From: Union of International Associations (UIA)
To: Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN)16th July 2002
Dear ICANN Board members and CEO,
Thank
you for the opportunity to present the UIA / Diversitas bid on .org to the Board
and broader ICANN community during your meeting in Bucharest.
We believe that our
proposal represents the best "front end" (offering the most knowledge and understanding
of the global civil society) and the best "back end" through a transitional subcontracting
relationship with VeriSign Global Registry Services (offering Internet users the
highest operational stability and best technical solution for transition of the .org
operator).
Our one-pager summarizing the main benefits of our bid can be found
at http://www.diversitas.org/diversitas.org/arguments2b.php. In addition, we
have encapsulated how the Diversitas proposal responds directly to the ICANN selection
criteria and how it benefits the various Internet stakeholders at http://www.diversitas.org/diversitas.org/criteria_response.php
A few points we want to emphasize:
1. Unique qualifications and standing of
UIA
Through our explicit statutory commitment as a non-profit over the past century
we have demonstrated deep understanding of, and appreciation for, the rich diversity
of the non-commercial organization sector. Our financially self-sustaining
registry activity has been mandated at the highest international level (UN/ECOSOC
Resolution 334B XI, 20 July 1950). This authorized role results in consultative
relationships with many specialized UN agencies, which also have network subscriptions
to the registry.
2. Technical competence and differentiation of .org
We maintain
databases on international civil society exceeding 1.5 million registry objects (entities
and links). We maintain "very thick" data profiles (each up to 64K) on around
40,000 international organizations, 10,080 of which have .org domains. This
is over 10 percent of the .org domains that are currently in active use (*).
We are convinced, therefore, that we already know .org better than anyone and are
the best positioned to make the .org domain more distinctive and valuable to the
civil society.
3. Level of support
We have received a broad range of very specific
letters exemplifying support for our bid from organization partners ranging from
the International Development Research Centre (a Crown Corporation owned by the Government
of Canada "with a mandate to help the developing regions of the world promote their
economic and social development through research") to data partners such as the London
School of Economics' Centre for Civil Society and UNEP's data managers (WCMC and
GRID Arendal). However, we also believe that the pattern of implicit support
for our activities through our regular communications with thousands of non-profits
globally is an even more telling indicator of how we are viewed as a respected "honest
broker" of information for these entities. Unique amongst the bidders, our
journal Transnational Associations has for 50 years provided a forum for civil society
perspectives.
As a contribution to future bids of this kind, we are sure that
the ICANN Board is sensitive to ensuring the public perception of a fair and transparent
process by disclosing both the weighting assigned to the selection criteria and its
views on the strengths and weaknesses of the various bids.
We look forward
to answering any questions you might have, and working together to better serve the
rich diversity of the non-commercial community, both current users of the internet
and the even larger number of future users.
Yours sincerely
Anthony Judge
Assistant
Secretary-General and Director of Communications and Research
Union of International
Associations (UIA) / Diversitas
* According to research reported at http://www.diversitas.org/diversitas.org/the_org_domain.pdf,
http://www.diversitas.org/diversitas.org/uia_website_domains.php and http://www.diversitas.org/diversitas.org/tld_domain_assignments.php