NCUC Trip Proposal 1

https://www.irex.org

https://www.opentech.fund/

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Purpose and Goals

At ICANN 55 in Marrakech, representatives of the NCSG communicated to the Board that the NCUC and NPOC need to build their capacity to absorb an increased, growing, and specialised workload. Since then, we have been asked to participate in more and more Working Groups and to comment on more and more policy issues. NCSG leaders and community veterans have said that volunteer burnout within our community has reached a critical juncture. It has thus been an operational priority for the NCUC to encourage new, long-term participation in our ICANN activities.

The Internet Freedom Festival (IFF) is an annual conference that explores the threats to human rights enabled by the Internet. It is organised around seven themes, one of which is “Advocacy, Policy, and Research”. The 2017 conference attracted approximately 1,300 professionals from around the world. As these participants are already active and either working or volunteering in Internet policy activities, I believe they have the capacity to be quickly brought up to speed on our work. They have a demonstrated professional interest in using policy to achieve social and political change, and many have backgrounds in gender empowerment, human rights protections, or in building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions. Attendance at this forum will also allow the NCUC to promote and assess the embodiment of ICANN principles in IFF processes.

Proposed Outcomes

• Attract new, diverse, and active community members to the NCUC
• Increase public participation in the multistakeholder model
• Widen the NCUC’s international engagement efforts
• Enhance trust in ICANN as an institution

Additional Information

I have submitted a workshop proposal which I hope to moderate at the IFF on behalf of the NCUC. This workshop was developed in a bottom-up manner on the NCUC’s mailing list. This will be a 60-minute conversation on how new voices can get involved in global Internet governance debates.

In the event that this proposal is not approved by the organisers, I will seek to speak in other sessions on behalf of the NCUC and will organise, in the side-lines, an informal conversation where I will frame the NCUC as a welcoming and open space where new voices can speak and be heard. As a relatively new member of the NCUC who has recently transitioned into a leadership role on the GNSO Council, I can also speak knowledgably about how the ICANN community has welcomed me and how I have become involved in NCUC and ICANN processes.

I believe that the outreach that can be accomplished at the IFF, formally and informally, furthers the goals of the CROP programme by building local, regional, and global awareness of our work, allows for the recruitment of new community members who can be quickly on-boarded, and would allow us to communicate ICANN’s mission and objectives to new audiences.

Internet Freedom Festival 2018 - Session Proposal

Session Title:      How you can get involved in shaping the future of the Internet — make an impact, and have fun while doing it!

Session Proposer: ICANN Non-Commercial Users Constituency

Theme: Advocacy, Policy, and Research

Language: English

Session Format: Conversation

Skill Level: Beginner

Session Length: 1 hour

Session Description:

Most of us are skilled at using the Internet, but few know how, as an end-user of the Internet, we can make an impact in global Internet policy and shape its future evolution.

This session brings together in conversation various Internet governance experts — some with a junior profile, others with several years of experience — to speak about their pathways to engagement in global Internet governance.

The conversation begins with an introduction to the work of ICANN and the Domain Name System (DNS). We will also cover why it is important that civil society and individual end-users participate in the shaping of these policies.

The conversation then turns to the different positions taken by the various stakeholder groups and how they can be influenced by various factors, before examining the different resources — of mentorship, of capacity building, of travel support — that are available to make the participation of new voices in DNS policy a reality.

We conclude on a practical note, explaining how you can get involved now in the DNS policy issues that you care about. We will give some practical pointers on how you can get involved, see the multistakeholder model in action, and fight for change.

Who is this session for?

If you have strong positions on issues like privacy and data protection, human rights online, economic growth, and development for empowerment, and increasing access to knowledge, but don’t know how to translate this to Internet governance debates, come to this session and learn how getting involved in Domain Name System policy could be one avenue where you can contribute your ideas and knowledge, make a difference, and have fun in the process.

What outcomes would you like your session to have?

• Participants will leave this conversation understanding a pragmatic and attainable pathway to engagement in Internet policy.
• Participants will discover what communities, working groups, and comment opportunities are out there in the various Internet policy making fora.
• During the session, a collaborative pad will be created, collating relevant Internet policy making resources which you can use — and share with your friends and colleagues — to jump start your own efforts in shaping policy.