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ICANN Nominating Committee | Open Leadership Positions 2021

Candidates for all the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) leadership positions referenced below should be individuals with a high level of qualifications and experience with an international outlook including some familiarity with the Internet.

ICANN's Nominating Committee (NomCom) selects candidates to fill various leadership positions that will make a valuable public service contribution towards ensuring the stable and secure operation of the Internet's unique identifier systems. Those candidates will work with accomplished colleagues from around the globe, address the Internet's intriguing technical coordination issues and related policy development matters within diverse functional, cultural, and geographic dimensions, and gain valuable insights and experience from working across boundaries of knowledge, responsibility and perspective.

The NomCom invites candidates to apply for the following positions:

Position: ICANN Board of Directors

Number of Seats: Three

Start of Term: After conclusion of Annual Meeting 2021

End of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2024

The NomCom will be seeking to provide ICANN with members of the Board who reflect the global diversity of the Internet community and the wide range of technical, commercial and public interest, activities that are impacted by the domain name system (DNS).

The ICANN Board of Directors supports ICANN's mission and core values through, among other things, oversight and establishment of strategic policies, unless the Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws state otherwise. Directors shall serve as individuals who have the duty to act in what they reasonably believe are the best interests of the organization and the public interest.

Pursuant to the ICANN Bylaws, all Board members (except the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) Liaison to the Board) are entitled but not required to receive compensation for their services. Presently, eligible Board members have the option to receive fixed compensation (currently equivalent to US$45,000, except the Board Chair who is eligible for the equivalent of US$75,000) in accordance with the resolution passed by the Board on 30 July 2014 (see https://www.icann.org/resources/board-material/resolutions-2014-07-30-en#2.b). The Board may also authorize the reimbursement of actual, documented and necessary reasonable expenses incurred by any Board members performing their duties. (Bylaws Article 7, Section 7.22, see https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#article7).

Board Eligibility Factors

  1. The Nominating Committee shall ensure that the Board is composed of Directors who, in the aggregate, display diversity in geography, culture, skills, experience, and perspective, by applying the criteria set forth in Section 7.3, Section 7.4 and Section 7.5. At no time when it makes its nomination shall the Nominating Committee nominate a Director to fill any vacancy or expired term whose designation would cause the total number of Directors (not including the President) from countries in any one Geographic Region to exceed five; and the Nominating Committee shall ensure when it makes its nominations that the Board includes at least one Director who is from a country in each ICANN Geographic Region ("Diversity Calculation"). For purposes of this Section 7.2(b), if any candidate for director maintains citizenship of more than one country, or has been domiciled for more than five years in a country of which the candidate does not maintain citizenship ("Domicile"), that candidate may be deemed to be from either country and must select in his or her Statement of Interest the country of citizenship or Domicile that he or she wants the Nominating Committee to use for Diversity Calculation purposes. For purposes of this Section 7.2(b), a person can only have one Domicile, which shall be determined by where the candidate has a permanent residence and place of habitation. (Bylaws, Article 7, Section 7.2(b).)
  2. No official of a national government or a multinational entity established by treaty or other agreement between national governments may serve as a Director. As used herein, the term "official" means a person (i) who holds an elective governmental office or (ii) who is employed by such government or multinational entity and whose primary function with such government or entity is to develop or influence governmental or public policies. (Bylaws, Article 7, Section 7.4(a).)
  3. No person who serves in any capacity (including as a liaison) on any Supporting Organization Council shall simultaneously serve as a Director or Liaison to the Board. If such a person is identified by, or presents themselves to, the Supporting Organization Council or the At-Large Community for consideration for nomination to serve as a Director, the person shall not thereafter participate in any discussion of, or vote by, the Supporting Organization Council or the committee designated by the At-Large Community relating to the nomination of Directors by the Council or At-Large Community, until the Council or committee(s) specified by the At-Large Community has nominated the full complement of Directors it is responsible for nominating. In the event that a person serving in any capacity on a Supporting Organization Council is considered for nomination to serve as a Director, the constituency group or other group or entity that selected the person may select a replacement for purposes of the Council's nomination process. In the event that a person serving in any capacity on the At-Large Advisory Committee is identified as or accepts a nomination to be considered for nomination by the At-Large Community as a Director, the Regional At-Large Organization or other group or entity that selected the person may select a replacement for purposes of the At-Large Community's nomination process. (Bylaws, Article 7, Section 7.4(b), see https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en#article7.)
  4. No Director may serve more than three consecutive terms. For these purposes, a person designated to fill a vacancy in a term shall not be deemed to have served that term. (Bylaws, Article 7, Section 7.8(e).)
  5. No person who serves on the Nominating Committee in any capacity shall be eligible for nomination by any means to any position on the Board or any other ICANN body having one or more membership positions that the Nominating Committee is responsible for filling, until the conclusion of an ICANN annual meeting that coincides with, or is after, the conclusion of that person's service on the Nominating Committee. (Bylaws, Article 8, Section 8.8, https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#article8.)

