Dear SIG Members, Please note that a proposal to change the APNIC SIG Guidelines<https://www.apnic.net/community/participate/sigs/sig-guidelines/> will be discussed at APNIC 60 in Da Nang, VietNam on 10 September 2026.
The proposal will be presented to the Joint SIGs meeting<https://conference.apnic.net/60/program/program/index.html#/day/7/> for community input and support. If agreed, the new document will be circulated for an Editorial Draft comment period following APNIC 60. Please find the proposal text below. We encourage you to express your views regarding the proposed changes on the mailing list and/or at the Joint SIGs meeting. Kind regards, Sunny APNIC Secretariat --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 2 - Changes to Nomination Criteria for SIG Chair/Co-Chair Positions --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Proposers: Christopher Hawker ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>) Karl Kloppenborg ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>) Bertrand Cherrier ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>) 1. Problem statement -------------------- Over the last few meetings, elections for the Special Interest Group Chair and Co-Chair positions have had nominations for people who either have not participated in the SIGs or who may have had very little participation. Further, the current guidelines do not determine the maximum timeframe in which the chairs may serve in their positions. This prevents a fair and equitable opportunity for those who wish to participate and nominate for a seat. 2. Objective of policy change ----------------------------- There are two main objectives of this policy change: (1) Prevent those who have not participated in the SIG area they are nominated for from being elected to a position, or do not have a demonstrable skillset from nominating for any available chair or co-chair position. (2) To provide equitable opportunities for individuals to be elected to chair positions and to prevent the same company or corporate group from holding more than two positions across the SIGs and NRO NC combined. 3. Situation in other regions ----------------------------- Below are links to the election processes for similar roles across the other RIR regions. Each RIR has their own methods and processes for electing or nominating individuals and community representatives. AFRINIC: https://afrinic.net/policy/development-working-group/ ARIN: https://www.arin.net/participate/oversight/elections/processes/ LACNIC: https://www.lacnic.net/736/2/lacnic/process-and-requerimentos-for-the-elections-of-the-public-policy-forum/ RIPE NCC: https://www.ripe.net/publications/docs/ripe-692/ 4. Proposed policy solution --------------------------- Rewrite section 3.4.1 Nominations of "APNIC-128: SIG Guidelines" per the below: 1) Nominations are managed by the APNIC Secretariat. 2) Nominees must reside within the Asia Pacific service region. Staff members of any Regional Internet Registry (RIR) are ineligible for nomination. 3) Nominees must not have served three or more consecutive terms of two years each term immediately prior to the current election. 4) Nominees must have attended past 8 prior APNIC or APRICOT conferences, either in-person or online. 4) Not more than two individuals who have an association with any organization within a Corporate Group may hold any number of SIG chair/co-chair or NRO NC positions. If an individual from a Corporate Group holds a position on the Executive Council, then no more than one person may be elected to a SIG chair/co-chair or NRO NC position. This condition does not apply to individuals who only have an association with an Exempt Organization. 5) If a member from a Corporate Group is elected to a seat on the Executive Council and there are already two individuals from the same Corporate Group in seats across the SIGs and/or NRO NC, one of the two individuals must resign from their position. 5.1) If one of the two individuals does not resign from their position, then the Executive Council by way of a resolution, must remove one of the two individuals from their position. The individual to be removed should be the individual who has served in their position the longest amount of time, unless this would leave the SIG without an individual to chair the SIG in which case the other person shall be removed. 6) For the purpose of 3.4.1(4-5): 6.1) "has an association with" means being a director or significant shareholder of, or being employed by, or having a consulting relationship with, or receiving material compensation from, such organisation. 6.2) "Corporate Group" means an organization (whether incorporated or not), together with all other bodies corporate with the same ultimate beneficial owner, and all their related bodies corporate. 6.3) "Exempt Organisation" means an organisation or community body registered in its respective economy that operates on a not-for-profit basis, and either: 6.3.1) performs a role of Internet coordination, operations, or governance, the name of which is specified by the Executive Council and published by APNIC on its website from time to time; or 6.3.2) performs a function that is wholly unrelated to APNIC’s activities (e.g. sporting clubs or academic clubs, etc.). 7) Individuals cannot hold more than one elected position (EC, SIG, or NRO NC). Those who are elected to a new position must resign from any other currently held EC, SIG or NRO NC position as soon as practicable but no later than 30 days following the election. 8) Self-nominations are permitted. 9) Nominees must meet the same eligibility criteria as the voters in Section 3.4.3 10) Nominees will be invited to provide a recorded video "candidate statement" to be published on the conference website. 11) If a Chair seat in a SIG is up for nomination, this position must be filled from a co-chair position. 11.1) If there are two co-chairs, the two co-chairs shall decide among themselves with the outgoing Chair who will fill the Chair role. 11.2) Should they come to an impasse as to which co-chair will fill the seat, a two-party election will be held for community members to decide which co-chair will move into the Chair position. 11.3) If there is only one co-chair, the Chair position shall be offered to the co-chair. 11.4) A normal election will be held to fill the vacant co-chair position. 11.5) If neither of the co-chairs or the sole co-chair are unwilling or unable to fill the chair position, an election will be held to fill the vacant Chair position. 5. Advantages / Disadvantages ----------------------------- Advantages: This provides a fair and equitable opportunity for individuals to be elected into seats in any SIG or on the NRO NC, as well as ensuring those who are up for nomination have the capacity and understanding of the role and have actively engaged in the community, thus preventing those who have had very little or no prior involvement from being elected into seats as well as ensuring an even rotation of seats. Disadvantages: None known. 6. Impact on resource holders ----------------------------- None. 7. References ------------- APNIC-087 By-laws of APNIC: https://www.apnic.net/about-apnic/corporate-documents/documents/corporate/by-laws/ APNIC-128 SIG Guidelines: https://www.apnic.net/community/participate/sigs/sig-guidelines/
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