Hello Vint, Please pass on this note to the members of the ICANN Board. The GNSO Council invites all members of the ICANN board to attend a teleconference on Thursday 8 September 2005 at 12:00 UTC ((5:00 Los Angeles, 8:00 Washington DC, 14:00 Brussels, 22:00 Melbourne) to provide input into developing the terms of reference for the GNSO review. This meeting is in response to the request from the ICANN Board to the GNSO Council to prepare with the ICANN staff and Board a "Terms of Reference" document to guide the independent entity an outside consultant in conducting a review of the GNSO, and present the terms of reference to the Board for adoption at the meeting in December 2005, in Vancouver, Canada. The GNSO Council is using the following process to manage the development of the terms of reference for the approval of the Board. (1) The ICANN bylaws set out the high level goals of review for all parts of the ICANN community. The goal of the review shall be to determine (i) whether that organization has a continuing purpose in the ICANN structure, (ii) and if so, whether any change in structure or operations is desirable to improve its effectiveness. The criteria and standards of the review are approved by the Board. The Board in turn has asked the GNSO Council to prepare with the ICANN staff and Board a "Terms of Reference" document to guide the independent entity an outside consultant in conducting a review of the GNSO, and present the terms of reference to the Board for adoption at the meeting in December 2005, in Vancouver, Canada. The ICANN staff support for this process is being provided by Dr Liz Williams, Senior Policy Counselor. (2) The Council is holding a teleconference with members of the GNSO Community on 25 August 2005 to provide input into developing a first draft. The Council will provide the resulting first draft to the Board for review. Board members will be encouraged to provide written input to the GNSO Council on this draft. (3) The Council will hold a teleconference with the Board to discuss the draft terms of reference and the individual inputs from Board members at a teleconference on 8 September. The Council will be seeking direction from the Board on changes that should be made to the terms of reference. The Council will then provide the resulting second draft to the Board for review. Board members will be encouraged to provide written input to the GNSO Council on this draft. The final draft terms of reference will then be submitted to the Board for approval at the Board's meeting in Vancouver, Canada . The Council looks forward to early input from the Board on the terms of reference. Regards, Bruce Tonkin Chair, GNSO Council