Hello Rafik and all,

Apologies about the late reply to this thread. Rafik is right about nothing better than becoming involved in Policy Development Process Working Groups (PDP WGs). It is far more effective to influence policy at ICANN by being involved in WG policy recommendations as opposed to sending in comments during public comment periods after the work has been done.

This PDP WG should be interesting (as Rafik pointed out) to members of the NCSG at-large, but more so to those who come from countries where Latin script is not used in the local languages. It is the result of a status report following a recommendation made by the IRD (Internationalized Registration Data) WG in May of last year. The main questions this WG will be tasked to answer are wether or not it would be desirable to have a policy requiring the translation and transliteration of contact information to a common language and common script, and who should decide who will bear the costs involved if this policy recommendation is found to be desirable.

Other questions posed to this WG include weighing the costs versus benefits of this policy, wether or not it should be mandatory across all gTLDs and registrants, the impact on WHOIS validation required by the 2013 RAA and finally, when the WG believes it would be best for this policy (if deemed desirable) to take effect.

The questions this PDP poses are not necessarily difficult to answer (at least not all of them), but I predict they will involve a lot of work. A great deal of information will be required to be taken in to account including input from different ACs/SOs, the IRD WG’s final report, any findings of the current Registration Data Services EWG as well as a newly formed EWG on Internationalized Domain Name Registration Data announced at the BA meeting.

Several members of the NCSG were involved in drafting the charter of this PDP WG including Chris Dillon and Rudi Vansnick, who co-chaired it. I plan on joining the WG and hope they will too. I hope many more will consider it as well. Please sign up for the webinar to learn more about this PDP, and post as many questions that any of you feel need answering to this list. I don’t claim any expertise, but will do what I can to answer any questions asked.

Thanks.

Amr

On Nov 28, 2013, at 4:25 PM, Rafik Dammak <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hello everyone,
> 
> there is nothing better to be involved ,participate and representing NCSG than joining Working groups, in particular when they match your interests. We have below a call for Translation and Transliteration PDP Working group (PDP stand for Policy Development Process). It is topic which may interest those who speak a language not using latin script. 
> when joining a working group, you can count on the help and advice of other NCSG members there. Officers, councillors and experienced members will be glad to help you.
> 
> For this WG, I think that Amr our GNSO councillor can give briefing about its purpose. Also as indicated below, there will be webinar to give more details.
> for those interested, please follow the instructions e.g. contact  [log in to unmask]  and just inform me of your willing to be involved there.
> 
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> Rafik
> 
> Call for Volunteers GNSO Policy Translation and Transliteration PDP Working Group
> 
>  
> 
> In Brief
> 
> The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Council is seeking volunteers to serve on the PDP Working Group (WG) on Translation and Transliteration of Contact Information.
> 
>  
> 
> This WG is expected to make recommendations to the GNSO Council on whether it is desirable to translate or transliterate contact information. In this context, translation is the process of conveying the meaning of text from on language into another; transliteration is the process of representing the characters of one alphabetical or syllabic system of writing by the characters of another, conversion alphabet.
> 
>  
> 
> Introductory Webinar
> 
> To provide potential volunteers with an idea of the PDP Process including Working Group procedures and also some background information on the WG’s substantive issues, an Introductory Webinar will be held at the following times:
> 
>  
> 
> Tuesday 10 December 2013, 12.00-13.00UTC – local times: http://tinyurl.com/m2suev5
> 
> Wednesday 11 December 2013, 18.00-19.00UTC – local times http://tinyurl.com/kyk5lej
> 
>  
> 
> To join the webinar please RVSP to [log in to unmask]
> 
>  
> 
> First meeting
> 
> If you are interested in joining the Working Group, please contact [log in to unmask] The first meeting of the Working Group is currently foreseen to take place in the week of 16 December – a doodle poll will be send out the week prior to determine a convenient meeting time.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Background
> 
>  
> 
> •        Following the Recommendations of the Final Report of the Internationalized Registration Data Working Group, a Final Issue Report on Translation and Transliteration of Contact Information was submitted to the GNSO Council on 21 March 2013
> 
> •        GNSO Council’s initiated a Policy Development Process (PDP) on the translation and transliteration of contact information on 13 June 2013; Drafting Team was formed and Charter submitted to GNSO Council and approved on 20 November 2013.
> 
>  
> 
> •        As part of its deliberations on this issue, Charter stipulates several questions for the PDP WG to consider, including (but not limited to):
> 
> -          Whether it is desirable to translate contact information to a single common language or transliterate contact information to a single common script.
> 
> -          Who should decide who should bear the burden translating contact information to a single common language or transliterating contact information to a single common script.
> 
>  
> 
> For more detailed, consult the WG’s Charter and the GNSO Policy Development Process 
>  
> 
> •        Note GNSO Council also requested ICANN to commission a study on the commercial feasibility of translation or transliteration systems for internationalized contact data, which is expected to be completed in time to help inform the PDP Working Group in its deliberations. 
> 
>  
> 
> Relevant Documents
> 
>  
> 
> •        Charter Translation and Transliteration of Contact Information PDP Working Group (WG) Charter - http://gnso.icann.org/en/drafts/transliteration-contact-charter-06nov13-en.pdf
> 
> •                    Final Issue Report on Translation and Transliteration of Contact Information (http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/gtlds/transliteration-contact-final-21mar13-en.pdf). 
> 
> •                    Final Report of the Internationalized Registration Data Working Group (http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/ird/final-report-ird-wg-07may12-en.pdf)
> 
> •                    GNSO Working Group Guidelines, including charter guidelines (http://gnso.icann.org/council/annex-1-gnso-wg-guidelines-08apr11-en.pdf)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>