ICANN Adds Global Coordination Role to Support Government Engagement

Based in ICANN ‘s Los Angeles office, Mandy will be responsible for the analysis, integration and coordination of global strategy with regional and national projects and programs. She will assume the role on 1 July 2014 and report to ICANN ‘s Senior Advisor to the President on Government Engagement, Tarek Kamel.
“The VP Government Engagement, Global Coordination role will be important in integrating and synchronizing the work between the capitals, the regions and the international fora, and work in Geneva and New York. This will support the global implementation of the government engagement strategy while preserving regionally and nationally identified priorities,” said Tarek.
As VP, GEGC Mandy Carver will work closely with the Vice Presidents for IGO and IO Engagement and Government Engagement in Geneva and New York addressing the Intergovernmental and International Organizations and UN structures as well as with the VPs for Global Stakeholder Engagement in the regions in their work with national governments and regional governmental entities.
About Mandy Carver
Mandy Carver has been with ICANN since 2006 when she joined Global Partnerships, a precursor to the Global Stakeholder Engagement (GSE) function. She brings more than 20 years’ experience in international relationship management and conflict mediation work.
This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-07-01-en
ICANN: Call for Expressions of Interest Extended for 2015 | Nominating Committee Chair, Chair-Elect

In September 2013 the ICANN Board appointed “Cheryl Langdon-Orr as the 2014 Nominating Committee Chair and Stéphane Van Gelder as the 2014 Nominating Committee Chair-Elect.” (See www.icann.org/en/groups/board/documents/resolutions-28sep13-en.htm#2.a)
In accordance with the Bylaws, “[i]t is anticipated that upon the conclusion of the term of the Chair-Elect, the Chair-Elect will be appointed by the Board to the position of Chair.” See Article VII, section 3.4. Accordingly, while it is anticipated that the 2014 NomCom Chair Elect will succeed to the role of 2015 NomCom Chair, in support of continuous improvement in its accountability and transparency the NomCom will evaluate the performance of the current NomCom leadership, and the results of that evaluation will be available to the Board Governance Committee before it makes a recommendation to the full Board on 2015 NomCom leadership. Specifically, the NomCom will be undertaking 360 degree reviews of its Chair and its Chair-Elect, which typically consists of input from an immediate circle of colleagues – top down, bottom up and peer-to-peer, and in this case will consist of interviewing other NomCom leadership, NomCom members, as well as designated NomCom staff. These 360 degree reviews will be conducted by an independent third party provider. The BGC will utilize the outcomes of these reviews in their processes leading up to the Board’s formal appointment of the 2015 NomCom Chair and Chair-Elect.
The NomCom Chair is responsible for organizing the NomCom in its activities to select certain ICANN Board members and individuals who will serve in key leadership positions within ICANN ‘s supporting organizations (SOs) and advisory committees (ACs) in accordance with ICANN ‘s Bylaws. The Chair is a non-voting member of the NomCom selected by ICANN ‘s Board to serve until the conclusion of the next ICANN Annual Meeting.
The Chair-Elect is a position created within the Bylaws as an outcome of the independent review of the NomCom. The Chair-Elect position is not a replacement of the Advisor to the NomCom Chair, and is not intended to fill an advisory role. Rather, the Chair-Elect will receive the benefit of training while serving alongside the Chair, gaining skills and knowledge to be applied for the Chair-Elect’s anticipated succession into the role of the Chair.
Candidates for Chair-Elect should possess the same skills as candidates for the Chair.
Position Description
This position blends time management and negotiation skills with the practical aspects of conducting a world-wide search for individuals to fill various ICANN leadership positions. The NomCom Chair will be called on to schedule, organize and lead numerous in-person and telephonic meetings with a large committee of community members. The NomCom Chair is also responsible for managing the candidate identification and statement of interest process, with other committee members, and for managing the due diligence to be performed on nominated candidates, in cooperation with ICANN ‘s General Counsel and any retained outside firm(s). Throughout all NomCom activities, the Chair is responsible for ensuring that all NomCom operating rules and procedures are followed, and that all required documentation and reports are prepared in a timely fashion and provided to the proper parties as necessary.
Skills and Experience
To properly serve as the NomCom Chair, the selected individual must have:
- adequate time available to undertake the role;
- excellent communication and negotiation skills to manage a committee of 20-21 members;
- a clear understanding of the duties and responsibilities of each position for which the NomCom is selecting candidates;
- experience on or with a Board of Directors of organizations with similar scale, scope and diversity as ICANN ;
- strong organization and leadership skills;
- ability to remain unbiased;
- no conflicts of interest, and
- a thorough understanding of, and satisfy, all criteria set forth in ICANN Bylaws relating to the NomCom (see www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VII).
Specific Duties and Responsibilities
- Plans and schedules NomCom meetings as required, including ensuring posting schedules for public review. Please see attached for a Listing of the NomCom activities.
- Appoints non-voting Associate Chair if so desired.
- Reports to ICANN Board and the community on status of the NomCom.
- Prepares and publishes the NomCom report.
- Ensures that NomCom operating rules and procedures are followed.
- Manages NomCom Selection Process, including:
- Approves outreach/advertising methods for attracting candidates.
- Conducts outreach with ICANN Constituencies, ACs and SOs (with Chairs of those groups), ICANN Board, and others.
- With other committee members, reviews and evaluates candidate Statements of Interest (SOIs) and references submitted during NomCom process
- Coordinates due diligence on nominated candidates in cooperation with ICANN ‘s General Counsel and any outside firm(s) retained to perform due diligence activities.
