[NCUC-DISCUSS] Candidate statement by Mili Semlani for NCUC EC APAC

[Mili Semlani]

Hello NCUC community,
Thank you @Raphael for the nomination, and to all those who expressed their
support on the mailing list.

I would also like to acknowledge the outgoing EC members who have been a
big source of learning about NCUC and how to make our community stronger in
the past year.

Please find below my candidate statement for the NCUC EC-APAC position.

*Name*: Mili Semlani
*Region of residence*: Asia Pacific
*Gender*: Female
*Employment*: Journalist and Community Manager @e27 <https://e27.co/> (tech
startup publication in Southeast Asia); Founder and leader at Youth4IG
<https://youth4ig.asia/>
*Conflict of interest*: None

*Reasons for willingness to take on the position*
I have been involved in the IG space since 2014 as a youth ambassador
(Netmission).
That has also given me insights into recognizing and addressing barriers to
participate and stay engaged in regional, local, and international forums
as a youth ambassador and fellow at local and regional IG forums.

After my first ICANN fellowship, I joined NCUC along with APRALO to advance
my work in capacity building and understanding policymaking. Thanks to the
support of the community and fellow NCUC leaders I was elected to the NCUC
EC last year to represent APAC. I would like to use this term to use my
deepened understanding of how to manage a community and also the
participation gaps that persist for my fellow Asians.

Alongside, revising the mailing list and enhancing communication at NCUC
APAC, I also steered youth in the APAC community over the past year by
collectively submitting workshop proposals to regional IGF and public
comments to ICANN, organizing capacity-building webinars, strengthening the
youth voice in APAC and launching the mentorship program.

I also work as a multistakeholder steering group member of the Asia Pacific
IGF and am a part of the Program and Fellowship Committee and also
represented NCUC and introduced newcomers at APrIGF 2019 in Russia on Day
0. I plan to use my regional connections to spread the NCUC mission and
activate the APAC membership at NCUC.


*Qualifications for the position*I am a tech, policy, and business
journalist. I have reported in and about the Asian region with work
assignments in India, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Singapore and have a
good understanding of our diverse region.

I hold a Masters degree in Journalism and worked as a consultant for the
BPF Gender and Access at IGF. This experience also enhanced my knowledge in
IG policies and divulged my interest deeper in topics related to gender and
ICT with a special focus on how ICT can be used to fight gender issues in
developing Asian economies.

Combining my skills as a journalist with my passion for public policy and
interest in technology issues; it also gave me the ability to engage with
various stakeholders of the multistakeholder process and formulate
innovative programs to manage youth groups and volunteers leading change
globally with a special focus on APAC.

In 2019, I started Youth4IG, Asia's largest youth and the only democratic
youth movement in Internet Governance. It is a home for youth in the
Asia-Pacific region (APAC) to meet, share ideas, and contribute to the
multi-stakeholder policy-making process for IG. This leadership experience
has helped me grow as a community builder.

I have been a fellow at APrIGF 2017 and 2019 and ICANN 63 and 66, inSIG
2018. Since then I am an active MSG member and co-chair of the Program
Committee that organizes APrIGF. As a part of PC, I work on the sub-themes,
main themes, and workshop guidelines, and program evaluations each year. I
am a member of the Drafting Committee at MSG and worked on the Synthesis
Document presented at IGF each year.

*Time commitment*
I have been part of various IG processes for over 6 years now and know it
enough to get used to the workload, volunteer burnout, and working across
time zones.

I work remotely and that aids my ability to join in meetings and spend the
time and energy that is needed to serve on the Executive Committee,
especially in such a complex environment as ICANN. Mostly, I am eager to
offer my creativity to manage the various tasks in keeping the community
active and going strong.

I am absolutely motivated to make the APAC presence at ICANN not just
larger but also and more importantly vocal (undoing the shy Asian
stereotype) and it will be my pleasure to contribute to NCUC development
and growth in the upcoming year.

--
With gratitude
Mili Semlani
Journalist & Engagement Manager
Founder @ Youth4IG <http://youth4ig.asia>
Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/theuntraveller/> | LinkedIn
<https://www.linkedin.com/in/milisemlani/>
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