Hello all,

 

This has been posted on the motions wiki page for the 10 June 2026 meeting: https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/cwAtJ

 

Thank you.

 

Kind regards,

 

Terri

Policy Team Supporting the GNSO

 

 

From: Vivek Goyal via council <council@icann.org>
Reply-To: Vivek Goyal <vivekg@ldotr.red>
Date: Friday, May 29, 2026 at 7:12 AM
To: Susan Payne via council <council@icann.org>
Subject: [council] Motion to commemorate Alan Barrett

 

Dear All,

 

Please see a motion below to commemorate a pillar of ICANN community Alan Barrett.

I have assumed a default second from the whole council, but If needs to be amended, pls let me know.

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Proposed: Vivek Goyal Seconded: All members of the GNSO Council

The GNSO Council has been informed of Alan Barrett's passing, as announced by ICANN on 28 May 2026. We wish to recognize Alan's extraordinary and long-standing contribution to the ICANN multi-stakeholder model and to the global Internet community, as well as his deep technical expertise, his wisdom, his integrity, and his steadfast commitment to the mission of a stable and secure Internet. He will be greatly missed.

Whereas:

  1. Alan Barrett's connection to the Internet and to ICANN spanned more than three decades. He was involved in setting up the first Internet connection for South African universities in the early 1990s, and is credited with creating the co.za zone. In 1993, he was a co-founder of TICSA — South Africa's first commercial Internet service provider, later known as Internet Africa and UUNET South Africa. His commitment to building the Internet, particularly across the African continent, defined his professional life.
  2. Alan was instrumental in the formation of AFRINIC, the Regional Internet Registry for Africa — co-authoring the 1997 proposal to create AFRINIC, serving on the steering committee tasked with bringing it into existence, and being elected to the first AFRINIC Board in 2004, where he served until 2009. In 2015, he was appointed as CEO of AFRINIC, a role he held until 2019. His role in founding and shaping AFRINIC represents one of the most enduring contributions any individual has made to the African Internet ecosystem.
  3. Alan served as an appointee of the AFRINIC Board to the NRO Number Council / Address Supporting Organization Address Council (NRO NC/ASO AC) from 2004 to 2014. During the critical IANA stewardship transition period from 2015 to 2016, he served in the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) as an appointee of the NRO — a pivotal contribution during one of the most consequential moments in ICANN's history.
  4. Alan Barrett was appointed by the ASO Address Council to serve on the ICANN Board of Directors in Seat 9, beginning at the Annual General Meeting in 2021, representing the AFRINIC region. He was reappointed for a second term in 2024. During his tenure on the ICANN Board,

Alan served on many Board Committees and Caucuses and liaison roles :

  1. Alan brought to the ICANN Board a rare combination of deep technical expertise — rooted in decades of hands-on Internet infrastructure work — and a principled, measured approach to governance. As ICANN Board Chair Tripti Sinha reflected upon his passing: Alan contributed wisdom, integrity, and a steadfast commitment to ICANN's mission in all discussions. His perspective as a representative of the African region ensured that the interests of an often-underrepresented part of the global Internet community were heard at the highest level of ICANN's structure.
  2. Alan was a familiar, well-respected, and much-appreciated presence across the entire ICANN community — not only within the Board and the ASO, but to those in the GNSO and across all Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees who had the opportunity to engage with him. He was known for his thoughtfulness, his precision, and his genuine commitment to the multi-stakeholder model.
  3. Alan passed away on 28 May 2026 following a diagnosis of late-stage cancer. His passing is a profound loss to the global Internet community. For those who worked alongside him — whether in the earliest days of African Internet infrastructure, on the AFRINIC Board, in the ICG, or across many years of ICANN meetings — the loss is deeply personal.
  4. In addition to his remarkable record of service, Alan endeared himself to his colleagues through his understated manner, his intellectual honesty, and his willingness to engage carefully and constructively with even the most difficult questions of Internet governance. His work leaves a lasting mark, but he is missed far more than his work.

Resolved:

  1. The GNSO Council wishes to recognize the extraordinary contributions Alan Barrett made to the ICANN community, to the ICANN Board, and to the global Internet — spanning more than three decades of dedicated service to building, governing, and protecting the Internet for all.
  2. Alan's presence, integrity, technical leadership, and steadfast commitment to a stable, secure, and open Internet will be dearly missed by all who had the privilege of working with him.
  3. On behalf of the current and previous GNSO Councils represented today, we offer our deepest and heartfelt condolences to his wife Kerry, his family, and his many friends around the world at this most difficult time.

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Thank you

 

Regards,

 

Vivek