Dear ICANN Board Member:CanadaHelps has reviewed in
detail the proposal to operate the .org registry submitted by the DotOrg Foundation
and unequivocally endorses it. It is our view that the DotOrg Foundation proposes
a progressive, multilateral approach to the management of the .org registry which
accounts for the necessity of maintaining a commercial-free zone on the Internet
and can reasonably fulfill this vision. There has been resounding support for
such an initiative in the Canadian third sector as a whole, and we are pleased to
recommend the DotOrg Foundation as its agent of implementation.
In order to accomplish
the goal of creating an ameliorated domain for non-commercial entities on the Internet,
The DotOrg Foundation has posited the following objectives:
* To support and foster
the participation of the non-commercial sector on the Internet, particularly by facilitating
the acquisition of .org top level domain names.
* To implement validation systems
to enhance the level of confidence of Internet users when visiting a .org, nonprofit,
or non-commercial website.
* To create a DotOrg Directory that will contain information
about .org non-commercial registrants beyond the information currently collected
by the Whois system and to provide a mechanism for that information to be safely
distributed to other organizations that are supporting noncommercial activities.
*
To increase the use of .org URL's by non-commercial organizations, particularly those
in developing countries and under-served communities.
* To enhance the global
dialogue among the non-commercial community and to support their understanding of,
and meaningful participation in the domain name system and ICANN.
* To create
a governance structure with both a board of directors and advisory council that includes
large representation of nonprofit organizations and other elements of the non-commercial
sector.
CanadaHelps is a non-profit organization designed to facilitate the transfer
of technology to Canada's over 78,000 charities. Since the organization's inception,
we have gained the reputation as a thought leader for this country's third sector,
and have been consulted about the role of technology, both present and future, in
the sector by groups ranging from small charities to the Federal Government.
We believe that reform to the .org registry is a positive change, and that the DotOrg
Foundation is best-positioned to effect such change.
Sincerely,
Ryan Little
President
& Co-Founder, CanadaHelps