Overview 5 – A Glimpse of NCUC’s Extensive History in ICANN Policies; The Values We Have Tried Hard to Instil in the GNSO
Generally speaking, civil society organizations and interested noncommercial individual users in the NCUC represent the public interest in Internet governance discussions related to domain name policy.
We organise bottom-up input and represent the interests of noncommercial Internet users who would otherwise be marginalised in the face of governmental and private sector priorities.
We have fought for the principles of free expression, privacy and data protection, fair use, freedom of association, and due process in ICANN activities. If these are issues you too care about, we invite you to join us! We need your input, ideas, expertise, and energy.
That said, given the diversity of opinion within our stakeholder group, we have a hard path to consensus. There are understandably often dissonant voices. But our lack of proper coordination can harm us at times. As a result, we thought it would be helpful to share with you some of the issues we have worked on, and some of the ideas we have tried so hard to inculcate in ICANN, in the hopes that collectively we might be able to band together more.
What are the positions of the NCUC?
The Executive Committee of the NCUC, in collaboration with NCUC members, has endorsed the following positions:
Domain Names Belong to Everyone
– Privacy Protection in Domain Names
– Fair & Balanced Domain Name Disputes
– Respect for Non-Commercial Uses and Users
– Diversity and Consumer Choice
– Human Rights
– Access to Knowledge and the Rights to Words
– Promote Growth and Development
– Support Multilingual Internet
– Global Internet Governance
– Accountable Internet Governance
– Freedom of Expression
Where could I get involved?
Whatever your skills, there’s somewhere in the NCUC where you can contribute!
Engagement and Outreach:
– Help us promote diversity and inclusion by leading targeted initiatives to bring new voices into our work.
– Outreach, engagement, and capacity building efforts are critical for maintaining a sustainable source of volunteers from diverse regions, ensuring that they are versed in ICANN policy issues and can effectively engage with other stakeholder groups.Operations / Finance
– Review and provide comments on ICANN’s strategic plans and operating budget, as well as monitor and voice issues of concern.
– Request additional funding for the NCUC through the special budgetary request process, and help us apply these resources to advance non-commercial interests.Hold the Empowered Community Accountable
– We are an integral part of ICANN’s multistakeholder community, and through our participation in policy play an important role in holding ICANN accountable.
– Our public interest-orientated contributions provide balance against commercial interests.
– In the Internet governance ecosystem, there are not many venues where everyone is treated equally. ICANN is the only place where non-commercial interests have equal structural influence. Civil society cannot effectively impact the evolution of the Internet if ICANN loses credibility and ceases to exist.Policy Work
– Analyse and provide commentary, advice, or alternatives on ICANN policy proposals, deliverables, and decisions that reflect the views and needs of non-commercial Internet users.Language Skills
– Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) give users around the world the ability to access the Internet in their native tongue, making it easier for them to discover/remember websites and access local content.
– IDNs have the potential to increase the Internet penetration rate in emerging economies where the Latin script is not the primary alphabet.
– If you have language skills, create or contribute to the universal acceptance rules, Label Generation Rules, and other key IDN issues that impact your language so that we can make the Internet truly multilingual.