- Approves posting of NomCom announcements and schedules on ICANN website.
- Ensures NomCom records are properly established, maintained and archived.
Eligibility Exclusion
No person who is an employee of or is a paid consultant to ICANN (including the Ombudsman) shall simultaneously serve as a member of the NomCom, including the post of Chair or Chair-Elect.
Expenses
All reasonable travel expenses and administrative costs incurred as a result of performing the duties as NomCom Chair or Chair-Elect in accordance with ICANN ‘s policies will be reimbursed by ICANN upon the Chair or Chair-Elect’s submission to ICANN of valid receipts and invoices.
Expressions of Interest
Expressions of Interest, which will be maintained as confidential, should be sent to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
no later than 10 June 2014.
For more information about the NomCom see nomcom.icann.org
This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2-2014-07-01-en
.LONDON Set To Enter General Availability With 50,000 Registrations
It’s now just over one month until .london commences its General Availability and all indications are there will be more than 50,000 applications (there is likely to be more than one application for many domains) by the time Phase One, the London Priority Period for registered trademark holders and Londoners, ends on 31 July.
General Availability commences on 9 September and there will be no restrictions on .london domains unlike most other regional and city gTLDs so it’s expected there will be huge demand.
Phase One of the launch commenced on 29 May, which was the start of a three-month launch period during which Londoners and London-based businesses received priority in the application process. Those who have applied through the ICANN Trademark Clearinghouse will also be given priority. The launch period will close at the end of July.
Gordon Innes, Chief Executive of London & Partners, the Mayor’s official promotional organisations for London said: “When we launched Dot London we wanted to ensure that Londoners had first choice of the new domain names. Two months into the priority period and it’s clear than many tens of thousands of Londoners have already taken advantage. I would urge anyone in London who’s considering a Dot London domain name to take advantage of the last few weeks of the priority period and secure their chosen domain name before someone else does.”
A number of leading London businesses have already set up Dot London websites as part of a pioneer programme to showcase the new domain. They include brands such as: London Symphony Orchestra, Nimax Theatres, Fortnum & Mason, Techhub, Metro Bank and Meantime Brewing, with many of these having their .london pioneer websites live.
One registrant, Meantime Brewery, is celebrating its role as a Dot London pioneer by releasing 100,000 bottles of limited edition Dot London lager.
“It’s been really important for us to be part of Dot London. Our roots are here in the capital but we now export to dozens of countries all over the world and having a Dot London website means our customers can see that we are part of this great city,” said Nick Miller, Chief Executive of Meantime Brewing. “It makes sense to me that London businesses should have a website that is inherently part of the city where they’re based and do business.”
British Government Continues Appalling Treatment Of Chagos Islands, Taking .IO Profits
The .io ccTLD has become popular among start-ups, but little do registrants know that the British government, who has forcibly removed the archipelago’s inhabitants from 1967 to 1973 to make way for the US military’s air strip at Diego Garcia, takes a cut of the profits from registrations.
The islands are now formally known as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and have no permanent residents apart from British and American military personnel, reports The Independent. Domain names for the islands have been available from a UK-based company called the Internet Computer Bureau for around £60 to £70 each, depending on registrar. Or around twice that if the registrants is outside the European Union. The former islanders though have no idea of the deal.
“Profits from the sale of each .io domain flow to the very force that expelled the Chagossian or Ilois people from their equatorial land just a generation or two ago: the British government,” reported GigaOM who broke the story.
Allen Vincatassin, president of the Diego Garcia and Chagos Islands Council, told The Independent: “We do not know what sort of income is being received from the sale of these internet domains and to what use it is being put. This another example of money being behind the backs of Chagossians.
“The Government should disclose how much money it has received and provides assurances that it will be used for the islands, including the resettlement that so many Chagossians want to see happen.”
Revenue from registrations though has the potential to benefit the islands, or at least the islanders should they ever be able to return following their shameful expulsion. Examples of ccTLDs becoming lucrative earners for countries or territories are .tv (Tuvalu), .me (Montenegro) and .co (Colombia).
“The British government granted these rights to ICB chief Paul Kane back in the 1990s. ICB gets to run .io ‘more or less indefinitely, unless we make a technical mistake,’ Kane told GigaOM. (ICB has so far run a stable .io namespace. It should be noted that Kane is a respected veteran of the infrastructure scene, and has been entrusted by ICANN with one of the 7 so-called “keys to the internet”.)
For more on this story from the original reports, go to:
gigaom.com/2014/06/30/the-dark-side-of-io-how-the-u-k-is-making-web-domain-profits-from-a-shady-cold-war-land-deal/
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/government-accused-of-profiting-from-sales-of-chagos-islands-io-domain-name-9574316.html
ICANN Updates New gTLD Auction Schedule
ICANN has posted an updated Auction Schedule, which addresses contention sets that had requested postponement of their auction pending finalization of the Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework (“Framework”).
When responding to an ‘intent to auction’ notification, applicants were provided the opportunity to request an auction postponement pending finalization of the Framework. The auctions for these contention sets (previously scheduled for August) have been rescheduled to 17 September 2014 or 22 October 2014 (based on priority), with no more than 20 contention sets in a single auction.
For specific details and planned auction dates for each contention set, please see the updated ICANN schedule [PDF, 311 KB] or the contention set status page.
As a reminder, applicants may request that an Auction Date be advanced. Such a request requires that each individual member of the contention set submit a request using the Advancement Form [PDF, 216 KB]. Advancement Forms should be submitted by the applicant’s primary contact via the Customer Portal.
This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-30jun14-en