Dear all,

Many thanks for your thoughtful and constructive message, and for raising these important points. I fully appreciate your concerns regarding duplication of effort, coordination with the NCSG Policy Committee, and the very real issue of volunteer fatigue within our community.

You are absolutely right that, in recent years, much of the policy drafting and public comment work has been effectively coordinated through the NCSG Policy Committee, with strong collaboration between NPOC and NCUC. Preserving that coordination and avoiding unnecessary duplication is both important and intentional.

The establishment of the NPOC Policy Committee is not meant to replace, replicate, or compete with the NCSG Policy Committee. Rather, it responds directly to our own Charter, which explicitly provides for the existence of an NPOC Policy Committee alongside the Executive Committee. In that sense, this initiative is about fulfilling our internal governance structure, not creating a parallel policy track.

More concretely, the intent is to:

In practice, the NPOC Policy Committee should function as a feeder and support mechanism for NCSG policy activities, not a duplicative drafting body. Its added value lies in internal coordination, capacity building, and early discussion; not in producing separate or competing outputs.

I very much agree that clarity on this complementarity is essential, and your messages helps us frame this more explicitly going forward. I would also very much welcome your continued input as we shape the committee’s working methods to ensure they remain lightweight, useful, and respectful of everyone’s limited time.

Thanks again for engaging so constructively on this.

Warm regards,
Yao


On Wed, Dec 17, 2025 at 12:15 PM Raymond Mamattah via Npoc-discuss <npoc-discuss@icann.org> wrote:
Hello all, 

The email from Yao indicates and I quote "In line with our charter, we are setting up the NPOC Policy Committee."  

In my view, we have to clarify if this is really in our charter! If it is in the charter then we have to go by what is there. Because when the charter was updated, it came out for public comments, and if the policy committee was not spotted then as an issue, then we got to go ahead.

So for me, the first point of call is, is this really enshrined in our charter, Yes or No?

Regards,
Raymond Mamattah
linkedin facebook twitter 
Accra, Ghana 


On Wed, Dec 17, 2025 at 9:37 AM Johan Helsingius via Npoc-discuss <npoc-discuss@icann.org> wrote:
Hear hear. We are already spread very thinly and there is a huge amount
of work, so spreading us even thinner doesn't sound like the best
way forward.

        Julf


On 17/12/2025 12:02 am, Emmanuel Vitus via Npoc-discuss wrote:
> Dear Yao,
>
> Thank you for this initiative. The objectives of the proposed NPOC
> Policy Committee are clear and timely.
>
> I would however welcome clarification on how this effort differs from,
> or aligns with, the existing work of the NCSG Policy Committee. In
> recent years, policy drafting, public comments and preparatory
> discussions have largely been coordinated through the NCSG Policy
> Committee, with contributions from both NPOC and NCUC. This coordination
> has helped avoid duplication of work and unnecessary dispersion of
> limited volunteer capacity.
>
> Without clear articulation of complementarity, there is a risk of
> duplicating efforts between NPOC and NCUC and of contributing to
> volunteer fatigue, particularly given the already heavy policy workload
> within ICANN processes.
>
> It could therefore be helpful to frame this initiative as a mechanism to
> better organize NPOC inputs into NCSG policy work, encourage
> participation in existing policy and public comment processes, and
> consistently articulate non profit concerns within those spaces.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Emmanuel
>
>
>
> Typed with thumbs, powered by caffeine. Please excuse typos & brevity!
>
>
> On Tue, 16 Dec 2025 at 21:08 Adebunmi Akinbo via Npoc-discuss <npoc-
> discuss@icann.org <mailto:npoc-discuss@icann.org>> wrote:
>
>     Count me in.
>
>     On Tue, Dec 16, 2025, 9:34 PM Yao Amevi A. Sossou via Npoc-discuss
>     <npoc-discuss@icann.org <mailto:npoc-discuss@icann.org>> wrote:
>
>         Hello Everyone,
>         This is just a reminder in case someone has missed my
>         previous email.
>         Join the NPOC PC.
>         Kind regards,
>
>         On Mon, Dec 8, 2025 at 2:19 PM Yao Amevi A. Sossou
>         <soyames@gmail.com <mailto:soyames@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>             Dear all,
>
>             In line with our charter, we are setting up the NPOC Policy
>             Committee.
>
>             What is it?
>             The NPOC Policy Committee will:
>
>               * Track ICANN policy issues that affect NPOC;
>               * Help draft NPOC input (public comments, statements,
>                 briefings);
>               * Support our GNSO Council representatives and NPOC
>                 leadership with policy analysis;
>               * Coordinate NPOC positions with the NCSG Policy
>                 Committee, which remains the central policy body for all
>                 NCSG constituencies.
>
>
>             The aim is not to duplicate the work of the NCSG Policy
>             Committee, but to organize NPOC’s contribution into it and
>             make sure our members’ voices are reflected there.
>
>             Who can join?
>             Any NPOC member who:
>
>               * Is willing to read, discuss, and give input on
>                 documents, and
>               * Can regularly join online meetings.
>               * Experience in policy work is welcome but not required –
>                 commitment and curiosity are enough.
>
>
>             If you would like to join, please add you name affiliation
>             email to the document(https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/
>             d/1DnGVQVpHaNNU3N6yUair1jGPVHSVluHTijuf4x6i13A/edit?
>             usp=sharing <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/
>             d/1DnGVQVpHaNNU3N6yUair1jGPVHSVluHTijuf4x6i13A/edit?
>             usp=sharing>)  on tab "NPOC-PC" by 20.12.2025 with your name
>             and affiliation;
>
>             Thank you in advance for contributing to NPOC’s policy voice
>             within NCSG and the wider ICANN community.
>
>             Yao Amevi A. Sossou
>             NPOC Policy Coordinator
>
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