[npoc-voice] ICANN CEO Announces Expanded Partnerships

[Eduardo Monge <eduardo.monge@xxxxxxxxx>]

For your information


Asunto: [Soac-infoalert] ICANN CEO Announces Expanded Partnerships

9 November 2012
For Immediate Release

ICANN CEO Announces Expanded Partnership Initiatives at Close of Internet 
Governance Forum

Baku, Azerbaijan...  ICANN Chief Executive Officer Fadi Chehadé has announced a 
series of working partnerships that have sprung out of this week's Internet 
Governance Forum (IGF) in Azerbaijan.

"During the past week here in Baku, I have been fortunate enough to have some 
extremely productive meetings with some important organizations and groups in 
the Internet ecosystem," said Chehadé. "These meetings are already helping us 
progress toward the organizational goals I published earlier in the week."

"The launch of our new generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) program will 
dramatically increase the need for ICANN to work with businesses all over the 
world," added Chehadé. "To serve them, we need to expand our outreach, so we 
have agreed to set up engagement frameworks with both the International Chamber 
of Commerce (ICC) and the European Telecommunications Network Operators' 
Association (ETNO). Our hope is that by utilizing their existing networks we 
can engage in a constructive dialogue."

"We're keen to ensure that our members, who are primarily Telcos, have more 
opportunities to engage in high levels discussions around the future of the 
internet," said Luigi Gambardella, Chair of ETNO's Executive Board. "We're 
hoping a closer collaboration with ICANN will help us do precisely that."

"ICANN needs to broaden and deepen its dialogue with businesses around the 
world and our members have much to contribute to the debate around the future 
needs of business on the internet," said ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy 
Carrier. "I appreciate Fadi's openness and readiness to strengthen our already 
good relationship".

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 
also voiced support for the expanded ICANN effort. "As use of the Internet 
continues to expand, we are ready to support ICANN with their capacity building 
plan," said Janis Karklins, Assistant Director-General for Communication and 
Information. "We have agreed to appoint liaisons to work on the precise 
activities moving forward".

Chehadé said he was delighted with the energetic support from partners during 
the IGF meeting and thanked them for their openness and willingness to work 
together.  "I am confident that creating the mechanism for detailed on-going 
engagement will do much to help ICANN achieve its goals for the entire 
community," said Chehadé. "I hope to create similar activities with many other 
partners - those already involved in ICANN and those with whom we need to build 
relationships for the first time."

Also during the IGF in Baku, the ICANN Board of Directors convened a special 
meeting to discuss a report by the WHOIS Review team.  WHOIS is a listing of 
web site registrants and their contact information.

The Board said it would report its course of action on WHOIS by 19 November.

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To view a short video with CEO Fadi Chehadé at the IGF in Baku, go here: 
http://www.icann.org/en/news/press/kits/video-chehade-igf-06nov12-en.htm.

To read Fadi Chehade's 5 November 2012 letter on organizational priorities, go 
here: 
http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/chehade-to-icann-community-05nov12-en.pdf