Candidate Statement - Nuno Garcia, NCUC EC candidate as representative for Europe

[Nuno Garcia]

Dear all, please find my replies to the questions proposed by NCUC.

I think we have very good candidates to represent Europe in the EC this
year :) and these discussions are always a plus to the constituency.

Warm regards from Portugal,

Nuno Garcia

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1. Why do you want to serve on the EC?

The opportunity to serve for another term as representative for Europe at
the Non-Commercial Users Constituency Executive Committee is a chance to
complete the work that was started this first term.

I have arranged for meetings with portuguese parliamentars, both at the
Portuguese Republic Assembly, but also at the European Parliament, to
explain the issues regarding NCUC and Internet governance in particular.
The meeting with the parliamentars has not occurred yet in a formal manner,
although discussions have taken place, and issues have been discussed.

For me this is the major motivation for serving within NCUC EC, although in
good truth, this could have been achieved even if I was not EC member.

Another strong motivation is to be able to defend a tolerant and inclusive
view of Internet non-commercial users close to ICANN's structures. My
cultural and personal background, being a Portuguese who grew in Africa and
being a professor who is in touch with many students with many different
backgrounds, drives me to promote this vision of a society where humanistic
values are paramount. To be able to share and apply these values in
recommendations and actions that support the Internet, is a strong
motivation.

As former member of the EC, I feel we have failed to increase the
participation of non-commercial Internet users, and this is an issue that
needs to be pondered and to have a strategy. I see two major hurdles in
this course: 1st - all documentation is english only, which drives away of
the discussions the vast majority of the European potential members; 2nd -
the degree of knowledge of NCUC's existence among European Internet users
who qualify to join NCUC is limited. The expansion of NCUC in Europe is a
task that needs to started, and for which, regardless of the result of the
election, I volunteer for and for which I am also strongly motivated.



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 member of NCUC for some time now, and enjoy many of the on-list
discussions. Last year I was nominated to be candidate to represent Europe,
which I gladly accepted. I was elected and served the 2011/2012 term now
ending. As member of the NCUC I was invited to partipate at the Internet
Governance Forum organized by Portuguese Chapter of ISOC, from which the
document "Messages from Lisbon 2012" was derived and later presented at the
Baku Internet Governance Forum 2012.

At a professional level, I am a Computer Science Professor at two
Portuguese universities (UBI and ULHT), focusing on Networking and Ambient
Assisted Living. I am also researcher for the larger private Portuguese
research institute (IT), and consultant for two Portuguese startups. As a
researcher I am author of several scientific papers, books, book chapters
and patents.

I have no conflict of interests.



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 member of the EC I managed to fulfill the tasks that where requested,
and plan and execute some additional tasks regarding NCUC related work.
Therefore, I expect a slightly bigger level of work load, which I am able
to schedule in my workplan. Regarding limitations to attend online
meetings, I am limited if these meetings occur with regular class hours,
which has occurred in the past. Regarding attendence to ICANN meetings in
person, I am able to attend if necessary.



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

I think this will be mostly a task under the coordination of the NCUC
Chair. I have discussed my personal activities with previous chair, and am
of course available to continue to discuss the actions and strategies with
the EC team.



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).

I foresee an important role for NCUC in the future. I believe NCUC has a
clear mission regarding the defence of non-commercial users' interests in
ICANN. Moreover, NCUC has also a clear mission defending a
multi-stakeholder Internet Governance model, and should do whatever is in
its reach to promote such model. For that, NCUC needs to broaden its
support base, by atracting more members. I see this as the major challenge
in the coming months.
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