I would like to thank Tapani Tarvainen for nominating me for another term as Chair of NCSG, and thanks to all those who have signaled their support. It is an honour to serve you all, and I do feel that I have only got started.
My name is Stephanie Perrin, I live in Canada, I am a woman and I am retired from 35 years service in the Canadian federal government, where I worked extensively on Data Protection issues in the Communications and IT departments, including the drafting of the Canadian private sector law. I took a leave of absence from the government to work as Chief Privacy Officer for Zero Knowledge Systems in 2000, and in 2003 set up my own consulting company, Digital Discretion Inc. I returned to government to work as Director of Research and Policy in the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada from 2005-7, and retired from Service Canada in 2013. I currently do a bit of privacy consulting, through Digital Discretion.
Given that my work always involves research and the implementation of law dedicated to the promotion of human rights and protection of privacy, it would be a rare occasion for me to have a conflict in any paid or volunteer work that I engage in, with the goals, activities and objectives of NCSG. I am well versed in the declaration of conflicts, and will do so should such an occasion arise.
It is a truism that those who work as public servants often underestimate what they have learned in their tasks, in terms of management experience, policy expertise, understanding of public interest and stakeholder differences, and risk management. After 6 years of volunteering at ICANN largely to promote its adherence to privacy law, I have realized that there are other aspects of management that I might usefully contribute to our enterprise here. I hope to do so over the coming year, focusing on metrics of our engagement, improved assistance to members to contribute, more policies governing our conduct, and procedures to clarify how we operate. In particular, I have worked on and hope to bring to our discussions:
Risk management and the concept of maturity models and growth in capability
Ethics and respect for a gender neutral, multicultural workplace
Financial management
Transparency and open government
Training and development
These are all areas I have worked in and received training in over the years. My resume is available on request. I received a PhD from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Information Studies in 2018, and I have an MA and BA in English literature. I have a certificate in risk management from the Sprott School of Management. I speak english and french.
I have been donating about 30 hours a week to ICANN over the past few years. I am retired (sort of) and can afford to contribute this time, but I recognize it is extremely hard for younger people with careers and families to look after to contribute this amount of time. We need to figure out better ways to distribute the workload, but I am certainly willing to give another year of work at this level.
I consider the multistakeholder model to be one of the more promising forms of governance in the information society, but I cannot say it is working at peak performance level. It is one of my goals to help improve how we do this, and it appears that this will be a critical year to focus on this issue, as ICANN.org has announced its intention to renovate the MS model. I hope you will elect me leader during this critical time, and I also hope that you will join in a rigorous effort to influence the outcome of this change of state at ICANN.
Finally I would like to thank Maryam Bakoshi for all she does to support me, the leadership team, and all of us, as our dedicated staff member.
Stephanie Perrin
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Tatiana Tropina
POSITION: GNSO COUNCIL
Name: Tatiana Tropina Region: Europe Gender: Female Employment: Senior Researcher, Max-Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Freiburg, Germany Conflict of interest: None
Reasons for willingness to take on the tasks of the particular position: The ultimate reason for my involvement at ICANN is that I want Noncommercial stakeholders to have a strong voice and a strong representation in the ICANN community as a whole and in the GNSO policy-making processes in particular. As a serving GNSO Councillor, who is eligible for the second term, I can say that I put my best effort to ensure that our - NCSG - voice is heard, that we are not only there cast our votes on the Council, but also always to deliberate, to advocate, to convince and, when necessary, to collaborate. GNSO Councillors elected by the NCSG serve to bring non-commercial values to the ICANN policy-making outcomes. I believe that in the last years NCSG made further progress to get those values taken into account, "standing on the shoulders” of those veterans who fought for them since the inception of ICANN. I hope I provided my contribution to this progress as a serving Council member, and I am willing to do this for another term.
