[NCUC-DISCUSS] NCUC 2013 Election—Statement of Candidacy of Stefania Milan

[Milan, Stefania]

NCUC 2013 Election—Statement of Candidacy of Stefania Milan

Hello everyone

my name is Stefania Milan. As many of you don’t know me, I will start by briefly introducing myself. An Italian national, I have worked and lived in several European countries (and beyond), and I am currently based in Amsterdam. I am fascinated by grassroots practices and self-organization in cyberspace. I am an assistant professor at Tilburg University, the Netherlands, and a fellow at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto.

1. Why do you want to serve on the EC?
There are two main reasons why I would like to serve on the NCUC Executive Committee.

As an activist and as a researcher, I have spent the last 15+ years using and studying digital technology for people’s empowerment. But technologies are not neutral tools, as they emerge out of a complex web of socio-political-economic forces. In this context, policy, as “boring” as it might seem if compared to the practices, is what creates the conditions, and sets the constraints, for what people can do with technology. Internet policy, and thus ICANN, is of vital importance if we are to ensure an open and functional internet where freedom of speech, self-organization and even dissent can proliferate. As an educator, I believe this is a battle worth fighting especially for the next generation of internet users.

Secondly, as a researcher I am interested in multi-stakeholder governance and participatory policymaking. In particular, I am concerned with the forms of exclusion that such models often afford, and in the ways we can encourage more participation from the fringes of civil society. I would like to make sure that those vital resources and policy preferences from the fringes are not excluded, and I believe the NCUC is exceptionally well positioned to bring them in.

2. Provide a brief biography of recent experience, associations, and affiliations relevant to serving on the Executive Committee. Describe the relevance of your personal and professional experience to serve on the NCUC Executive Committee, and identify any conflicts of interests you might have.

I have been engaged in the internet governance debate since my time as a student and a journalist, when I found myself covering the World Summit of the Information Society for a number of media (2003-2005). I also became a member of the Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS) campaign. More recently, I have held roles that brought me to think more actively about how the internet should look like, and engage in the actual policymaking.

In 2012-2013 I served in the ICANN GAC representing my country, Italy, in the framework of my advisory role with the Ministry of Education, University and Research in the technocratic cabinet of Mr. Mario Monti. During that time, I had the chance to work along two main lines within the European Digital Agenda: digital citizenship and internet governance. I designed and ran several public consultations to facilitate citizen’s participation in decision-making; I also created the guidelines regulating public consultations in the country. During my time at the Ministry, I drafted a very progressive charter of principles for the internet, which was itself opened for public consultation and spurred a much needed debate at country level. It was then that I got in touch with NCUC, as I was invited to present the charter and the consultation process at the NCUC Policy Conference organized in occasion of the Toronto ICANN meeting. I joined the NCUC following my disengagement with the Italian government, and the subsequent withdrawal from the GAC. I was drawn in by some of its active members, and I immediately appreciated the lively debate and genuine commitment.

In addition, I am the co-chair of the Communications Policy Task Force<http://www.iamcr.org/ptf-about> of the International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), and in this capacity I coordinate the engagement of IAMCR members in a variety of policy arenas. We are in the process of revitalizing what has been as of lately a dormant task force, and I would be happy to be the focal point for ICANN, and spur the interest of the IAMCR community for ICANN workings.

I am well connected with the activist tech and hacker community, and I would like to keep them abreast of the direction and decisions ICANN is taking. These people contribute a great deal to build and transform the internet. They embody very defined and highly principled policy preferences, I would like to bring these preferences inside NCUC and ICANN.

Finally, I am fluent in a number of European languages, and I would like to reach out also to the non-English-speaking communities, in recognition of the fact that language is often a barrier to active engagement.

I am not aware of any conflict of interest.

3. The EC performs several functional responsibilities for the Constituency.  What level of time commitment can you bring to your EC role on a weekly and overall basis?  Describe any concerns or limitations on your ability to attend online meetings of the Executive Committee and ICANN Meetings in person.

As an academic, I work on a busy but flexible schedule. I trust I will be able to engage on a weekly basis. In particular, I am well aware that I have a lot to learn in order to make an effective contribution, and I am ready to engage in such exercise for which I foresee a steep learning curve. I also commit, funding permitting, to attend ICANN Meetings in person.

4. Communication with the membership is critical. How would you keep members apprised of your EC-related activities?

I am a member of a number of academic and activist mailing lists, and I plan to feed them with updates from the NCUC and ICANN more in general. I believe there is an interest for such information that is often not met. In addition, I plan to write regular blog posts to be offered to whoever is interested in publishing them on a regular basis. In addition, I plan to use regularly Twitter to share up-to-dates and commentaries from the NCUC privileged standpoint.

5. How do you foresee NCUC’s function, scale, or role changing in the future? What areas of ICANN policy, if any, need more attention and why?  Be concise (200 words maximum).

Lately, ICANN has made a considerable effort in becoming more transparent and accessible. NCUC is, however, the organization that really brings internet policy closer to the people, and that gives voice to their concerns. NCUC should reach out and include more, and more diverse, voices, including those of the ones that have been so far at the margins (activist communities above all). This does not necessarily mean an expansion in size, but in the depth, variety and continuity of members’ engagement.

In my opinion, NCUC should pay particular attention to the issue-areas of privacy protection and security, as the main risks non-commercial users face these days. If Internet is a crucial arena for self-expression, participation and the articulation of imaginaries, surveillance and the securitization and commercialization of cyberspace are potentially corrosive forces for our democracies. In addition, and taking a closer look at the ICANN agenda, the area that needs more attention is that of… diversity, which broadly speaking includes for example the debate over the new gTLDs and the issues related to translation and transliteration.

Many thanks for your attention. Please feel free to ask any question - I am currently traveling out and far, and I might have missed out some bits and pieces.

Best,
Stefania

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