Hello NPOC members, Here's some good news on a new NGO launched by Michael Karanicolas and Kathy Kleiman, Domain Name Rights Coalition. Me and Michael are planning an Open Data Initiative -session for Puerto Rico and I'm sure you all know Kathy already. :) -Raoul ------------------------------ *From:* NCSG-Discuss <NCSG-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> on behalf of Michael Karanicolas <mkaranicolas@GMAIL.COM> *Sent:* Monday, February 26, 2018 7:04 PM *To:* NCSG-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU *Subject:* Domain Name Rights Coalition Hi all! Just wanted to send out a brief note letting you know about a new NGO being launched by Kathy Kleiman and myself: the Domain Name Rights Coalition - which will be an avenue for our engagement with ICANN going forward. I'm copying our press release below - would very much appreciate any help to spread the word, particularly via our Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/DomainRights/> and Twitter <https://twitter.com/DomainRights> pages. And stay tuned to these pages for updates on our work on Internet governance and such. Best wishes, Michael Karanicolas [image: Inline image 1] *26 February 2018 – for immediate release* *The Domain Name Rights Coalition: Working for fair, balanced and principled approaches to Internet Governance* Today, a public interest group is reborn. Twenty years ago, at the start of the commercial Internet, a group of advocates came together to fight for the rights of registrants - for individuals, entrepreneurs and organizations who registered domain names and posted their ideas, concerns, products, and services online. The DNRC defended political parody, argued in support of protections for Internet Service Providers (then a new type of company), and worked to make the rules for the Internet fair and balanced for everyone. At that time, the Internet hosted only 70 million people. Now, with over 3 billion people online, the need for registrant representatives is even more important. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has been untethered from the US government, leaving its multistakeholder community as the ultimate guardians of a free and open Internet. With the rebirth of the Domain Name Rights Coalition, we resume our work on behalf of Internet users. The Domain Name Rights Coalition will be headed by Kathy Kleiman, one of the original founders, and Michael Karanicolas. Kathy Kleiman is part of the group that founded ICANN. She is well-known for her passionate work seeking fairness and balance in Internet policies and served on the final drafting teams of both the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy and Uniform Rapid Suspension Policy. Michael Karanicolas is a Canadian-based human rights advocate who has published extensively on a range of digital rights issues, and has experience at the highest levels advising governments, private sector entities, and intergovernmental organizations on how to bring their policies into line with international human rights standards. He currently serves as Co-Chair of ICANN's Cross-Community Working Party on Human Rights, and as the Rapporteur for the subgroup reworking ICANN’s transparency policies. Both Michael and Kathy are leaders in the ICANN ecosystem, particularly through the Non-Commercial Users’ Constituency, which Kathy co-founded, and on whose Executive Committee Michael now serves. *“I am thrilled to see the Domain Name Rights Coalition reboot. We need experienced people helping to ensure that domain names – the street signs of the Internet – are fairly distributed and not arbitrarily revoked. The Domain Name Rights Coalition will once again be a home for education, participation, research and advocacy for users and registrants who are online today – and the millions who will come online tomorrow.* -- Kathy Kleiman, Co-Founder and President, DNRC. *“The DNRC will fill a crucial void in the modern digital rights space, by providing a dedicated vehicle for programming aimed at advancing human rights in Internet governance. We look forward to engaging directly with academics, advocates, and other like-minded organizations, to collaborate on research, advocacy, and outreach. I am honoured to take up this role, and excited about the road ahead.” *-- Michael Karanicolas, Director of Policy, DNRC. DNRC is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization under US law and seeks the support of the Internet Community. To find out more about the DNRC and our principles, membership and donations, visit our website at www.dnrc.tech/ and follow us on Twitter at @DomainRights and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ DomainRights. *For further information, please contact:* Kathy Kleiman, President Domain Name Rights Coalition Email: kathy@dnrc.tech Twitter: @DomainRights and @KleimK Michael Karanicolas, Policy Director Domain Name Rights Coalition Email: michael@dnrc.tech Twitter: @DomainRights and @M_Karanicolas
