- comments-fy19-budget-19jan18@icann.org

[Comments-fy19-budget-19jan18] Personal Comment of Ayden Férdeline on ICANN's proposed FY19 Operating Plan and Budget
by Ayden Férdeline Feb. 23, 2018

Feb. 23, 2018

To Whom It May Concern: Please find attached my personal comments on ICANN's proposed Operating Plan and Budget for the coming fiscal year. I remain available to answer any questions, or to provide clarification on my remarks, should this be required. Thank you. Kind regards, Ayden Férdeline

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[Comments-fy19-budget-19jan18] Maintain the number of ICANN Fellows and NextGen
by Sarah Kiden Feb. 22, 2018

Feb. 22, 2018

With reference to the FY19 draft ICANN budget ( https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/proposed-total-budget-fy19-19ja…) I would like respond to section 2.5.2: Reductions to Engagement and Community Support, specifically the item on Fellows/NextGen. I would like to add my voice and request that the numbers of Fellows and NextGen to be maintained at 60 and 20 respectively. Reference is made to a 4 part blog series to celebrate 10 years of the ICANN Fellowship Program, authored by Janice Douma Lange, where she highlighted over 35 fellows who since their first fellowship experience have joined the ICANN Board, Staff, have Leadership Positions or are active in the Community. Some NextGen participants have also joined the Community and continue to be active. - Part 1: https://www.icann.org/news/blog/the-fellowship-spirit-part-one-of-a-four-pa… - Part 2: https://www.icann.org/news/blog/the-fellowship-spirit - Part 3: https://www.icann.org/news/blog/the-fellowship-spirit-en - Part 4: https://www.icann.org/news/blog/the-fellowship-spirit-0edb9f60-6898-4121-a0… Reference is also made to the ICANN Fellowship survey conducted in 2017 ( https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/icann-fellowship-program-10-yea…) which indicated that 198 out of the total fellowship recipients were engaged in Communities like At-Large, GNSO (CSG & NCSG), RSSAC,etc, while others are active in their local/regional I* activities. From the survey, 61% of those who are not involved sighted lack of funding as a reason for their lack of participation while 31% said they were not clear on how to engage. These can be mentored to become valuable members of the community. Reducing these numbers would further reduce the number of newcomers to each meeting. In addition, Sally Costerton's blog ( https://www.icann.org/news/blog/icann-fellowship-program-taking-stock-of-th…) highlights some of the benefits of the fellowship program thus far. I signed a petition ( https://www.change.org/p/icann-stop-the-icann-budget-cuts-and-save-the-fell…) to save the ICANN fellowship program and shared the link with other colleagues. The discussion that followed was interesting and it gave each one of us a moment of self-reflection. Like other programs, the fellowship program is not without fault. Instead, I request that a review be done to assess how the program has evolved from when it started in 2007 and how it is performing currently. A decision can be made after such a review has been conducted. Kind regards, Sarah Kiden

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[Comments-fy19-budget-19jan18] Cutting ICANN Fellowship Seats
by Catherine Niwagaba Feb. 22, 2018

Feb. 22, 2018

I commend the hard work and commitment of ICANN staff and the Community who continue to take on more responsibilities to fulfil ICANN commitments, working with a low budget funding. I also believe that fellows are volunteers (some) or potential volunteers (most) in the ICANN community. My observation is, on one hand there is heavy workload on ICANN staff and Community members and on the other is a pool of potential volunteers not fully engaging. Volunteering with ICANN means participating in policy development processes, delivering work group proposals, work plans and reports among others. Most will agree with me that when one joins a discussion where members have over 5 years’ experience on subject matter and with an understanding of ICANN processes, a newcomer must possess close to similar experience on the subject to make useful contribution , else the option is to listen, read and learn before they can engage. The latter has worked for some fellows according to testimonies given at the fellowship new comer sessions. My appeal to the ICANN Board and Community is, please reconsider the proposed reduction of fellowship seats; otherwise how will awareness of ICANN’s mission, its multistakeholder model and its work get to the rest of the world especially the underrepresented communities? https://www.change.org/p/icann-stop-the-icann-budget-cuts-and-save-the-fell… -- “The distance is nothing when one has a motive.” ― Jane Austen <http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1265.Jane_Austen>

