Attending Your First GAC Meeting

Meetings of the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) typically contain a number of forms of documentation that are published on this website. Prior to a meeting, GAC session briefings are circulated to the GAC. At meetings there are presentations and various types of papers distributed. At the end of every ICANN meeting a formal communiqué is issued by the GAC, commenting on the issues that have been discussed. Finally, minutes of sessions are released a few weeks after meetings (30 days).

Who can attend GAC meetings?

New GAC Members, and new representatives, are always welcome.

Anyone can attend a GAC meeting or follow the meeting online in real-time, or consult detailed meeting records after the meeting.

All GAC sessions are open to participants, including the Communiqué drafting session, which takes place towards the end of the meeting, on Wednesday afternoons and Thursday mornings, if additional time is needed. The Communiqué represents the formal negotiated outcome of the meeting, including the GAC's advice to the ICANN Board.

Timing

ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) meets three times per year, at the same time and in the same place as the ICANN meetings (https://meetings.icann.org). The ICANN meetings are usually convened either for four days(Policy Forum [Meeting 2] -Monday to Thursday) or over six days (Community Forum [Meeting 1] and Annual General Meeting [Meeting 3] – Saturday to Thursday).

GAC representatives are encouraged to attend relevant ICANN meeting sessions. The GAC schedule is usually developed in a manner to allow GAC attendees to attend relevant ICANN Community Sessions.

Costs

Registration and attendance is free but participants are expected to pay for their own travel, meals and accommodation.

Funding for travel support may be available to GAC Members and Observers. Thirty-five (35) supported travel slots for GAC Members; and five (5) supported travel slots for GAC Observers (including pre-approved organizations).

For more information related to GAC travel support terms and conditions, please visit the website page: https://gac.icann.org/meeting-services/travel-assistance. (contact gac-staff@icann.org for details).

Registration

GAC representatives should register online, via the ICANN Meetings website, as a 'Participant' to attend the relevant ICANN meeting. There is no need to register separately to attend the GAC meeting.

The ICANN Registration Booth is usually not open until the day prior to the start of the meeting.

Agenda

The agenda for each GAC meeting is made available on the GAC website (https://gac.icann.org) during the lead-up to each meeting. Drafts and the final agenda are also circulated via the GAC email list.

The ICANN Meeting Agendas on the GAC website provides preparation information for GAC participants. Log in is recommended for GAC participants to access dedicated material.

GAC participants will find material to help them prepare for an ICANN Meeting, such as:

• The ICANN Meeting GAC Schedule (one pager)
• The ICANN Meeting Public Schedule
• GAC ICANN Meeting Logistics Details (eeting overview, registration, remote participation, interpretation, etc)
• ICANN Meetings Participation Details Guide

Briefing and background papers are provided for most agenda items and are available in a zip or pdf file format for download, and published publicly under each session page after the meeting took place.

During the Meeting

The ICANN conference venue is always large and sometimes difficult to navigate. Signs and helpers will direct you to the GAC meeting room.

Seats at the GAC meeting are not reserved or allocated. Name plates will not be provided or used. Arrive early and take a seat at the rows of tables with microphones.

Please introduce yourself to the GAC Chair and to the GAC Support Staff – they will be pleased to meet a new representative and are there to help you.

English is the main language used during the meeting but live interpretation is also available for the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, English, Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese.

Headphones are available from an attendant at the back or side of the room. All GAC representatives are encouraged to speak up and contribute to the GAC's discussion of issues. If you wish to speak, raise your hand in the Zoom room until the Chair sees it and adds you to the speaking list. You may speak in English, or in one of the languages listed above. If you've already introduced yourself, the Chair's role in identifying speakers is made easier.

The GAC always seeks to reach agreement by consensus. That is, by the practice of adopting decisions by general agreement in the absence of any formal objection. Voting takes place very rarely,and usually only in relation to the election of the Chair and Vice-Chairs.

GAC sessions are generally open and anyone who is at the ICANN meeting who would like to sit in on the GAC meeting may do so.

Towards the end of each meeting, usually on the Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning (when necessary), the GAC produces a communiqué. This important document is the means by which the GAC formally provides advice to the ICANN Board.

Remote Participation

Online participation in each GAC Meeting is available via Zoom. Zoom is a tool which enables people to participate in the ICANN meetings remotely. It can be used from almost any mobile device or desktop computer. All participants are required to use Zoom to participate in meeting sessions and are required to utilize the "Raise Hand" feature to enter the queue to talk (this includes in-room attendees).

The online link to the Zoom "meeting room" is available in three places:

• The ICANN meeting schedule
• The Calendar Invitations shared by the GAC Support Staff, for each session (link available 24hrs prior to the meeting)

Online participants can enter the room by clicking on 'Join Meeting' Zoom link. Zoom is monitored during the GAC Meeting by the GAC Support Staff and ICANN's technical team.

To join a session's Zoom room, click on the link in the calendar invitation or visit the ICANN meeting's schedule and navigate to the session of your choice. In the description, you will find the Zoom link listed under Participation Links.

ICANN org has also published a quick guide on how to use Zoom, which is available here. Live language interpretation will be provided in multiple languages in select sessions.

ICANN has integrated remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI) into Zoom. More information on how to use this feature is available here.

For general information on remote participation tools (Zoom meeting rooms and interpretation application) please visit [https://meetings.icann.org/en/remote-participation]

If you have any questions or concerns about participating remotely, please don't hesitate to reach out at mts@icann.org or gac-staff@icann.org.

Questions

Please contact the GAC Support Team at gac-staff@icann.org.