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Please forward your responses to this email address: onboarding@lists.ncuc.org. Participation is optional, and a friendly reminder - if you do reply, we will not post your answers publicly.

We know that it might seem like the landscape here within the NCUC and ICANN might be difficult to navigate. It is, but it is not impossible and will start to make more sense soon. We want to help you too. Please reach out to us with your questions, concerns, comments, and feedback: onboarding@lists.ncuc.org. Our mentors check this inbox periodically and are on-hand to help you assimilate into our community and into the various working groups.

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The NCUC amplifies the voice of individuals and civil society organizations in the development of the Domain Name System and this area of the Internet’s infrastructure. We have real voting power in ICANN’s policy-making processes and work to develop and support positions that favour non-commercial communication and activity online.

Here’s how we do it. We: 

• Mobilize civil society actors to participate in ICANN.

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• Elect representatives to the GNSO Council, which coordinates the policy development process for generic Top Level Domains.

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• Collaborate and interact with other stakeholders in ICANN on matters of common concern, including businesses, governments, and others.

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• Develop and advocate policy positions.

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• Send members around the world to engage and participate in important agenda setting and decision making processes.

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• Organize conferences and events exploring global Internet governance issues.

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We have a proud history that stretches back 20 years. Our principled and consistent stances in support of Internet freedoms and human rights have allowed us to successfully take a noncommercial outlook on policy matters within ICANN today. If you would like to learn more about where we have come from, please read this essay by Milton Mueller.

Also, you may find the following videos useful for getting a taste for what our constituency stands for. And be sure to look out for these faces at future ICANN meetings! 

• What is the NCUC? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O98MF9eZbo. Includes NCUC members Robin Gross, Wendy Seltzer, Kathy Kleiman, Avri Doria, and Milton Mueller speaking about why you might want to get involved in the NCUC (running time: 2:41).

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• What are non-commercial uses of the Domain Name System? An extended interview with Rafik Dammak, former chair of the NCUC’s Executive Committee  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmdhr4P3kQA (running time: 9:04).

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• What are the NCUC’s values? An interview with Bill Drake (a long term NCUC member and also former chair of NCUC) as he shares some tips and insights for newcomers to the constituency - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGRQSRjJQAU (running time: 7:32).

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• A brief history of the NCUC and its origins. A lecture from Milton Mueller - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRlrqSyAibU (running time: 5:41).

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The Internet is an ecosystem full of stakeholders – actors like businesses, governments, researchers, civil society organisations, the technical community, noncommercial and individual end-users, and others – who play a vital role in the Internet’s evolution. The ways in which the participation of these actors is allowed or encouraged influences the degree to which these stakeholders are seen to have a credible and effective voice in the governance of the Internet. 

The Internet has historically been developed through policy development processes which are transparent, collaborative, and bottom-up. Some stakeholder groups consider this model to be a threat to their sphere of influence, and these actors have worked to maintain a more top-down approach to governance decisions. Nonetheless, multistakeholderism has largely prevailed and today ICANN’s governance framework is a multistakeholder one. It is the idea that there is no one decision-maker of the Internet – a multitude of stakeholders (and not only government agencies) pass rules for the Internet’s infrastructure and the Domain Name System. We write the rules together and we all have a voice in the process on an equal footing with everybody else – but only if we turn up in the first place and participate in the debates. The idea is that Internet governance should mimic the structure of the Internet itself – borderless and open to all. 

ICANN has a Board of Directors which holds the ultimate authority to approve or reject policy recommendations. The Board is elected by Supporting Organizations on the basis of advice from a Nominating Committee and certain advisory groups. 

ICANN has three Large “Supporting Organizations” (SOs) which are responsible for developing and making policy recommendations to the Board: -         

• Address Supporting Organizations – for the groups who run the Internet Protocol numbers (also called IP addresses) around the world, including their allocation, transfer, and record-keeping.

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• Country Code Supporting Organization – for the entities and organizations who run each of the country code top-level domains (or ccTLDs) like .jp, and who choose to participate in the ICANN process.

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• Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) – the group that sets out the policies for generic top-level domain names, both the 30-year old ones including .com, .net and .org, and the much newer ones, some just being delegated now, including .xyz, .ninja, and .radio.

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Once policy recommendations have been made, they are also reviewed and advice is provided by a series of advisory committees that represent special interests in the ICANN community. It is important to note that these committees do not get involved with policy development. They include: -         

• Government Advisory Committee (GAC)

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• At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC)

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• Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC)

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• Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC).

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ICANN staff are responsible for executing and implementing policies developed by the ICANN community and adopted by the ICANN Board. 