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[Comments-fy19-budget-19jan18] Comments-fy19-budget-19jan18
by Christa Taylor Feb. 21, 2018

Feb. 21, 2018

Dear All, It is surprising to hear that ICANN is considering withdrawing its support to ICANNwiki. ICANNwiki is an invaluable, educational resource for people to learn about the ICANN Community. A trusted site where internet users can learn about different TLDs in an easily accessible, standard yet informative format. This not only benefits users today but also a resource that applicants can learn about ICANN, the community and the TLD ecosystem. It is also a great resource for future applicant support candidates, to not only understand all of the different aspects in a ICANN jargon friendly manner but as an expert resource. While I fully support ICANN being fiscally responsible, the insignificant donation to ICANNwiki when compared to ICANN's $127.5 million dollar operational budget. The value it provides to the wider community far exceeds the cost even when ignoring any related saving achieved through ICANNWiki's operations. Regards, Christa Taylor Christa Taylor <mailto:christa@dottba.com> christa(a)dottba.com <http://www.dottba.com/> www.dottba.com

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[Comments-fy19-budget-19jan18] FY 19 budget comments- Esther Akello
by Esther Patricia Akello Feb. 19, 2018

Feb. 19, 2018

Hello, I noticed the proposed Budget reduction by half on the ICANN fellowship program while bonuses for ICANN employees is going up by Millions. This reduction will significantly affect majority fellows participation in ICANN activities, most of whom are from developing countries where access to the basics are still a struggle. Fellows are volunteering in different forums,and communities within ICANN, they incur costs to access internet services which are not usually affordable. This reduction will further stifle participation and engagement by fellow. I strongly urge and request the budget team and ICANN Board to strongly consider having the fellowship budget sufficient enough to support the 60 fellows it used to support. A reduction by 2 new/Planned hires will surely save the fellowship budget. See the link to joint statement signed by the fellows about the same https://www.change.org/p/icann-stop-the-icann-budget-cuts-and-save-the-fell… Kind Regards, Esther Patricia Akello This message (including any attachments) is intended only for the addressee(s) named and may contain confidential and or proprietary information. Bank of Uganda does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you received this communication in error, please contact the sender by return email.

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[Comments-fy19-budget-19jan18] FY19 Budget Comment
by Cole, Mason (Perkins Coie) Feb. 16, 2018

Feb. 16, 2018

As an 18-year participant in ICANN, I can testify to the time and difficulty involved in learning about ICANN policy development, developing new relationships with ICANN colleagues, and keeping abreast of critical issues. An indispensable tool for keeping up-to-date is ICANNWiki. I see with dismay that ICANN has proposed an elimination of funding for this resource, which I believe would be a short-sighted mistake. ICANNWiki is an outstanding example of resourcefulness and the dedication of community-minded professionals who identified a need and moved with initiative to productively fulfill it. I recognize the need for ICANN to wisely allocate its resources. I do not, however, support the sudden withdrawal of this modest contribution to community learning and productivity. Better that ICANN collaborate with ICANNWiki to fund the project while helping develop alternative sources of sponsorship. I hope ICANN org will reconsider its current thinking on this matter. I offer this comment in my personal capacity. Mason Cole ________________________________ NOTICE: This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you have received it in error, please advise the sender by reply email and immediately delete the message and any attachments without copying or disclosing the contents. Thank you.

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[Comments-fy19-budget-19jan18] SSAC Comment on FY19 budget
by Steve Sheng Feb. 16, 2018

Feb. 16, 2018

Dear all, On behalf of SSAC Chair Rod Rasmussen, attached please find a funding request for SSAC travelers in FY19 budget. Best Steve Sheng SSAC Support Staff

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[Comments-fy19-budget-19jan18] Concern about fellowship budget reduction
by Patricia Akello Feb. 16, 2018