The current composition of the Board of Directors is available here: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/board-of-directors

The NomCom will use the Criteria for Selection of ICANN Directors contained in Article 7, Section 7.3 of the ICANN Bylaws for the selection of all candidates the NomCom is tasked with selecting. These Criteria are:

  1. Accomplished persons of integrity, objectivity, and intelligence, with reputations for sound judgment and open minds, and a demonstrated capacity for thoughtful group decision-making;
  2. Persons with an understanding of ICANN's Mission and the potential impact of ICANN decisions on the global Internet community, and committed to the success of ICANN;
  3. Persons who will produce the broadest cultural and geographic diversity on the Board consistent with meeting the other criteria set forth in this Section 7.3;
  4. Persons who, in the aggregate, have personal familiarity with the operation of gTLD registries and registrars; with ccTLD registries; with IP address registries; with Internet technical standards and protocols; with policy-development procedures, legal traditions, and the public interest; and with the broad range of business, individual, academic, and non-commercial users of the Internet; and
  5. Persons who are able to work and communicate in written and spoken English.

Time Commitment and Working Practice

The successful candidates will be appointed to the ICANN Board following the end of the 2021 Annual Meeting, which is currently scheduled between 23 and 28 October 2021, through the end of the 2024 ICANN Annual Meeting.

The basic responsibilities of an ICANN Director require a substantial commitment of time which when averaged out over the year, could reach up to 50% of available time each working day of the week. The time spent in these basic responsibilities is typically clustered around Board meetings, Board workshops, ICANN Public meetings and teleconferences, as well as a fair amount of travelling. In addition, there is a constant flow of information requiring regular attention on almost a daily basis.

Directors also spend time preparing for and participating in telephonic/virtual Board meetings throughout the year, and spend additional time in connection with their work on Board Committees, a commitment that varies in relation to the number of Board Committees on which they serve, the scope of the Committee's responsibilities, and their role as Chair or Member of the Committee.

For further details of the work of the ICANN Board see https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/board-of-directors

Position: ICANN At-Large Advisory Committee

Number of Seats: Three

  • One (Africa)
  • One (Asian, Australasian and Pacific Islands)
  • One (Latin America and Caribbean Islands)

Start of Term: After conclusion of Annual Meeting 2021

End of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2023

For a definition of ICANN's geographic regions see https://meetings.icann.org/en/regions.

The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) is the ICANN body responsible for representing the voice of the end user in policy and operational discussions. For more information on the work of the ALAC and the overall user community within ICANN – At-Large, see https://atlarge.icann.org/alac.

To fill vacancies on the ALAC, the NomCom is seeking accomplished persons of integrity, objectivity and intelligence who have:

  • An abiding desire to ensure that individual end users' needs are addressed as ICANN carries out its role of coordinating in the global Internet's systems of unique identifiers. In particular the ALAC must act as a balance to those whose interests lie with those who provide Internet and domain name registrations and services, domain name registrants and content, and service providers.
  • An interest in and the time to become active in ICANN policy discussions and in enabling communications with individual Internet users and their representatives.
  • For avoidance of doubt, the ALAC is seeking people who have a very clear understanding of non-technical, non-industry individual users, want to actually work on matters related to ICANN and individual users, and are self-starters.

At a more granular level this may include the following competencies and interests:

  • a commitment to ICANN's mission and an understanding of the potential impact of ICANN decisions on the global Internet community
  • an understanding of the DNS and the impact of ICANN policy on end-users
  • demonstrated capacity for thoughtful group decision-making and sound judgment
  • an interest in bottom-up consensus policy building in a real-life environment
  • an ability to chair or otherwise provide leadership and support for a multi-stakeholder group working to reach consensus
  • the following knowledge, qualities and experiences are specifically sought:

