Dear All, We would like to welcome you to the Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability). Now that the charter has been adopted by a number of organizations, namely the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC), Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO), Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), we thought it would be timely to commence the planning for the activities of the CCWG-Accountability. Meetings The first meeting of the CCWG- Accountability has been scheduled for Tuesday 9 December at 20:00 UTC (call details will be circulated shortly). Following that regular online meetings are expected to alternate between 11:00 and 14:00 UTC to allow for maximum participation taking into account the different time zones. Participation In addition to members appointed by the chartering organizations, there are currently 100 individuals subscribed to this mailing list who are participating in this effort as individual participants. Participants are expected to actively contribute in mailing list conversations as well as meetings. It is anticipated that participants will provide essential input to the process. They will participate similar to ICANN chartering organization appointed members. Statements of Interest (SOI) If you have not done so yet, you will be invited to submit a Statement of Interest (SOI) following the online procedures outlined here (https://community.icann.org/x/c4Lg <https://community.icann.org/x/c4Lg>) or alternatively provide a statement which at a minimum should include your name, whether you are representing a certain organization or company as part your participation in this effort, areas of specific interest in relation to this effort, material relationship with other parties affected by ICANN and primary country of residence. Please contact Grace Abuhamad (accountability-staff@icann.org <mailto:accountability-staff@icann.org>) if you have any questions concerning your SOI. Mailing List Observers Note that in addition to chartering organization appointed members and individual participants, there will also be the possibility for those interested to sign up to this effort as a mailing list observer. Contrary to members and participants, who are expected to actively participate in mailing list conversations as well as meetings, mailing list observers will have read-only access to the mailing list and will be able to post, do not receive the invites for the various meetings and calls of the CCWG (note that audio streaming will be provided for those interested to follow the CCWG meetings) and do not have to complete a statement of interest. At any point in time, a mailing list observer can join the CCWG as a participant should he or she want to by informing ICANN staff. As several of you were added to this mailing list as a result of your earlier interest in the Cross Community Group, should you wish to change your status to a mailing list observer or wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, please contact Grace Abuhamad (accountability-staff@icann.org <mailto:accountability-staff@icann.org>). Preparation for the first meeting In order to prepare for the first meeting of the CCWG- Accountability, you are strongly encouraged to review the CCWG charter <http://gnso.icann.org/en/drafts/enhancing-accountability-charter-03nov14-en....> ahead of the meeting. Note that per our charter one of our first objectives will be to develop a work plan and define the contents of Work Streams 1 and 2 (WS1/WS2). You are encouraged to share any ideas or suggestions you may have to facilitate these tasks with the mailing list. I look forward to working with you. Kind regards, Thomas Rickert (CCWG Co-Chair GNSO)