Re: [npoc-voice] nomination to Chair

[Olivier Kouami <olivierkouami@xxxxxxxxx>]

Great !



2013/6/16 <mlemineur@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

>
> Dear NPOC colleagues,
>
> I wish to take this opportunity to thank Klaus for nominating me as a
> candidate to the position of Chair of NPOC as well as the colleagues who
> have seconded this nomination.
>
> This is with great pleasure that I accept to be candidate to the position
> of Chair. The founders of NPOC and Alain in its role as Chair, have worked
> hard to consolidate this new constituency within ICANN. I am very grateful
> to them while I recognize and respect their legacy.  It is clear now that
> as a community, we have to keep on building on these foundations as we
> enter a new phase. They are strong and clear signs from the ICANN
> management team and its leadership that they wish to share views with us
> as representatives of civil society, on issues of concern to us related to
> DNS policies. While this has not always been the case, as those who are
> familiar with the history of ICANN know, we should be aware that this
> constitutes an historical opportunity for NPOC - and for our other
> colleagues from NCSG- that should not be missed.
>
> Earlier this year, NPOC´s Executive Committee has already defined and
> approved an outreach strategy which includes fundraising goals and a
> clearly prioritized regional emphasis on Africa.  My views are that after
> the elections, we should conduct an immediate mid-term review to
> reevaluate where we stand so far with the goals and deliverables that had
> been set up. And we readjust them if pertinent.   As a result of this
> strategy being implemented, we should bear in mind that they are ongoing
> processes and projects such is the case of the I-Inform Alliance and the
> commitment with the Public Interest Registry dotORG, one of our sponsors,
> to co-participate/co-organize  a pre-ICANN working session on the role of
> civil society in the DNS business model in Latin America during the
> upcoming ICANN meeting in Buenos Aires.
>
> Taking into account our outreach plan, based on what I have observed so
> far as Chair of the Program Committee and from the work performed at the
> side of Alain,  below I detail a summary of specific aspects that in my
> views need to addressed if we want to enhance NPOC ´s mission.  If I have
> the honor to be elected, I would like to propose it as a kind of a
> roadmap.
>
> Administrative matters and NPOC ExCom-related issues:
>
> It has become obvious to many of us that our Charter needs to be revisited
> and several amendments adopted so that it is better adapted to our current
> workload and work dynamic. Additionally, I also sense that we need to
> reflect as a group on what truly differentiates us from our sister
> constituency, the NCUC, in terms of mandate, mission, and vision.  We have
> also commented on several occasions, that there is an urgent need to
> recruit additional members to join our ExCom and thus fill in the vacant
> positions.
>
> To continue doing fundraising so that we achieve better visibility and
> have the means to implement a wider range of outreach activities is
> important. Being able to perform outreach work to the non-Icann world to
> promote our community´s mission and broader Internet issues is also part
> of our responsibility. We already have had representatives participating
> to the IGF 2012, a regional ICANN meeting in Africa, and we need to
> continue doing so.
>
> Outreach is also a way of recruiting new NPOC members. And having new
> member joining in has been a long-standing priority under the leadership
> of Alain and we should keep it this way. Some issues related to the NCSG
> administrative process that all aspiring members have to go through, have
> already been resolved while others are still problematic and need to be
> overcome.  This should be addressed as a matter of urgency since
> strengthening our community will not be possible without having new
> members hopefully with a more balanced geographical representation.  We
> still have regions that are under-represented such is the case of North
> Africa, Latin America and Asia.
>
> ICANN processes:
>
> As a community, one of our tasks is to keep on monitoring decision-making
> processes within ICANN and make sure that the bottom-up multi-stakeholder
> model,  is not being challenged. The statement of Chuck Gomes on behalf of
> Verisign during the negotiation process of the new gTLD Registry Agreement
> between ICANN and the registries representatives as well as the GAC
> Beijing communiqué and its safeguards advices applicable to broad
> categories of new gTLDs strings, perceived by some as being too broad,
> illustrate how this can happen easily.
>
> Generally speaking, we also should have a more active role in the policy
> development processes.  This should be done through contributing to
> initiatives led by our colleagues from NCUC and NCSG through expressing
> our support or adding our inputs to their statements as we have done so
> far.  Nevertheless,  I have come to the conclusion, it is time that we
> demonstrate  we have the capacity as a community to take much more
> proactive stands on issues of our concern and not only react to other
> constituencies´ initiatives.
>
> Fulfilling better our mission is also linked to having a more active
> participation and representation within ICANN working groups and other
> existing structures. For example, even if it is a slow process, with the
> support of our colleagues from NCSG, we need to continue lobbying in order
> to eventually obtain an NPOC seat on the NomCom.
>
> The Accountability and Transparency Review Team 2 is currently collecting
> information from all constituencies as a result of a contractual
> obligation set up in the Affirmation of Commitments signed between ICANN
> and the United States Department of Commerce.  As representatives of civil
> society, having the opportunity to contribute to an initiative that
> monitors how transparent and accountable are ICANN operations should be
> perceived as important. We should be able to provide valuable inputs when
> we meet with their representatives in Durban as scheduled.
>
> Not to forget cross-constituency collaboration which is vital. While we
> were in Beijing, we had the opportunity to share a few moments with the
> GAC representative of the European Commission. At the time, he expressed
> his interest in getting closer to ICANN constituencies representing the
> views of civil society like ours.
>
> DNS policies-related issues:
>
> Within the GNSO and ICANN as a whole, there are many relevant issues that
> have been subjects to lengthy debates some for years now. Such is the case
> of the Whois database  and how it is operated. Currently, there are many
> on-going processes that will eventually reshape the contractual
> obligations of the registries and registrars regarding this database as
> well as how it will be operated technically. Some of the new reforms imply
> data transfer of massive amount of personally identifiable information of
> the registrants from one jurisdiction to another where data protection and
> privacy laws are not so strong.  With regards to the new gTLDs program,
> application for new generic domain names such as  dotAMAZON (and IDNs),
> dotPATAGONIA  have triggered passionate debates since having these
> approved by ICANN, could  have an impact on some communities as well as
> legal and commercial ramifications not so fortunate according to some.  I
> believe that these are good examples, together with many others, the
> special protection for the IGOs being another one, where our views,
> experience,  sensitivity and the value-system we defend as civil society
> representatives could add a true value to the debates and the decisions to
> be taken within ICANN.
>
> Once again, I wish to assure you all of my sincere commitment to NPOC´s
> mission.
>
> Very best regards,
>
> Marie-laure Lemineur
>
>
>


-- 
Olévié (Olivier) A. A. KOUAMI
Consultant et Formateur, Spécialiste en TIC
Directeur Exécutif de INTIC4DEV (http://www.intic4dev.org et
http://www.intic4dev.com)
Secrétaire Général de ESTETIC  (http://www.estetic.tg)
Program Committee Co-Vice Chair ICANN-NPOC EC (http://www.npoc.org/)
Boîte Postale 851
Tél.: (228) 23 20 65 01 Mob1.: (228) 90 98 86 50 Mob2.: (228) 97 18 36 09
Skype : olevie1 Facebook : @olivier.kouami.3 Twitter : #oleviek
Lomé – Togo