Feb. 16, 2018

Hello, I noticed the proposed Budget reduction by half on the ICANN fellowship program while bonuses for ICANN employees is going up by Millions. This reduction will significantly affect majority fellows participation in ICANN activities, most of whom are from developing countries where access to the basics are still a struggle. Fellows are volunteering in different forums,and communities within ICANN, they incur costs to access internet services which are not usually affordable. This reduction will further stifle participation and engagement by fellow. I strongly urge and request the budget team and ICANN Board to strongly consider having the fellowship budget sufficient enough to support the 60 fellows it used to support. A reduction by 2 new/Planned hires will surely save the fellowship budget. Esther Patricia

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[Comments-fy19-budget-19jan18] COMMENTS ON ICANN's BUDGHET
by rebecca ryakitimbo Feb. 9, 2018

Feb. 9, 2018

Greetings Please find attached comments from the Swahili ICANNWiki ambassadors in East Africa. Our comments bellow and also found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q-LvjaRM54jgKLIIWi089qPpI3r7-okHKlzSK5m… Regards Rebecca " Today, nearly 400 students from secondary schools as well as colleges and an even larger number from different internet stakeholders benefit directly or indirectly from our Swahili encyclopedic resource that boasts of over 500+ articles in just under a year. Women and youth in the sphere of internet governance have less participation due to lack of platforms to introduce them, their chances of learning in a classroom setting about these issues is very minimal.Through the Swahili ICANNWiki initiative, more women and youth have being engaged in the multistakeholder approach.This critical resource is built through regional Edit-a-thons, capacity building workshops and Internet governance panels held throughout East Africa (Nairobi, Arusha and Dodoma).The East African Swahili project strives to create 5,000 Internet Governance articles/glossary for the 150 million Swahili speakers by 2020. With ICANN announcing that it will not renew its support for ICANNWiki, all these milestones and aspirations hang in the balance. The ending of sponsorship of ICANNWiki work from ICANN will serve as a setback for the majority of women and youths that still haven’t being reached through this workshops. As language plays a prime factor in helping connect the Next one Billion of Internet users, We (ICANNWiki Swahili Ambassadors) join the rest of the Internet community to appeal to ICANN to reconsider its decision, in the quest to propel the Wiki localization initiatives, so that we can keep enjoying the satisfaction of a job well done, as well as meditate about the new paths we are yet to discover. We thus look forward to ICANN’s, and everyone else’s continued role in making ICANNWiki projects so meaningful and rewarding to the East Africa Internet community. Signed 1.Rebecca Ryakitimbo,Co-founder and director of development TechChix,ISOC Youth@IGF 2017 fellow,Co-founder Digital Grassroots 2. Jane Langoi,Co-founder and Executive Director TechChix Tanzania 3. Fatuma Mwanga,Programs and events manager TechChix-Tanzania 4. Zuhura Msisi,Attendee ICANNWiki edit-a-thon 2017,Intern at TZNIC 5. Diana Mokanga,TechChix-Tanzania member 6. Bonface Witaba, ICANN Fellow, ICT4D Facilitator, ICANNWiki Swahili Ambassador"

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[Comments-fy19-budget-19jan18] Comment on ICANN draft FY19 budget
by Simon Cousins Feb. 5, 2018

Feb. 5, 2018

As one of the most active domain industry professionals in the China marketplace, I’ve seen the positive impact that ICANNWiki has made on globalization and comprehension of the industry by Chinese readers in China. Before ICANNWiki, there was precious little information on industry fundamentals in China, and since Allegravita has supported the pro-bono translation of ICANNWiki content into Chinese, the vital platform that is ICANNWiki has been acknowledged hundreds of times. We do not support the immediate and full withdrawal of funding for ICANNWiki. We guardedly support incremental, annual decreases to give ICANNWiki the time necessary to generate new sponsorship income to cover their costs. ICANN, please don’t contribute to the elimination of ICANNWiki via a sudden withdrawal of modest funding. ICANNWiki is amongst the most important investments that ICANN makes. I’ve seen wasteful expenditure that pales in comparison to ICANNWiki’s stipend. Disclaimer: My company is a pro-bono ICANNWiki supporter and we regularly translate ICANNWiki content into Chinese for the benefit of Chinese readers in China and everywhere. Simon Cousins | 夏明 CEO, Allegravita LLC & 北京乐微塔营销咨询有限公司 USA: 32 W 39 St 4th Floor, New York NY 10018 China: 北京市海淀区苏州街55号3层01-A509

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