The ICANN Ombudsman is an independent, impartial, and neutral person contracted to ICANN, with jurisdiction over problems and complaints made about decisions, actions, or inactions by ICANN, the Board of Directors, or unfair treatment of a community member by ICANN staff, Board, or a constituency body. 

The Nominating Committee  (NomCom)is a team of community volunteers responsible for the selection of eight ICANN Board members, and portions of the At-Large Advisory Committee, the Country Code Names Supporting Organisation, and the Generic Names Supporting Organisation. 

To get a taste for why people like ICANN’s multistakeholder model and the fun of this new type of policy-making process, please see the video created by NCUC co-founder Kathy Kleiman and Google: What is the Multistakeholder Model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR5csH7tIyc (running time: 3:59).

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• ICANNWiki – not to be confused with wiki.ICANN.org – is a great resource for finding basic explanations of different concepts, and community member biographies.
  https://www.icannwiki.org

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• The Internet Society has developed a graphic which provides a useful overview of the different actors who contribute to and broadly participate in how the Internet is governed, including those outside of ICANN’s remit. https://www.internetsociety.org/sites/default/files/bp_Internet%20Ecosystem_032614_en.pdf

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1. Registries (who run the databases for assigning, routing, and tracking domain names in all gTLDs, including .com, .org, .audio, .mom and .car), sign a Registry Agreement with ICANN to run these gTLDs.

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2. Registrars (who sell domain names in the gTLDs, e.g. NCUC.org) to the public sign Registrar Accreditation Agreements with ICANN.

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2. Registrants (who buy and use second level domain names, e.g. NCSG.org) sign domain name registration agreements with their Registrars that bind them to the rules created by ICANN.

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Accordingly, the Generic Names Supporting Organization is divided into two “Houses” for voting purposes, much like the British Parliament or US Congress:

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• One for the Registration Industry – Registries and Registrars – called the Contracted Parties House (for the contracts they sign with ICANN)

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• One for the ‘user community’ – of commercial and noncommercial users – called the Non-Contracted Parties House (reflecting the fact that we don’t sign contracts directly with ICANN).

We are part of the Non-Contracted Parties House. Here’s our structure:

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1. Domain Name System (DNS) Policies are developed through formal policy development processes, as set forth by the ICANN Bylaws. These policies become part of the contracts signed by Registries, Registries and Registrants – part of the rules of the global Domain Name System. Examples include the New gTLD Program, the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy, and the Expired Registration Recovery Policy, among many others. Our work in this area often focuses on protecting privacy, freedom of expression, human rights, fair use, and due process. This is what we are primarily involved with.
   
   
2. Operational Policies define how ICANN works as an organization. These include an array of Cross-Community Working Groups associated with enhancing ICANN’s accountability, transparency, and diversity. In addition, operational policies include those matters not subject to a formal policy development process, but where community input has been sought via public comment or other means in shaping them. Examples include a recent revision to the criteria for awarding an ICANN Fellowship, the language services policy for determining which meetings receive translation, and the conflict of interest policy for Board members.
   
   
3. General Practices. ICANN relies on established practices that ‘just exist’ and have not necessarily gone through a formalised approval process. Examples include acceptable behaviour and conduct from community members when asking questions to Board at a public comment forum.

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DNS policy is developed in different ways across the Supporting Organizations, but within the GNSO (where the NCUC sits), the process usually flows as follows:

-             Firstly, the GNSO Council or ICANN’s Board will identify the issue. It is up to the GNSO Council to determine whether or not the issue will result in consensus policy.

• If yes, the GNSO Council will request a Preliminary Issue Report to scope the issue.
• ICANN Staff will produce and publish the Preliminary Issue Report for public comment. Following public comment, this feedback will be reviewed and incorporated into a Final Issue Report.

-             The GNSO Council will consider the Final Issue Report and decide whether or not to initiate the formal Policy Development Process.

• If yes, the GNSO Council will develop and adopt a charter for the Policy Development Process working group.
• The GNSO Council will issue a call for volunteers to join the working group.

-             The working group is formed. The working group participants will meet regularly and consult with the community to develop their Initial Report. This Initial Report will be opened for public comment.

• After reviews and once community consensus is reached, the working group will submit its Final Report to the GNSO Council.

-             The GNSO Council will deliberate the Final Report.

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Shortly thereafter, you will be asked to complete a Statement of Interest (SOI) form. In this document, you publicly disclose who you work for and any other business relationships that might affect how you influence the working group. You cannot be disqualified from the group based on your SOI. It is posted so that others in the working group can understand what factors may influence your viewpoint. You will also be able to see the SOI of every other person in the working group.

What are my Responsibilities if I Join a Working Group?