    • A strong advocate for the needs and interest of individual Internet users not only those of the region they will represent, but globally
    • Experience and skills that bear on gathering, understanding, and communicating the interests of individual users and in group decision-making.
    • Consumer protection and or consumer advocacy experience particularly in communications/telecommunication sector
    • Specific experience and/or expertise in internet-related policy development.
    • An interest in and knowledge of internet governance issues.
    • Leadership experience in local or regional internet-related or DNS policy experience in gTLD or ccTLD activities including issues relating to Internationalized Domain Names.
    • Ability to work as a team leader bringing perspectives not otherwise reflected in the existing ALAC membership and is intended to diversify the skill and experience sets of the ALAC.
    • Strong local networks that will positively enhance the current ALAC and Regionally focused strategic and project planning as they relate to the wider ICANN Strategic plan and ALAC Improvement Implementation.
    • Ability and interest to work in a multi-cultural environment.
  • a willingness to serve as a volunteer, without compensation other than the reimbursement of certain expenses
  • an ability to work and communicate effectively in English (although there is no requirement that English be the candidate's first language)

In filling these positions, the NomCom will be seeking to identify ALAC members who reflect the global diversity of the Internet community and the wide range of technical, commercial and civil society activities that are impacted by the DNS.

The At-Large Community provides a mechanism for individual user participation in ICANN and ensures that the interests and needs of Internet users are duly considered in ICANN discussions and decisions. Individual users may include consumers, registrants, not-for-profit or for profit business users, but the key term is that they are 'individuals' acting on their own behalf. Users typically participate through user organizations called At-Large Structures (ALS), or as individual members, all of which are grouped into Regional At Large Organizations (RALOs). The ALAC is the entity that is the formal voice of the At-Large Community within ICANN. ALAC members, like members of other ICANN Advisory Committees, receive no compensation for their services as Committee members. The Board may, however, authorize the reimbursement of the actual, documented and necessary expenses incurred by Advisory Committee members performing their duties as Advisory Committee members. (Bylaws Article 12, Section 12.6.)

The NomCom will use the Criteria for Selection of ICANN Directors (see above) in choosing selectees for ALAC. ALAC members are expected to support the ICANN mission and the implementation of the ICANN core values. The NomCom will also take into account the following eligibility factors and additional considerations.

ALAC Eligibility Factors

No person who serves on the NomCom in any capacity is eligible for selection by any means to any position on the ALAC (the Board or any other ICANN body having one or more membership positions that the NomCom is responsible for filling) until the conclusion of an ICANN annual meeting that coincides with, or is after, the conclusion of that person's service on the NomCom. (Bylaws, Article 8, Section 8.8, see https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#article8)

The five members of the ALAC selected by the NomCom shall include one citizen of a country within each of the five Geographic Regions (Africa; Asia/Australia/Pacific Islands; Europe; Latin America/Caribbean Islands; and North America) established according to Bylaws Article 7, Section 7.5. Only citizens Africa; Asia/Australia/Pacific Islands; and Latin America/Caribbean Islands regions as defined in ICANN's definition of geographic regions https://meetings.icann.org/en/regions are eligible for ALAC vacancies in 2021.

Additional Considerations

For the ALAC positions, experience and skills that bear on gathering, understanding, and communicating the interests of individual users are essential. Perspectives not otherwise reflected in the existing ALAC membership would be advantageous. The NomCom's selections for ALAC are intended to diversify the skill and experience sets of the ALAC.

Current composition of the ALAC is available at https://atlarge.icann.org/alac. The Bylaws do not state a limit on the number of terms ALAC members may serve.

Time Commitment and Working Practice

The successful candidates will be appointed to the ALAC following the 2021 ICANN Annual Meeting, through the end of the 2023 ICANN Annual Meeting.

The basic responsibilities of an ALAC member involve a minimum of 25-30 hours per month on Committee related activities. This includes participating in online (email) discussions, commenting on/contributing to documents/proposed actions (drafted in English), participating in monthly ALAC telephone conferences (in English), typically held on the 4th Tuesday of the month, participating in ICANN Working Groups both within and outside of the At-Large and meeting with/making presentations to local and regional organizations.

ALAC members serving as liaisons to other Supporting Organizations, ALAC members who comprise the ALAC Leadership team (one per region) or ALAC members who take on specific working group responsibilities can expect to spend more than these basic hours per month. In person attendance at three ICANN meetings per year is not included in this monthly time estimate. Virtual ICANN meetings may require a lesser but still significant amount of time. ICANN has traditionally reimbursed actual and documented expenses incurred by ALAC members for attending ICANN meetings.

