Hi everybody,
  
 Real policy work at ICANN is done in the Working Groups. WG's are the 
heart of the ICANN multi-stakeholder model and they are where - despite 
often being outnumbered - NCSG members have done their best work. Once you 
"survive" a WG, and hopefully had a rewarding experience, participating in 
additional working groups becomes almost second nature. The tough one is 
the first one and I'm happy to report that help is on its way.
  
 What follows is an invitation for everyone, particularly those of you who 
are interested in helping to formulate policy at ICANN, to join a GNSO Open 
House call designed to introduce participants to the working group process. 
You can learns the in's and out's of the WG's  from those who administer 
them along with community members who participate beside you in making them 
work. I participated in an earlier version of the Open House call and can 
recommend it with enthusiasm!
  
 The next GNSO WG Open House call is a week from today (Tuesday) : hope 
those interested will take advantage of the opportunity it offers. Details 
follow.  We have a number of working groups launching soon - make this the 
year you join us in expanding the influence of the NCSG and the 
noncommercial community throughout the GNSO!
  
 Thanks for considering.
  
 Best,
  
 Ed Morris
  
  

----------------------------------------
 From: "Nathalie Peregrine" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2016 8:52 PM
To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [council] Call for RSVPs: GNSO Working Group Newcomer Open House 
Session | 2 February 2016 at 14:00 UTC   
  
          Call for RSVPs | GNSO Working Group Newcomer Open House Session | 
2 February at 14:00 UTC 
       

Please RSVP via this form. Remote participation details will be sent on the 
1st February 2016.  

The GNSO Working Group Newcomer Open House Session returns on 2 February 
2016 and we are pleased to invite you to participate. These informal 
sessions provide an ideal opportunity for participants to ask questions 
about the GNSO Policy Development Process and the specifics of taking part 
in a Working Group.  

Of course, even though the open house sessions are intended for newcomers, 
anyone interested in brushing up their knowledge or looking for an 
opportunity to engage with others interested in GNSO policy development 
activities are welcome. 

In order to encourage interaction, we strongly recommend that you look 
through the list of Reading Materials at the bottom of this announcement.   


On the RSVP form, participants will be able to select items of interest 
chosen from three currently available categories:   	Policy Development A-Z 
 	Consensus Policy 	Working Group Guidelines 

Join us to learn more about the GNSO and about how you can effectively 
participate in ICANN! 

  
 Reading Materials:
    Annex A of the ICANN Bylaws - 
http://www.icann.org/en/about/governance/bylaws#AnnexA
   PDP Manual - 
http://gnso.icann.org/council/annex-2-pdp-manual-16dec11-en.pdf
   PDP Overview - http://gnso.icann.org/en/basics/consensus-policy/pdp
   Consensus Policy: 
http://gnso.icann.org/en/basics/consensus-policy/about
   GNSO Working Group Guidelines Summary - 
http://gnso.icann.org/council/summary-gnso-wg-guidelines-06apr11-en.pdf
   GNSO Working Group Guidelines -  
http://gnso.icann.org/council/annex-1-gnso-wg-guidelines-07apr11-en.pdf