[A2k] Call for Action: We need your comments to Support Civil Society Participation in ICANN!

[Robin Gross]

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Call for Action: We need your comments to Support Civil Society
Participation in ICANN!

ICANN is in the midst of a significant reform of its policy-making
body, the Generic Name Supporting Organization (GNSO).

The intellectual property rights and big business interests have
historically dominated policy making at ICANN, with trademarks
trumping free expression rights and privacy rights at every turn.
Now is our opportunity to bring a more balanced approach into ICANN
policy making.

Following the recommendations provided by the London School of
Economics, the ICANN Board is set to increase the participation of
civil society, and approve a charter for a new, more influential
Noncommercial Stakeholders Group.  ICANN=92s Noncommercial Users
Constituency (NCUC) has recently submitted a Charter Proposal for the
new Noncommercial Stakeholders Group (NCSG).  Links to the Charter
Proposal, an Executive Summary and Organization Chart are at the end
of this message.

How can you help support civil society participation in ICANN policy
making?

ICANN is soliciting comments on the NCSG Charter Proposal.  Comments
are due by April 15, 2009 and can be submitted to: sg-petitions-
charters@icann.org.  Below are some reasons you can include in your
comments.

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Subject: Approve the NCSG Charter Proposal submitted by NCUC

Dear ICANN Board:

Please support the NCSG Charter Proposal submitted by the
Noncommercial User Constituency.

Why should the ICANN Board support the proposal?

Most importantly, the proposal integrates all policy deliberation and
voting of the NCSG into a unified structure. By doing so, the
proposed structure:

=95    Ensures that whoever represents noncommercial stakeholders on
the GNSO Council has support across all constituencies.
=95    Supports the formation of consensus positions on policy taken by
the NCSG, not allowing individual constituencies to control specific
GNSO Council seats and votes.
=95    Enhances representation by lowering barriers to participation
and the formation of constituencies, allowing a far more diverse set
of interests and coalitions to easily form.

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Show your support for civil society in ICANN policy making, submit
your comments today!

Thank you,

Robin Gross, Chair
Noncommercial Users Constituency

Executive Summary of NCSG Charter Proposal: http://gnso.icann.org/en/
improvements/executive-summary-ncsg-proposal.pdf

NCSG Petition-Charter:
http://gnso.icann.org/en/improvements/ncsg-petition-charter.pdf

NCSG Organization Chart:
http://gnso.icann.org/en/improvements/ncsg-organization-chart.pdf






IP JUSTICE
Robin Gross, Executive Director
1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA  94117  USA
p: +1-415-553-6261    f: +1-415-462-6451
w: http://www.ipjustice.org     e: robin@ipjustice.org