http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-06may11-en.htm Public Comment Invited on: Proposed Permanent Charter of GNSO's Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group 6 May 2011 Today, a Public Comment Forum is being initiated to seek community comments on the proposed permanent Charter of the GNSO's Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG). Consistent with the its oversight authority regarding GNSO Stakeholder Group Charters (see ICANN Bylaws Article X<http://www.icann.org/en/general/bylaws.htm#X>, Section 5.3), t he ICANN Board passed a resolution at its 18 March 2011 meeting<http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-18mar11-en.htm> directing Staff to post the proposed NCSG Charter in a Public Comment Forum for 30 days. The Board is seeking the community's input concerning the Charter's provisions and, in particular, the fundamental organizational structure proposed. All members of the ICANN community are invited to review the document and share comments and observations with the Board and the wider community through 5 June 2011. Background/Explanation: As part of the comprehensive Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Improvements effort, last July the ICANN Board approved (see ICANN Board Resolution 2009.30.07.09<http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/prelim-report-30jul09.htm>) the Charters of four new GNSO Stakeholder Groups (SGs). These SG structures represent a new concept for the GNSO that was envisioned by the Board Governance Committee GNSO Review Working Group (BGC WG) on GNSO Improvements (see the BGC WG's February 2008 Report here<http://www.icann.org/en/topics/gnso-improvements/gnso-improvements-report-03...> [PDF, 193 KB]). The Charter<http://gnso.icann.org/improvements/ncsg-approved-charter-30jul09.pdf> [PDF, 60 KB] approved for the NCSG last July was "transitional" through the ICANN annual meeting in 2011. The Board expected the NCSG (see Sections 5 and 8) to develop a permanent Charter document that would take effect upon the expiration of the transition period. Over the past several months, NCSG members have been working with the Board's Structural Improvements Committee and have developed a proposed permanent NCSG Charter<http://gnso.icann.org/improvements/proposed-ncsg-charter-05may11-en.pdf> [PDF, 179 KB]. All members of the ICANN community are invited to review the Charter and share comments and observations with the Board and the wider community through 5 June 2011. Relevant Board Resolutions and Bylaws: * Adopted Board Resolutions 18 March 2011: #13. Non-Commercial Users Constituency Charter: Posting for Public Comment<http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-18mar11-en.htm#13> * Preliminary Report of Special Board Meeting 30 July 2009<http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/prelim-report-30jul09.htm> (See Item: B. Regular Agenda for GNSO Improvements) * ICANN Bylaws Article X, Section 5<http://www.icann.org/en/general/bylaws.htm#X-5> Document/Page Links: * The GNSO Stakeholder Group process and historical charter documents can be accessed at: http://gnso.icann.org/en/improvements/stakeholder-process-en.htm The Process From Here: At the end of this public comment forum period, the ICANN Staff will provide a summary/analysis of the community comments submitted regarding the NCSG Charter. That summary/analysis will be shared with the community and the Board. The Board will subsequently take action regarding the Charter document consistent with its GNSO SG oversight authority. Deadline and How to Submit Comments: At the direction of the ICANN Board, the Staff is opening a 30-day public consultation forum, from 6 May through 5 June 2011 and invites community input on this topic: * The formal Public Comment Forum Box is located here: http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201106-en.htm#ncsg-cha... * To submit comments: See ncsg-charter@icann.org<mailto:ncsg-charter@icann.org> * To view comments: See http://forum.icann.org/lists/ncsg-charter/ Staff Responsible: Rob Hoggarth, Senior Policy Director Glen de Saint Géry GNSO Secretariat gnso.secretariat@gnso.icann.org<mailto:gnso.secretariat@gnso.icann.org> http://gnso.icann.org