Name: Mili Semlani Region of residence: India, Asia Pacific Gender: Female Employment: Journalist and Community Manager @Splice Media, founder and leader at Youth4IG Conflict of interest: None
Reasons for willingness to take on the position: I have been involved in the IG space since 2014 as a youth ambassador (I was a Netmission awardee). My journey in the IG world as a youth fellow has also given me valuable insights into recognizing and addressing barriers to participation and engagement at regional, local, and international forums IG forums. I joined NCUC right after my first ICANN fellowship to advance my work in capacity building and understanding policymaking to simplify it for those with a greater interest in policy development.
While my strength or education does not lie in policy-making, I understand the processes and structures fully well and I want to leverage my expertise in communication to build a stronger onboarding programme for newcomers to the community and aid the steep learning curve. Along with other EC members and experienced members of the community, I want to re-introduce the buddy/mentorship programme with a robust structure and KPIs.
In the past as EC for APAC, I have tried to revise the mailing list and increase communication at NCUC APAC level but unlike similar constituencies, the regional structures at NCUC/SG are not necessary for participation. Our current challenges include: - onboarding newcomers (finding new members is not the hard part as the various fellowships take care of it) - Provide support and beginner-friendly materials for newcomers to get plugged into the discussions - retention of member interest and participation
Hence I choose to focus my attention on building a holistic solution to address the above instead of plain outreach. And I am aware I can't do this alone. The ICANN ecosystem is complex and things work slowly here, so even while the feasibility of some of these plans has been gaged; rolling them out requires a lot more time, stakeholder buy-in and collective energy; that I hope to continue catalysing.
Qualifications for the position I am a tech, policy, and business journalist. I have reported in and about the Asian region with work assignments in India, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Singapore and have a good understanding of our diverse region. I hold a master's degree in Journalism and worked as a consultant for the BPF Gender and Access at IGF. This experience also enhanced my knowledge of IG policies and divulged my interest deeper in topics related to gender and ICT with a special focus on how ICT can be used to fight gender issues in developing Asian economies. I started and steered the community for youth in IG the APAC region in 2019 where we collectively submitted workshop proposals to regional IGF, public comments to ICANN, organized capacity-building webinars, strengthened the youth voice in APAC and ran a mentorship program with mentors like Samiran Gupta (ICANN GSE for India) and Donna Austin. I have been a part of the APAC community since 2014 and I know both young and senior IG leaders in our community closely. I have been a fellow at APrIGF 2017 and 2019 and ICANN 63 and 66, in SIG 2018.
Time commitment I have been part of various IG processes for over 10 years now and know it enough to get used to the workload, volunteer burnout, and working across time zones. I work remotely and that aids my ability to join in meetings and spend the time and energy that is needed to serve on the Executive Committee, especially in such a complex environment as ICANN. Mostly, I am eager to offer my creativity to manage the various tasks in keeping the community active and going strong. I am motivated to make the APAC presence at ICANN not just larger but also more importantly vocal (undoing the shy Asian stereotype) and it will be my pleasure to contribute to NCUC's development and growth in the upcoming year by building something more tangible and longer lasting beyond my term on the EC.
I am open to taking any questions about my suitability for this role and suggestions on my vision for improving NCUC structures. I hope you will support my candidature. Thank you. --
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Shadrach Ankrah
Name: Shadrach Ankrah
Region of residence: Africa (AF)
Gender: Male
Employment: IT Support Specialist; Founder & Executive Director – Connect Rurals
Conflict of interest: None
Why I Want to Serve on the EC
I'm passionate about contributing to the NCUC's mission and fostering a strong regional voice in ICANN policy discussions. The opportunity to collaborate with dedicated individuals to shape Internet governance excites me. My journey within the global Internet community began in 2018 as an ISOC Youth@IGF fellow, where I gained an in-depth understanding of the Internet ecosystem. This fellowship has been the foundation of my active participation and contribution to the Internet.
My goal has always been to represent and assist youth and underserved communities in gaining digital skills and access to the Internet, thereby transforming their lives. With this passion and desire, I have participated in many youth-led initiatives and communities, including the Youth Observatory (ISOC’s Youth Standing Group), Digital Grassroots, the Ghana Youth IGF steering committee, West Africa and Africa, and the global IGFs. I have contributed to these communities in various capacities, serving as a trainer, mentor, and technical support person, ensuring the successful completion of initiatives and integration of youth into those communities.
Often, rural and underserved communities are not included in opportunities related to digital transformation. For example, in my country, Ghana, many opportunities such as access to broadband, STEM training, and ICT tools and equipment mainly benefit those in urban areas, leaving those in rural areas behind. I have been focusing on addressing this issue for years, and it has led me to run a nonprofit initiative called Connect Rurals, where we focus on providing these skills and connecting rural communities to the opportunities the Internet offers.
This was the reason for joining the NCUC, and I am confident that I can effectively represent the voices of rural and underserved communities in ICANN.
Relevant Experience and Qualifications
I am an IT Support Specialist, which has allowed me to contribute to technical initiatives within the community. For instance, in 2022, I was part of a team of trainers who provided Disaster Preparedness Training (IDPT) to local NGOs, national and regional disaster management organizations, Internet Society Ghana chapter members, telecommunications staff, and young professionals. This training aimed to enable local communities to become more efficient and effective in restoring power and Internet connectivity and enhancing information sharing during a disaster or an emergency.
As a 2019 Hackathon@AIS fellow, I gained an understanding of Internet measurement where I participated in DNS over TLS (DoT) and DNS over HTTPS (DoH) setups and measured the performance of caching resolvers against locally set up DoT and DoH servers against publicly available DNS resolvers.
In addition, I have an understanding of policy development processes. As an AFRINIC-31 participant, I have been involved in policy discussions on the RDP mailing list and during the AFRINIC-31 Policy Meeting in Luanda, Angola. Furthermore, I have had the opportunity to participate in and learn about the policy development processes within ICANN by attending meetings. As the EC representative for Africa in NCUC, I plan to participate more actively in PDP and contribute to policies that shape the end-user and civil society perspectives.
Aside from these, I have actively participated and volunteered within the ICANN community. During the ICANN77 Policy Meeting in Washington D.C, I volunteered as a booth engager and also assisted in writing the ICANN77 fellows report. I also did the same during the Africa Engagement Forum held in July 2023 in Accra. With my active engagement within the At-Large Social Media group, I have won two (2) social media awards, one at each of these meetings.
Time Commitment
With my years of engagement and volunteering experience, I know the time commitment needed to serve in such a community. While, I am not mentioning, specific hours of time commitment, I am available to attend the EC meetings and other meetings within ICANN both in-person and remotely. In this regard, the time commitment to attend EC meetings can be within 10 hours a week. This is because I have engaged in other communities that regard weekly and regular meetings with individuals from different backgrounds and time zones.
Communication with Membership
I am open to and welcome discussions from all members. I will keep NCUC members informed, if necessary, and work with the other EC members and the chair to provide email updates with clear summaries of EC discussions and decisions. I will also be open and engage with community members during ICANN and other Internet-related events. Additionally, I am open to exploring other communication methods based on members’ feedback.
NCUC's Future and ICANN Policy Focus
NCUC can play a crucial role in promoting regional Internet governance capacity building. I envision expanding outreach programs to educate and empower stakeholders across the region, especially those in underserved communities.
