Hi all, Thanks to Adrian, staff and all the candidates for a great meeting today. For those who could not make it, I include below my opening statement. Please don't forget to vote when your ballot comes. - Evan ---------------------------- Hello everyone, I am running in this election for a very specific reason. I want ALAC to focus on being the best possible champion of end users within ICANN, because ... we’re all they’ve got. Registries, registrars and registrants have well-established voices within ICANN, and they vigorously advance their objectives ... unbound by conflict-of-interest rules. As we speak, ICANN is holding a closed summit for its contracted parties in Paris. Under the right circumstances these constituencies can compel the Board to act on their issues. By contrast, all ALAC can do is provide advice. So when we do, that advice has to be concise, it has to be compelling and it has to be relevant to issues that DIRECTLY impact Internet end-users. Over two decades in At-Large, I have a proven track record of clear analysis and compact writing that has been a key part of numerous ALAC policy statements, two white papers, and indeed the first charter for NARALO that invented the concept of individual participation within ICANN At-Large. Serving as an effective ALAC member cannot be one-dimensional; it requires being part techie, part policy wonk, part diplomat and part mine-sweeper. This requires a deep and diverse background. In my case, the most recent highlights include a multi-year contract with the United Nations to help refugees get jobs using the Internet, completion of the CopyrightX program at Harvard Law School, and a marketing MBA from London. But what matters more than the history is the future, and my promise to focus on what I believe are the overarching end-user needs from ICANN and the DNS: - Simplicity, - Stability, - Consistency and - Accountability Most of the rest is ICANN-insider stuff that can be easy to get bogged-down in, but struggles to find any relevance to the world outside. Remember, we here in this call and within ICANN At-Large are a fairly self-selected, technically-astute group. You are all aware by now of the massive investment of time needed just to understand the rules of engagement, let alone the subject matter. As such, we are not typical of the hundreds of millions of end users for whom we are tasked to speak. The onus is on us to discover their needs and then advocate that as strongly as we are able. To assist ALAC in keeping a laser focus on end user issues, last fall I brought forward a specific path towards creation of a strategic planning guide. At the time the idea was very favourably received, and I am asking for the opportunity to see this plan through from within ALAC. I will work with Jonathan to improve ALAC’s research capabilities, and I believe that we need to partner with groups like NASIG to provide the kind of critical public education about the DNS not currently offered elsewhere. My passion for end-user interests within ICANN takes a back-seat to nobody, and I can hold my own in advancing our interests, even if they run counter to the industry’s conventional wisdom. I was part of the team that, against heavy pressure from ICANN staff at the time, convinced the Board of the need for the very first At-Large Summit. There’s nobody else speaking for the public interest at ICANN except for ALAC, so we need the best voices possible there. I am asking for your support to be one of those voices, from NARALO. Thank you.