All ALAC Members are expected to take on roles in ALAC or other ICANN working groups.

ALAC members chairing or participating in working groups, taking on an ALAC Leadership Team position or serving as liaisons to other Advisory Committees or to Supporting Organizations, can expect to spend more than these basic hours per month. ALAC members are expected to make a commitment to attend all Committee meetings and to participate actively in policy-related issues and other working groups.

The ALAC operates in a transparent manner and publishes participation statistics on its website. Committee members also will be expected to attend three face-to-face meetings each year held during the ICANN Public Meetings, which generally run about seven days with potentially extensive responsibilities on most days for ALAC members. There may occasionally be additional face-to-face interim meetings or regional meetings.

Many ALAC and ICANN meetings are conducted via teleconference. Due to participation of representatives of all ICANN regions, such calls will inevitably occur during working hours for some ALAC Members, and during evening or early morning hours for others. Although attempts are made to lessen this impact, ALAC Members should be reasonably flexible regarding scheduling of conference calls given reasonable advance notice.

Position: Generic Names Supporting Organization Council

Number of Seats: Two members of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Council – one representing the Contracted Parties House and one representing the Non-Contracted Parties House.

Start of Term: After conclusion of Annual Meeting 2021

End of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2023

The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) is a policy-development body responsible for developing and recommending to the ICANN Board substantive policies relating to generic top-level domains. The GNSO Council is responsible for managing the policy development process in the GNSO. For more information on the work of the GNSO Council, see https://gnso.icann.org/en/about/council.

To fill a vacancy on the GNSO Council, the NomCom is seeking accomplished persons of integrity, objectivity and intelligence who meet the following criteria:

  • Possess a good understanding of, and ideally experience in, the GNSO Policy Development Process.
  • Possess a good understanding of the ICANN environment as a whole, including the different Supporting Organizations (SO) and Advisory Committees (AC), interactions amongst them and knowledge about the multistakeholder model and its processes,
  • Possess a good understanding of the GNSO structure, existing ICANN consensus policies and contracts between ICANN and registries and registrars.
  • Be committed to ICANN's mission and have an understanding of the potential impact of ICANN decisions on the global Internet community.
  • Have a good understanding of the Domain Name System (DNS) and the industry structure of the domain name market.
  • Have a willingness, ability and commitment to travel to and actively participate in ICANN's three Public Meetings per year (or participate virtually if applicable), attend all monthly Council meetings and serve as a volunteer on the Council throughout the term, without compensation other than the standard ICANN reimbursement of certain expenses.
  • Must not be committed to another role, within or outside the ICANN community, that may prevent the candidate from being able to commit the requisite time and attention to serving as an effective GNSO Councilor. In addition, the candidate must act independently and in the larger public interest, and not act as a representative of, nor lobby or advance the interest of any particular employer, organization, group, or committee.

In addition, the accomplished persons must possess the following skillset:

  • A demonstrated capacity for thoughtful group decision-making and sound judgment.
  • Expertise in the possible impacts (including costs, benefits and practical implications) of new policies relating to gTLDs on stakeholders, including commercial and non-commercial users, Internet infrastructure providers, and ICANN contracted parties.
  • An ability to work and communicate in written and spoken English (although there is no requirement that English be the candidate's first language).

Meeting the criteria and possessing the skillset above are of more importance than where the candidate is from (e.g., within versus outside the ICANN community, from a particular Supporting Organization or Advisory Committee, etc.). However, in filling this position, the NomCom will be seeking to select a Council member who reflects the diversity of the global Internet community and the wide range of policy, technical, commercial and non-commercial activities that are impacted by the DNS.

Job Responsibilities

A NomCom appointee is intended to be independent and is free to participate in Council activities according to their own conscience and views. Voting appointees are not meant to represent their current or previously affiliated ICANN community group and are encouraged to engage with the Council representatives of their appointed House in order to understand their concerns and views, so that the NomCom appointee may be an informed and effective Councilor.

Basic responsibilities include:

  • Attending monthly GNSO Council meetings.
  • Attending face-to-face or virtual GNSO Council meetings at ICANN's three Public Meetings, and all other associated GNSO Council meetings.
  • Attending the GNSO Council's Strategic Planning Sessions in person or remotely
  • Reviewing and understanding preparatory materials in a timely manner and engaging in discussion where applicable, both on the email list and during meetings.
  • Consulting with the Council representatives of their appointed house, as the appointee deems appropriate.