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You should be aware that working groups are normally expected to operate under the principles of transparency and openness, which means that mailing list conversations are publicly archived, meetings are normally recorded and transcribed, and the public will be able to listen to or read your contribution. This is how the public can hold the ICANN community accountable for its work. 

What Do I Get in Return?

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NCUC Onboarding Group - email 7

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ICANN meetings are held three times each year in different regions of the globe to enable attendees from around the world to meet in person and to develop and implement Internet policies. There are three formats of ICANN meetings - A, B, and C - which affect the meeting’s duration and agenda. You can find information on the differences between the meeting types here: https://meetings.icann.org/en/future-meeting-strategy.
All meetings are free to attend, but registration is required. 

ICANN meetings offer a variety of sessions such as workshops, open forums, and working meetings, and there are also social events, giving you the best opportunity for face-to-face discussions and airing of opinions among knowledgeable people dedicated to the continued stable and secure operation of the Internet. Try to come to one when you feel ready! 

There are also pre-meeting workshops and working sessions where the volunteer members of the supporting organizations and advisory committees initiate their work. ICANN staff will also hold webinars to prepare us for the face-to-face meetings and to update us on the work of other community members. 

On the Sunday before the meeting begins, ICANN holds a series of training sessions – usually between 10:00 and 18:00 – just for newcomers to the community. Among the topics covered are an introduction to ICANN, how to use the ICANN engagement tools, and how the community interacts during and in between meetings. These sessions will help you participate more effectively in the ICANN community and attendance is recommended. 

The working language for ICANN meetings is English, but translation, scribing and interpretation into other languages is available for high-demand sessions. Remote participation is possible for all sessions. 

Detailed logistics and information about each meeting venue, registration, and remote participation can be found on the dedicated website created for each meeting. 

ICANN offers travel assistance to some members of its supporting organizations and advisory committees. The NextGen@ICANN and Fellowship programs also provide travel support to bring new voices into the ICANN community.

Furthermore, thanks to the generosity of the NCUC’s donours, the NCUC is able to offer limited travel support to our members to enable participation in ICANN meetings and other, relevant conferences such as the Internet Governance Forum – more information on the travel policy can be found on our website: http://www.NCUC.org.

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• The best thing you can do is join a working group – either as an observer (where you watch the email but cannot participate in the deliberations) or, even better, as a member and get the invitation to the join in the meetings of the working group.
• You can change your status from being an observer to a member at any time; but if you become a member, you will need to fill out the Statement of Internet (SOI) form. Feel free to ask for assistance!
• Most of our conversations at the NCUC-level happen on the mailing list. The volume of correspondence you receive might be intimidating – it is advisable to create a dedicated email address only for ICANN communications so that your personal or work email accounts do not become overwhelmed.
• Listen first, type second. Learning mailing list etiquette (“netiquette”) is an art. ICANN Staff have produced a quick and useful tutorial here. You have to register to view the module, but registration is free:  http://learn.icann.org/courses/newcomer-toolkit.
• You’ll find there are Skype channels which different participants use for informal, on-the-fly discussions. Ask around to find out which channels are currently being used.
• The ICANN YouTube channel is an excellent resource. Take a look at the short videos which ICANN staff have produced and subscribe to the channel. This way, you'll periodically come across bite-sized introductions to timely developments in the ICANN ecosystem.

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• Keep an eye out for invitations from ICANN staff to participate in the pre-meeting policy update webinars. These webinars last for 90 minutes and will give you a timely, high-level update as to what the community is up to. They happen three times per year. Periodically, leaders within the NCUC will organise a series of policy webinars to brief the membership on the latest policy developments of key topics that we are engaged in – we’ll announce these on the mailing list so you can plan ahead and join in, if you can.
• Commentary on ICANN is regularly published by other community members on CircleID, and in the media on The Register, DomainIncite, DomainPulse, DomainMondo, and the Internet Governance Project. There’s also a range of accounts on Twitter (including those of the NCUC and NCSG) which circulate interesting perspectives on different issues. Don’t believe everything you read, but it’s not a bad idea to check in on these sources occasionally to see what is being said about the working group you’re participating in or the issues you care about – or on the work that others are up to.
• Once a month, the NCSG Policy Committee will have a teleconference. This is open to all NCUC and NPOC members and other NCSG members, and is well worth listening in on.
• Find a mentor informally; look for someone else in our constituency who is active, interested in the same issues as you are, and making a difference. Come at them with structured questions and chances are they’ll be happy to help you find your place in our fun little world. If you are finding it difficult to find a mentor, you can ask the NCUC Chair or your regional Executive Committee representative for a recommendation.
• We have a number of focal points who can answer your questions on different policy issues. You can find them on our website: http://www.ncuc.org/focal-points/

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