Dear James, Heather & Donna,

Call for volunteers from GNSO for Work Track 5 (Geographic Names at the Top-Level)

A call for volunteers to participate in Work Track 5 (WT5) of the GNSO Subsequent Procedures PDP WG was published by ICANN (https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2017-10-22-en). Along with representatives from ALAC, ccNSO and the GAC, I am pleased to be appointed as a co-leader from the GNSO for this group, which will focus on the treatment of geographic names at the top-level. 

Due to the levels of interest on this topic and divergent views expressed across the ICANN community, we expect to see wide representation from ALAC, ccNSO and the GAC. There are divergent views also within the GNSO and it is, therefore, important to encourage participation from each of the GNSO stakeholder and constituency groups in order to ensure their views are heard and considered throughout the progress of WT5.  

A meeting dedicated to Work Track 5 is scheduled for Wednesday 1 November, 8:30-12:00, in Abu Dhabi (https://schedule.icann.org/event/CbGp/gnso-new-gtld-subsequent-procedures-pdp-wg-face-to-face-session-ii), which will provide an opportunity for the community to provide input to the Terms of Reference and the overall approach for this work track.  Participation from GNSO stakeholder and constituency groups, whether in-person or via remote, would be invaluable.

I would be grateful if you could bring this to the attention of the GNSO Stakeholder Groups and Constituencies to ensure the call for volunteers is cascaded to their respective groups to maximise sign-up and participation. 

Kind regards,

Martin Sutton

Co-Leader, WT5

Martin Sutton

Executive Director

Brand Registry Group

martin@brandregistrygroup.org