New domain name .ngo would be for charities only

[Norbert Klein]

Thanks, Rebecca, for sharing this - but I have some problems with what is
proposed:

".ngo would be for charities only"

I am writing from Cambodia and I know that very often we are considered to be
irrelevant by those who care for the "larger picture."

There is a fierce debate going on in some circles here, that "NGOs should not
get involved in anything else but charity work" - and they should not
be "political" by talking about the environment (like Greenpeace? I usually
ask), or talk "about what these NGOs call human rights which is just
criticising the government to get international funding."

A new, restrictive definition as "charities" may become part of the new NGO
law under discusion.

So why would the Internet community need a ".ngo for charities only"? It will
only make our life more difficult, I am afraid.

NGOs here use either domain names under the Cambodian ccTLD to show their
Cambodian identiy, or they use .org - is that not the best solution also for
the future?


Norbert


> > From: Non-Commercial User Constituency [mailto:NCUC-
> > DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Rebecca MacKinnon
> > Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2009 6:02 AM
> > To: NCUC-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> > Subject: [NCUC-DISCUSS] New domain name .ngo would be for charities only
> >
> > FYI, see article below. After the London consultation, Abraxas
> > Partners and Verisign held an invitation-only seminar for people in
> > the NGO sector who might want to consider applying to run a new gTLD.
> > They also appear to be helping Article 25 to set up a new .ngo domain.
> > Some of their materials - in PDF and PPT - attached. Not sure if this
> > list-serv does attachments to copying to Robin for further forwarding.
> >
> > Best,
> > Rebecca
> >
> > -----
> >
> > http://thirdsector.co.uk/news/Article/922487/New-domain-name-ngo-
> > charities/
> >
> > New domain name .ngo would be for charities only
> >
> > By Kaye Wiggins, Third Sector Online, 23 July 2009
> >
> > Human rights charity Article 25 proposes internet scheme to be funded
> > by philanthropists
> >
> > Human rights charity Article 25 has proposed a consortium of charities
> > to run a new internet domain name that would be available only to
> > not-for-profit groups.
> >
> > The charity wants the proposed consortium to raise $185,000 (£112,000)
> > and bid for a .ngo domain because it says the .org address is open to
> > abuse by fraudulent groups.
>
> > Its suggestion follows an announcement from internet regulatory body
> > Icann that from 2010 onwards any organisation will be allowed to bid
> > to run new internet domains.
> >
> > Victoria Harris, chief executive of Article 25, toldThird Sector
> > Online her organisation wanted to put together a consortium of
> > charities that would ask philanthropists and corporate firms for
> > funding to bid for and run the new domain.
> >
> > "Lack of regulation has meant that commercial entities, individuals
> > and even professional criminals have been able to register websites
> > with .org suffixes quite legally, with no check on their identities or
> > intentions," she said.
> >
> > "In order to have a web address ending in .ngo, a group would have to
> > prove to the consortium that it was a genuine charity. Once consumers
> > realise that legitimate charitable organisations are regulated by the
> > .ngo domain name, the battle against fraud will start to be won."
> >
> > Article 25 will hold meetings with interested charities and umbrella
> > groups to discuss a framework for the scheme over the next few months.
> >
> > --
> > Rebecca MacKinnon
> > Open Society Fellow | Co-founder, GlobalVoicesOnline.org
> > Assistant Professor, Journalism & Media Studies Centre, University of
> > Hong Kong
> >
> > UK: +44-7759-863406
> > USA: +1-617-939-3493
> > HK: +852-6334-8843
> > Mainland China: +86-13710820364
> >
> > E-mail: rebecca.mackinnon at gmail.com
> > Blog: http://RConversation.blogs.com
> > Twitter: http://twitter.com/rmack
> > Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/rebeccamack



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