Dear Council and Community Members, Unfortunately I am on travel and unable to join the Council call today.  I am providing a "Board update" via email and would be happy to provide additional information later today, if needed. Regards, Denise Denise Michel ICANN Vice President Policy Development The preliminary report of the Board's 23 April 2009 meeting is posted at <http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/prelim-report-23apr09.htm>.  I would like to call the GNSO's attention to three items in particular: 1) GNSO Improvements -- Implementation Efforts and Council Restructuring Staff provided an update to the Board on the status of the GNSO Improvements Implementation Efforts and the work remaining prior to the June 2009 implementation timeline approved by the Board. Staff and Board addressed specific issues relating to the outstanding petitions and charters of new Stakeholder Groups and potential amendment of those documents, as well as petitions and charters for new Constituency groups and the anticipated receipt of further petitions. Staff was directed to continue work towards implementation, and no Board action was taken. The Board's Structural Improvement Committee will be discussing these issues at their 14 April 2009 meeting and may provide the Board with recommended actions. 2) RAA Amendments The Board discussed the amendments and directed Staff to send a letter to the US DOC confirming the benefits of the new RAA, prior to the Board's final approval. The Board is expected to act on the amendments at their next (21 May) meeting. This information was provided to the Council list on 24 April by Director Bruce Tonkin (see <http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/council/msg06692.html>). 3) Working Group to Review the Structure of ICANN’s Present Geographic Regions The Board briefly discussed the proposed charter of the community-wide working group to review the structure of ICANN’s present geographic regions. As a question was raised by a Board member, the Board deferred approval of the charter until their next (21 May) meeting. The full agenda for the Board's 23 April meeting is included below, FYI. A. Consent Agenda 1. Approval of Minutes – 3 February 2009 and 12 February 2009 2. Approval of Board Audit Committee’s Recommendation for Engagement of Auditors for FY09-10 3. Approval of Charter of Community-Wide Working Group to Review The Structure of ICANN’s Present Geographic Regions 4. Approval of Board Governance Committee’s Recommendation regarding Ombudsman Framework 5. Approval of Board Governance Committee’s Recommendation for Posting of the Revised Conflict of Interest Policy for Public Comment 6. Approval of Board Governance Committee’s Recommendation of Procedures for Board Nominations 7. Approval of Redelegation of .NG 8. Approval of Phased Allocation Process for Single & Two-Character Domain Names in .BIZ, including proposed Contract Amendment 9. Approval of Posting for Public Comment the Plan for Enhancing Internet Security, Stability & Resiliency 10. Approval of Staff to Follow the Global Policy Proposal for the Allocation of IPv4 Blocks to Regional Internet Registries B. Regular Agenda 1. GNSO Improvements 1. Implementation Efforts 2. GNSO Council Restructuring 2. New gTLD Implementation Updates 1. Implementation Recommendation Team 2. Geographical Names 3. Timeline 3. Approval of Seoul Budget - October 2009 Meeting Location 4. Agenda for Upcoming Board Retreat 5. Other Business 6. Board Executive Session C. Informational Agenda 1. Registrar Accreditation Agreement Update 2. .PRO Registry Agreement Renewal 3. IDNccTLD Update 4. Update on FY10 Operational Planning & Budget Process 5. Reports from Board Committees 1. Audit Committee – 28 February 2009 Preliminary Report 2. Board Governance Committee – 11 February 2009 and 28 February 2009 Minutes 3. Finance Committee – 10 February 2009 Minutes and 28 February 2009 Preliminary Report 4. IANA Committee – 28 January 2009 and 16 February 2009 Minutes and 1 March 2009 Preliminary Report 5. Public Participation Committee – 17 February 2009 and 28 February 2009 Minutes 6. Risk Committee – 27 January 2009 and 1 March 2009 Preliminary Reports 7. Structural Improvements Committee – 10 February 2009 Minutes and 28 February 2009 Preliminary Report