Dear ICANN Community Members: It is my pleasure to inform you that ICANN has signed a permanent “Affirmation Agreement” www.icann.org <http://www.icann.org> with the U.S. Department of Commerce that replaces the “Joint Partnership Agreement,” which expired on 30 September 2009. This permanent agreement between ICANN and the U.S. Government, which was approved by ICANN’s Board and signed by me, affirms our mutual commitment to ICANN’s bottom-up, consensus-driven model and oversight by the global Internet community. Details of the of Affirmation Agreement can be found on ICANN’s homepage, but I wanted to call your attention, in particular, to the important role ICANN’s Supporting Organisations and Advisory Committees have in ICANN’s future. Under the Agreement, SO and AC representatives and ICANN’s international stakeholders are recognized reviewers who can formally hold ICANN accountable. For example, from paragraph 9.2 of the Affirmation, with bold added for emphasis: /The review will be performed by volunteer community members and the review team will be constituted and published for public comment, and will include the following (or their designated nominees): the Chair of the GAC, the CEO of ICANN, *representatives of the relevant Advisory Committees and Supporting Organizations*, and independent experts. Composition of the review team will be agreed jointly by the Chair of the GAC (in consultation with GAC members) and the CEO of ICANN. / This is another step in an amazing trajectory of the Internet’s role in encouraging openness, innovation, commerce and freedom. I, along with ICANN’s Board and Staff, look forward to working with you to implement the Agreement. We appreciate your support in bringing ICANN to this important new step in its history. Warmly, Rod Beckstrom President and CEO ICANN /Addressing the Global Internet /