[To: council[at]gnso.icann.org; liaison6c[at]gnso.icann.org] [To: ga[at]gnso.icann.org; announce[at]gnso.icann.org] [To: regional-liaisons[at]icann.org] http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-28oct08-en.htm Public Comment: The Role Of Individual Internet Users in the GNSO Please note that Public comments must be submitted by 28 November 2008. 28 October 2008 The ICANN Board has asked for additional community input on the appropriate role and representation of individual commercial and non-commercial Internet users in the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO). Faced with a number of different recommendations stemming from various independent reviews and GNSO and user-community group efforts, the Board continues to consider this issue and believes that comments from the community, especially stakeholders in the GNSO, ALAC and At-Large groups, and any relevant applicants for new constituencies, would be particularly helpful. Potential commenters are asked to consider addressing the inclusion of registrants and individual users in the GNSO in a manner that compliments the ALAC and its supporting structures and ensures that registrants' and individual Internet users' gTLD interests are effectively represented within the GNSO. A summary document has been prepared by the ICANN Staff to provide background on this issue and to outline a number of potential options being considered by the Board. Background: The independent reviews of the GNSO, the ICANN Nominating Committee (NomCom), the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC), and the ICANN Board of Directors (Board) have revealed a number of high-level issues that extend across the organization and represent fundamental issues for the Board to clarify and resolve in its responsibility for setting the strategic direction of the corporation. These various "meta-issues" require Board resolution in order to reconcile overlaps, conflicts, and differences of perspective among the GNSO, NomCom, and ALAC independent reviews as well as potential issues in the soon-to-be-completed Board review process. One of the most immediate of those issues is the need to clarify the proper strategic approach to representation of individual Internet user interests within ICANN and, specifically, the GNSO. The GNSO Improvements process, currently in the implementation phase and under active Board consideration, is driving the urgency of the issue as it affects implementation of the GNSO restructuring efforts. In recognition of this fact, the ICANN Board resolved at its 1 October 2008 meeting to open a community dialogue on this issue. The Board resolution states: It is, Resolved (2008.10.01.14), The Board requests additional community dialogue and input on the appropriate role and representation of individual Internet users, including individual commercial and non-commercial Internet users, in the GNSO. Input from the GNSO, the ALAC and At-Large community, and any relevant applicants for new constituencies, would be particularly helpful and should address the inclusion of registrants and individual users in the GNSO in a manner that compliments the ALAC and its supporting structures, and ensures that registrants' and individual Internet users' gTLD interests are effectively represented within the GNSO. The original English version of the document is being posted now and additional translations into Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish will be posted as soon as they are available. The Process From Here: Public comments will be available to the ICANN Board for review and evaluation. The ICANN Staff will prepare a summary of the comments for the Board and the community. Deadline and How to Submit Comments The Staff is opening a 30-day public consultation forum, from 28 October 2008 until 28 November 2008, and invites community comments on this topic. Staff Member responsible: Robert Hoggarth To submit comments: gnso-users@icann.org To view comments: http://forum.icann.org/lists/gnso-users/ The formal Public Comment Forum Box is located here: http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-200811.html#gnso-users Glen de Saint Géry GNSO Secretariat gnso.secretariat@gnso.icann.org http://gnso.icann.org