I would also continue putting my efforts to ensure broader participation of NCSG membership in policy-making processes, via policy committee meetings, public comments and capacity building. In addition to the policy work, I have been actively involved in capacity building efforts at the ICANN meetings and other venues by participating in outreach activities of NCSG and NCUC, which targeted both newcomers and seasoned members and informed them about the on-going policy work. When I ran for my first GNSO term, I also aimed to ensure that NSCG will further strengthen collaboration with other stakeholder groups, when necessary, and contribute into building alliances, and I am still willing to work hard on this - together with my fellow councillors I indeed contributed to this collaboration with regard to various policy-making processes, and I am going to continue doing so when it serves the interests of NCSG.
To sum up, I have put my best efforts into, and - if elected - I will continue doing the following: - making NCSG always vocal, visible at present at the Council, in Council deliberations and work on drafting Council documents, - getting NCSG membership engaged in the policy processes and building capacity to do so, - collaborating and communicating with other stakeholder groups when it serves the best interests of NCSG while upholding our positions and values.
Qualifications for the position: Many of you know about my career path and my activities from different fora than ICANN: in the last 10 years, I have been focussing on policy-making and capacity building: in cybersecurity at my main work and in the broader internet governance context in general. My journey at ICANN started in 2015, when I joined NCUC and contributed to the work of CCWG-accountability during and after the transition, then became a member of the NCSG policy committee, later - was elected as a European representative on the NCUC EC in 2016 and - ultimately - was elected for my first term on the GNSO Council in 2017. In all of those roles, I have been trying to contribute as much as I could and represent non-commercial interests at ICANN in the best possible way. Those who follow closely the work of GNSO or NCSG policy committee know that I have always been "in the thick" of policy making, fully involved in Council discussions and deliberations and in channelling the input from NCSG membership to the GNSO Council level. Furthermore, in addition to my work on GNSO Council I am serving as an alternate on EPDP team and — since very recently - got involved in the GNSO bylaws drafting team as NCSG representative.
With all this work that has been already done, I believe I am fully qualified to continue serving on the Council for another term if NCSG membership still puts faith in me and elects me. When I ran for my first term, I promised to be vocal, be present, and be ready to put as much of my volunteer time and expertise in the policy-making on the GNSO level as needed. I did live up to those promises - I am indeed a very vocal GNSO Council member and I do my best to advance non-commercial interests there and to participate in coordination with the NCSG Policy committee to represent us even better.
Statement of availability for the time the position requires: As someone who is already serving her first term on the GNSO Council, I know that it requires time commitment and dedication. My track record of attending GNSO meetings — I guess my record should say I attended all of them during my term, at least I don’t remember missing one -- and my active participation speaks for itself. Furthermore, I have been active in other, between-the-meetings, Council activities, like drafting Council responses to GAC communique and shaping other documents, small group deliberations, strategy discussions, and also in NCSG policy committee meetings. Of course, the time required to attend the meetings is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a time commitment for preparation, coordination, NCSG policy committee work, there is a non-stop ongoing work between the calls and meetings. I am still ready to put my time and effort and fully commit to this work, as I already have proven to do.
I am happy to answer your questions here on the list or on the "meet the candidates" call.
Good luck to all the candidates!
Warm regards, Tatiana
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Ayden Fèrdeline
Name: Ayden Férdeline
Region of Residence: Europe
Gender: Male
Employment: Technology Policy Fellow, Mozilla Foundation
Conflicts of Interest: None
Reasons for willingness to take on the position:
I have had the great privilege of representing the NCSG on the GNSO Council for the past two years, and now that I’ve learned the ropes, I’d like to volunteer to serve another term. Through the GSNO Council, civil society has real voting power to impact domain name system policy. We are not the primary actor there and our challenges and constraints to participation are both well-known and legitimate. But this is not to say that we cannot be more vocal or have more influence.
We all have different ways of operationalizing how we bring about change. In Stephanie Perrin, when she was on the Council, that was by methodically deconstructing arguments and highlighting the holes in them. In our new NCSG Councilor Elsa Saade, her willingness to take the mic and to ask questions and to make others explain their points of view has just as powerfully seen their arguments collapse into pieces. Personally, I’m not always the most vocal person, and instead I have opted to Chair the Council’s Standing Committee on Budget and Operations. This has allowed me to take a deep dive into the financial and operational aspects of how ICANN org and the ICANN Board are functioning and to bring matters of common concern to the attention of the Commercial Stakeholders Group and the Contracted Parties House so that, in recognition of the fact that we lack some of the muscle that they do, we can work together to advance change.
