Call for Volunteers as Member of the Cross-Community Working Group Enhancing ICANN Accountability The ccNSO seeks two (2), new members for the CCWG-Accountability. As chartering organization, the ccNSO has been asked to appoint up to five (5) members of the CCWG. As two of the five members have stepped down, the ccNSO is seeking two new volunteers who want to serve as members on the CCWG- Accountability. As usual membership of the CCWG is open to all ccTLDs, both ccNSO members and non-ccNSO members. The CCWG-Accountability will now be focusing on addressing accountability topics for which a timeline for developing solutions and full implementation extend beyond the anticipated IANA Stewardship Transition (Work stream 2). Topics to be discussed include, but are not limited to, accountability of the supporting organizations and advisory committees, Human Rights, Jurisdiction, and Ombudsman (see: https://community.icann.org/display/WEIA/WS2+Topics ) If you are interested, you are requested to provide the ccNSO (ccNSOsecretariat@icann.org<mailto:ccNSOsecretariat@icann.org> ) with the following: · a recent curriculum vitae summarizing background and experience, including that in ccTLD operations, and · a statement of what the candidate sees as being the main objectives that ccTLD operators should be seeking in an IANA transition proposal. Closing date of this call for volunteers is Friday 29 July 2016, 17.00 UTC. The ccNSO Council will appoint the members to the CCWG as soon as possible after closure of this call for volunteers. ccTLD Participation in the Cross-Community Working Group In accordance with the adopted charter of the CCWG Accountability, the ccNSO (as well as each of the other chartering organizations) shall appoint a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 members to the working group. As two of the five members have stepped down, the ccNSO is seeking two new volunteers who want to serve as members on the CCWG- Accountability. As usual membership of the CCWG is open to all ccTLDs, both ccNSO members and non-ccNSO members. In addition, the CCWG will be open to any interested person as a Participants, who may be from the ccNSO, from a stakeholder group not represented in the CCWG, or may be self-appointed. Participants will be able to actively participate in and attend all CCWG meetings. However, any consensus calls or decisions that need to be made will be limited to CCWG members appointed by the ccNSO and the other chartering organizations, and members are expected to inform their stakeholder group regularly on progress made and seek engagement in the process. Additional Call for Volunteers The ccNSO Council is now calling on volunteers from ccTLD managers (independent of ccNSO membership), who might wish to serve as one of the two (2) new ccTLD members on the CCWG Accountability. Candidates are expected to have: · A thorough understanding and interest in accountability issues, in particular as they relate to ICANN and from a ccTLD manager’s perspective, · Commit to actively participate in the activities of the CCWG on an ongoing and long-term basis; and · Where appropriate, solicit and communicate the views and concerns of individuals from the ccTLD community. · Effective communication skills in order to represent ccTLD interests on the CCWG and to keep the ccNSO and broader ccTLD community abreast of the state of play in the cross-community group. If you are interested in this role, you are requested to provide the ccNSO (ccNSOsecretariat@icann.org<mailto:ccNSOsecretariat@icann.org> ) with the following: · a recent curriculum vitae summarizing background and experience, including that in ccTLD operations, and · a statement of what the candidate sees as being the main objectives that ccTLD operators should be seeking in an IANA transition proposal. Closing date of the call for volunteers is Friday 29 July 2016, 17.00 UTC. The ccNSO Council will select and appoint the two new members on the WG, based on the selection criteria mentioned above and taking into account the diversity of the ccTLD community, including geographical diversity. Background On 14 March 2014 the US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced its intent to transition stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions to the global multistakeholder community. The NTIA asked the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), as the IANA functions contractor and global coordinator for the Domain Name System (DNS), to convene a multistakeholder process to develop a proposal for the transition. IANA also said that the transition proposal must have broad community support and address the following four principles: · Support and enhance the multistakeholder model; · Maintain the security, stability, and resiliency of the Internet DNS; · Meet the needs and expectation of the global customers and partners of the IANA services; and, · Maintain the openness of the Internet. The NTIA also said that it will not accept a proposal that replaces the NTIA role with a government-led or an inter-governmental organization solution. Full details of IANA’s announcement are available at: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/press-release/2014/ntia-announces-intent-transition-.... During discussions around the transition process, the community raised the broader topic of the impact of the change on ICANN's accountability given its historical contractual relationship with the United States and NTIA. Accountability in this context is defined, according to the NETmundial multistakeholder statement<http://netmundial.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/NETmundial-Multistakeholder-...>, as the existence of mechanisms for independent checks and balances as well as for review and redress. Statements made by various stakeholders, including the ccNSO Council, suggest that current accountability mechanisms need to be reviewed and, if need be, improved, amended, replaced, or supplemented with new mechanisms (see for instance ATRT recommendations) in light of the changing historic contractual relationship with the U.S. Government. Reviewing ICANN’s accountability mechanisms was considered to be crucial for the transition process. The CCWG-Accountability, which charter was adopted by the ccNSO Council, has delivered proposals that have to be in place or committed to before the IANA Stewardship Transition, in light of the changing historical contractual relationship with the U.S. Government (Work Stream 1). The CCWG will now be focusing on addressing accountability topics for which a timeline for developing solutions and full implementation extend well beyond the anticipated IANA Stewardship Transition (Work stream 2). Topics to be discussed include, but are not limited to, accountability of the supporting organizations and advisory committees, Human Rights, Jurisdiction, and Ombudsman (see: https://community.icann.org/display/WEIA/WS2+Topics ) On behalf of the ccNSO Secretariat, kind regards, Bart Boswinkel