Hi Avri,

Very glad you ultimately decided to take the plunge, having you on  
board will be an asset symbolically, tactically, and beyond.  Will you  
be announcing this and your reasons on the council list, or elsewhere,  
or would that unduly complicate the path to 30 October?

Cheers,

Bill

On Aug 6, 2009, at 7:13 AM, Avri Doria wrote:

> I wanted to make a few comments on why I joined.
>
> I have long been associated with the NCUC at a distance as a member  
> of, or as someone who donated to, several of the organizations that  
> belong to the NCUC. But I was never a member and actually did not  
> plan to become an individual member - I had other plans in mind.
>
> I am joining at this time, however,  not only because I support the  
> public-interest principles that are the foundation of NCUC, but  
> because I want to express my solidarity with a Stakeholder Group  
> that has received short shrift from ICANN in the process of  
> establishing itself.  The ICANN Board has now approved a Stakeholder  
> Group Charter that was not created through the bottom-up process but  
> by ICANN Policy Staff in a top-down manner.  The ICANN Board has  
> also blatantly ignored the bottom-up process that did occur and the  
> community outrage that ensued.  I am also disturbed that the  
> requirement for parity and equal conditions among the 4 Stakeholder  
> Groups, something that was central to the restructuring plan, has  
> been ignored when it comes to the NCSG.
>
> At this time, I  think it is important for me as an individual to  
> take a stand and to be counted with those who were so used and  
> abused by the ICANN system.  I am proud that my membership was  
> approved and that I can stand with you all in a continuing struggle  
> to see that the legitimate bottom-up processes and the will of civil  
> society participants in ICANN are respected.
>
> I further appreciate that the NCUC has accepted me as a member even  
> though I am still a Nomcom Appointee to the GNSO Council and as such  
> still bound to represent the public interest as I understand it and  
> not necessarily according to NCUC positions; though, of course,  
> often these two coincide.  As the current chair of the GNSO Council,  
> it also remains my responsibility to work toward consensus solutions  
> despite what I may believe is the 'best' solution.  For the  
> remainder of my term I will continue to function within the council  
> as an NomCom Appointee and as Chair in the same manner as I have up  
> until now.  That is, I will not be speaking for the NCUC positon in  
> any issues within the purview of the GNSO Council, but will continue  
> to speak in my independent capacity.  My term as a member of GNSO  
> council, and as its chair, ends on 30 October 2009.
>
> Again, I am happy to have joined you.
>
> a.

***********************************************************
William J. Drake
Senior Associate
Centre for International Governance
Graduate Institute of International and
   Development Studies
Geneva, Switzerland
[log in to unmask]
www.graduateinstitute.ch/cig/drake.html
***********************************************************