I’ve enjoyed doing this, and I’ve enjoyed being on Council supporting and developing positions that advance non-commercial interests at ICANN. In general I would say that I have well-developed normative positions on issues, but when faced with specific policy questions, I take care to revise my thinking based on evidence and analysis. What I find exciting about ICANN is how it harnesses the power of the Internet to experiment in democratic governance on a global scale. It allows end-users like myself to participate in the management of a global resource. This public involvement in policy making is something which I have taken very seriously in the nearly four years that I have been an NCSG member, and if re-elected, I am willing to put in the hours to represent the NCSG professionally and intelligently as we advance and preserve non-commercial interests in GNSO discussions.
Qualifications for the position:
I am currently a technology policy fellow with the Mozilla Foundation, where I participate in advocacy and policy efforts to improve the health of the Internet. I thus have a professional interest in Internet and technology policy more broadly, but my involvement at ICANN in DNS policy is a personal endeavour and a personal interest.
I enjoy putting time aside in my calendar to advance the NCSG's interests at ICANN by drafting public comments, volunteering on the frontline in working groups, and communicating to new voices my own pathway to engagement and how they too can get involved. In addition, I have facilitated workshops and webinars to upskill participants in domain name policy issues, and I have worked with NCSG and NCUC leadership and alongside other NCSG, NPOC, and NCUC colleagues to contribute to the development of our onboarding programme.
I hold an MSc from the London School of Economics.
Additional information:
I believe in the NCSG's mission. I recognise the value of multistakeholderism, and I am passionate about the potential for technology to drive opportunity and to make our world a more open and connected place. I am absent circumstances that could give rise to a conflict of interest or bring the reputation of the NCSG into disrepute. To the best of my knowledge I have not taken any positions which are fundamentally inconsistent with the NCSG's principles or mission, and I have a history of active engagement in Internet governance-related working groups, discussion lists, and related activities.
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Farell Folly
Name, declared region of residence, gender and employment
Farell FOLLY | Africa | Male | - Computer Security (Cybersecurity) researcher at the Bundeswehr University of Munich, Germany.
Any conflict of Interest
None.
Reasons for willingness to take on the tasks of the particular position
After more than seven years of experience within ICANN, I now want to put my contribution at an outstanding level. My first ambition is to increase the technical skills present at the GNSO Council, especially regarding security-relevant aspects and decisions. I am confident that my knowledge of the DNS security could be of great value during liaisons between the SSAC or RSSAC. Indeed, having a better overview of the technical requirements and their feasibility renders decision-making process easier and more efficient, and lead to technically enforceable policy.
Secondly, I am a very tolerant person with good communication skills. I think that this very important at the level of the GNSO Council where consensus and many decision-making processes are routines. Last but not least, as somebody with the “Ubuntu” philosophy, I am always willing to help, defend weak peoples and advocate for the interest of the people who couldn’t. This is particularly true for non-commercial users of the Internet that are important actors but with very limited means to be aware and even express themselves.
Qualification for the Position
In addition to my experiences with ICANN and broadly with the Internet Ecosystem, I am proud to have also served as an NCSG Policy member representing the NCUC. Not only is this a proof of recognition of the NCUC for my contribution within the community, but it also demonstrates my willingness to help and contribute to Policy related issues. I have a strong professional background in IT and Internet Security with many years of experiences in policy development. I have a deep knowledge of the technical aspects of the DNS (working with Whois since 2007).
My experiences cover:
chairing working groups at International levels (for instance when I was an Army Captain, I had served as the Technical Director of a US Army Sponsored Program for IT and communications in Stuttgart, in Germany from 2010 to 2013), having been an executive of a national institution (ICT Governance Agency), and an IT Security manager at the United Nations, just to name a few. Currently, I am a security researcher working a project dealing with trustworthy systems and my Ph.D. focuses on the security of the Internet of Things.
