[NCUC-DISCUSS] Candidate Statement - ZAKIR SYED - EC Nominee for Asia

[Zakir Syed]

Dear Colleagues, 

Given below, please find my candidate statement. 
Please let me know if there are any questions. 
Good luck to all the excellent candidates. 

Best, 
Zakir
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Name: Zakir SyedRegion: Asia/Australia/PacificGender: MaleEmployment: Independent Consultant(IG, telecoms, ICTs) Conflict of Interest: No  1.   Why do you want to serve on the EC? I think becoming part of the ECand representing such a diverse region would be an honour and a greatopportunity to further the work of NCUC and to help continue the involvementand participation of the regional community. 

Also, as participant andcontributor to different internet governance spaces and initiative, I believe,prepares me well to serve on the EC for I will be able to make NCUC and its rolemore visible in the region and recruit more members at the same time liaisewith the existing members from the region to collaborate towards effectivelycontributing to the mission of NCUC and to the overall policy developmentprocess in a multistakeholder fashion. 

Additionally, having been amultiple times ICANN fellow and mentor, having been a member of NCUC for overtwo years now, it is high time to serve at a more demanding position e for itwill be a great opportunity to gain specialized experience and learn fromcolleagues be prepared for a leadership role in the future.  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 toserve on the NCUC Executive Committee, and identify any conflicts of interestsyou might have. Currently working as independentconsultant, my most recent fulltime job was Manager/Head of Telecoms & ICTResearch at SAMENA Telecommunications Council – a non-profit telecommunicationsassociation with a mandate that revolve around stakeholder cooperation,digitization policies, infrastructure, telecom governance & regulation. 

Also, I am a member of InternetSociety (ISOC) for over 5 years now and recently qualified as ISOC CertifiedInternet Governance Moderator and moderated courses for APrIGF 2017 fellows, aswell as APIGA 2017 fellows. 

Additionally, I have beenvolunteering as member and/or participant in different Internet governancespaces and initiatives. This includes (but not limited to): 1.   Multi Stakeholders SteeringGroup (MSG) at the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF)2.   MEAC- Strategy CharterDrafting Group (The Middle East & Adjoining Countries)3.   MEAC-SIG (School on InternetGovernance) Steering Committee4.   MEAC-Strategy Working Group,5.   Cross Community Working Groupon IG (ICANN)6.   Cross Community Working Groupon ngTLD Auction Proceeds (ICANN)7.   Faculty Member/Speaker atPakistan School on Internet Governance (PKSIG)8.   APSIG Discuss Group thatdiscusses the structure, topics, program etc of the Asia Pacific School onInternet Governance9.   Contributor to IGF BestPractices Forums 10.  Mentor/Coachat ICANN Fellowship Program 11.  Mentor/Coachat the MEAC-SIG 201712.  MEAC-SWGFellow Selection Committee (to help select a fellow to attend ICANN60) A software engineer by training, Iam alumni of ISOC’s NGL program, ICANN fellowship program, MEAC-SIG, and havealso been a fellow to APrIGF.  3.  The EC performs several functionalresponsibilities for the Constituency.  What level of time commitment canyou bring to your EC role on a weekly and overall basis?  Describeany concerns or limitations on your ability to attend online meetings of theExecutive Committee and ICANN Meetings in person.  Based on my volunteering roles inthe recent past and at present, I assure you all of my utmost time commitmenton weekly and overall basis if elected. You can conveniently accommodate thepleasant hope that I will be able to volunteer due time to the role if elected. 4.   Communicationwith the membership is critical. How would you keep members apprised of yourEC-related activities? Based on my experience as memberof NCUC as well as my understanding of the role of EC member, I believe,communication with membership is the lifeblood of this role. I plan to makeregular use of regional email list as well as devise a method of regular updatein consultation with the member from the region. This could be in the form of amonthly / quarterly update on general and well as region-specific issues withinNCUC.  5.   How do you foresee NCUC’s function, scale, or rolechanging in the future? What areas of ICANN policy, if any, need more attentionand why?  
I think, the role of NCUC is goingto be ever more important when it comes to the future of Internet in generaland ICANN community and policy development process in specific. NCUC has by farattracted a good number of members on a regular basis but we’ll need moreinitiatives in the area of capacity building such as the NCUC OnboardingProgram. Capacity building of the new members and well as of the existingmembership base is something that will lead to NCUC being more effective bothwithin the ICANN community and in the Internet governance ecosystem. 

Being a member of NCUC, I believe,the noncommercial users’ interest will be of greater significance when it comesto the future on the Internet particularly in the content of emergingtechnologies such as IoT, AI and Big Data among others. Hence issues such privacy,security, and openness is something which I believe will necessitate moreattention in the years to come. 
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