The NomCom appointee's freedom to participate in GNSO and Council activities of his/her choosing may include but are not limited to:

  • Joining GNSO Working Groups, as well as Chairing them.
  • Supporting GNSO Council efforts, including drafting, scoping, and other ad hoc small team efforts.
  • Serving as a GNSO Council liaison to GNSO efforts.
  • Run for and/or serve in any GNSO leadership position, including Chair

Time Commitment

The successful candidate(s) will be appointed to the GNSO Council at the end of the ICANN Annual General Meeting (AGM) for a term of 2 years.

Council members spend, on average, 2–10 hours per week on Council work. This increases as each of ICANN's three annual public meetings approaches.

Council members are expected to prepare in advance for any motions to be considered at a Council meeting by reading the reports submitted by Working Groups, as appropriate, and consulting with his/her appointed house, as appropriate.

Members work, on average, an additional 2–4 hours per week for each GNSO Working Group they choose to join. GNSO Council liaisons and GNSO leadership positions may require significant additional hours.

Position: Country Code Name Supporting Organization Council

Number of Seats: One

Start of Term: After conclusion of Annual Meeting 2021

End of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2024

The Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) is a policy-development body responsible for developing and recommending to the Board global policies relating to country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs), nurturing consensus across the ccNSO's community, including the name-related activities of ccTLDs, and coordinating with other ICANN Supporting Organizations, Advisory Committees, and constituencies. For more information on the work of the ccNSO Council, see https://ccnso.icann.org/. To fill one vacancy on the ccNSO Council, the NomCom is seeking accomplished persons of integrity, objectivity and intelligence who have:

  • a commitment to ICANN's mission and an understanding of the potential impact of ICANN decisions on the global Internet community
  • an understanding of the ccTLD issues
  • demonstrated capacity for thoughtful group decision-making and sound judgment
  • a willingness to serve as a volunteer, without compensation other than the reimbursement of certain expenses
  • an ability to work and communicate in written and spoken English (although there is no requirement that English be the candidate's first language)

In filling one position, the NomCom will be seeking Council members who reflect the global diversity of the Internet community and the wide range of technical, commercial and public interest activities that are impacted by the DNS.

Time Commitment and Working Practice

The successful candidate will be appointed to the ccNSO Council immediately following the end of the 2021 Annual Meeting, which is currently scheduled to take place between 23 and 28 October 2021, through the end of the 2024 ICANN Annual Meeting.

An average ccNSO Council member would spend at least 12 hours per month on Council related activities, with those chairing Working Groups or Task Forces spending at least 30 hours a month. (The commitment involves a minimum of six hours per month based on an average of two-hour teleconferences (or physical meetings) per month plus about two hours of preparation for each meeting for reading task force reports and potentially discussing with the community. Participation in committees of the council and/or task forces could easily double that minimum time commitment.)

Domain Name System
Internationalized Domain Name ,IDN,"IDNs are domain names that include characters used in the local representation of languages that are not written with the twenty-six letters of the basic Latin alphabet ""a-z"". An IDN can contain Latin letters with diacritical marks, as required by many European languages, or may consist of characters from non-Latin scripts such as Arabic or Chinese. Many languages also use other types of digits than the European ""0-9"". The basic Latin alphabet together with the European-Arabic digits are, for the purpose of domain names, termed ""ASCII characters"" (ASCII = American Standard Code for Information Interchange). These are also included in the broader range of ""Unicode characters"" that provides the basis for IDNs. The ""hostname rule"" requires that all domain names of the type under consideration here are stored in the DNS using only the ASCII characters listed above, with the one further addition of the hyphen ""-"". The Unicode form of an IDN therefore requires special encoding before it is entered into the DNS. The following terminology is used when distinguishing between these forms: A domain name consists of a series of ""labels"" (separated by ""dots""). The ASCII form of an IDN label is termed an ""A-label"". All operations defined in the DNS protocol use A-labels exclusively. The Unicode form, which a user expects to be displayed, is termed a ""U-label"". The difference may be illustrated with the Hindi word for ""test"" — परीका — appearing here as a U-label would (in the Devanagari script). A special form of ""ASCII compatible encoding"" (abbreviated ACE) is applied to this to produce the corresponding A-label: xn--11b5bs1di. A domain name that only includes ASCII letters, digits, and hyphens is termed an ""LDH label"". Although the definitions of A-labels and LDH-labels overlap, a name consisting exclusively of LDH labels, such as""icann.org"" is not an IDN."