson from National Capital Freenet, Dana Perry from
N.S.
Western Valley CAP sites, and Alan Skuce from Pacific Commuity
Networking Association.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">At this meeting, the new ICANN CEO
Göran Marby addressed the group, thanking them for participating
in
NARALO. He emphasized the importance of end user input to
ICANN"s
future development. In workshop sessions, participants
contributed
perspectives on current and emerging Internet issues. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">As part of this event, ALS
representatives also participated in the policy meeting of ARIN,
the
American Registry for Internet Numbers, the organization which
manages the distribution of IP address space. Canadian
participants
were instrumental in persuading the meeting to reconsider
dropping a
policy which granted special status to community networks. <br>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Marita<br>
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