Hooray, and welcome Avri! We are very lucky to have you, your experience, your caring, your commitment to public interest principles ...and you support! Kathy > 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.