Statement of availability for the position requires
As an active member of the NCSG Policy Committee, I already volunteer between 10-20 hours per week to ICANN and use to participate as an observer to GNSO Council meetings. In case I am appointed to the GNSO Council, nothing will change regarding my commitment. I will just change from the status of an observer to an active member and could even increase my commitment whenever the need be. Moreover, let me inform you that my current employer allowed me to physically attend all ICANN public meetings and agreed to set me available whenever my presence or contribution is required.
Optionally any other information that the candidate believes is relevant
Apart from being an active IT security engineer and a researcher in IoT Security, my various experiences and positions outside and within the ICANN community (NCSG, GNSO) demonstrate that I have many times been involved in governance, policy development, security, and other technical aspects. Last year, for instance, within the context of my Ph.D. research, I published an IoT security paper in the IEEE journal. Earlier in the past, I made many contributions to AFRINIC (the African Regional Registry), the Internet Governance Forum, and the International Telecommunications Union. Actually, Many events across Africa and Europe welcomed me a couple of times as a speaker. To name a few, I participated in the Africa Internet Summit in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 as a speaker on different topics related to the use of the Internet and the DNS; and In October 2018, I was invited in Copenhague to give a talk on IoT Security during the Danish Internet Day.
For the rest, let’s discuss during the candidates Meeting.
Thank you for considering my candidacy, and I truly hope that the knowledge, experience, and desire to contribute which I bring to the NCSG will be considered useful.
I believe the noncommercial stakeholders' group can exert quite a lot of influence in policymaking at ICANN through the GNSO council if it pays attention to the most important issues, treat the noncommercial posts seriously and care about noncommercial values such as freedom of expression, preventing government and trademark overreach, and protection of privacy.
I think NCSG needs to have at least a short term strategy on how to deal with ICANN processes and policies. We have established our set of values over time but we need a strategy to achieve them. This is what can be done at the policy committee with the help of NCSG chair. I am hoping that I can help Stephanie who is already shaping our strategy.
I am not quite happy with the recent developments at ICANN, one is giving too much power to the governments (sometimes stems from the bylaws but not always), the desire to "fix" the multistakeholder model while the actual deficiencies stem from other sources and decisionmakers and not from the community. The power of ICANN org and its influence on the Board is also another problem that should be tackled. While I cannot address all these issues at the Council, I believe I can at least pay attention to the developments and alert NCSG members about them.
Another reason I would like to be on the Council is to keep NCSG members informed of what decisions are being made. Rafik did a tremendous job and reported all the time but he is very busy and needs help. Since February 2019, NCSG members have not received a report on what the Council is doing. Rafik cannot do everything single-handedly. We need to step up and help and report and keep NCSG members informed.
I think it is quite important to be vocal during GNSO council meetings and on the mailing list. Of course, Council members cannot weigh in on all the issues but I think at least they have a duty to keep abreast of most of the important issues that affect NCSG values and their own values and speak up.
I have been involved with NCSG/NCUC since 2015. As most of you know I was the chair of NCSG in 2018 but decided not to run for re-election due to travel restrictions. NCSG needed a present chair during the meetings. The chair's presence during meetings is very important because she has to defend NCSG values and standing, in the corridors, in private conversations and make sure NCSG does not miss out on important issues which are normally relayed to the chair.
The travel restrictions have now ended for me and I have been traveling but I am a believer in remote participation. I think many of these ICANN Face to Face meetings are unnecessary. We are not a business association to network for business, we are making policies. We are not tourists either. So while I can travel and attend meetings, I think I can be effective as well if I just attend remotely and be aware of the issues and react to them.
All in all, my purpose for running for the GNSO council is to inform NCSG members of what we are doing, uphold its values in GNSO council processes and help with hopefully maintaining the multistakeholder model and keep checks and balances on powerful actors at ICANN. If you think these are important issues to be addressed then vote for me!
