[NCUC-DISCUSS] Candidacy for NCUC EC North American Representative

[Caleb Olumuyiwa Ogundele]

I wish to second this nomination.

On Sun, May 14, 2023, 12:20 PM Ken Herman <ken at kherman.com> wrote:

> Hello members of the Non-Commercial User Constituency (NCUC) community:
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>
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> I have the opportunity, and I am willing, to serve a third (and final)
> term as the NCUC Executive Committee representative from the North America
> region, if the community accepts my candidacy.
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> The past two years as the NCUC EC NA rep has been both challenging and
> satisfying, sometimes frustrating but always enlightening. I have come to
> appreciate the efforts made by all involved to protect the interests of the
> Non-Commercial stakeholders within the ICANN ecosystem. But mostly I have
> tried to perform the function of an EC member to the best of my ability and
> contribute where I can. Some aspects of this role, such as increasing
> stakeholder participation, admittedly have proven stubbornly difficult to
> overcome. Nevertheless, if I am elected to a new term, I believe that by
> working closely with the other EC members, and with the cooperation of the
> entire community, we can find ways to strengthen stakeholder engagement.
>
>
>
> My candidate statement is below. It has not substantially changed from
> previous years; my background hasn’t changed, nor have the challenges
> facing the non-commercial community.
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>
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> I look forward to continuing the important work within the NCUC.
>
>
>
> Thank you.
>
>
>
> Ken Herman
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> *Candidate Statement:*
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>
>
> *Name, declared region of residence, gender and employment*; Kenneth
> Herman/North America/Male/Technology Consulting
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> *Any conflicts of interest; *I am unaware of any conflicts of interest.
>
>
>
> *Please provide a short (one or two paragraphs) answer to the following
> questions:*
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>
>
> *Why do you want to serve on the EC? *After a lengthy career that has a
> substantial non-profit, community-development focus, I believe that the
> NCUC EC is a natural fit as I gain experience with the ICANN processes. I
> believe that my background facilitating multistakeholder discussions and
> decision-making processes in a multicultural environment might be useful to
> the Executive Committee.
>
>
>
> *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. *In a former career as a UN staff member for many years I regularly
> attended and participated in IGF meetings and the WSIS forums, including in
> the 2019 WSIS forum presenting in a high-level panel on gender equality in
> technology. With non-profit organizations I have helped to organize events
> at the UN that bring together international policy specialists with young
> people to advocate for gender balance in STEM fields. Recently I have
> consulting assignments with a major intergovernmental institution to
> support government and community cybersecurity initiatives in developing
> economies.
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>
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> I have also become more immersed in the ICANN processes by self-financing
> my attendance at ICANN 63 (Barcelona), 64 (Kobe) and 66 (Montreal), with a
> focus on the non-commercial sessions and have participated as best I can in
> the recent ICANN virtual forums.
>
>
>
> I have had my own personal domain since 1998 and have been instrumental in
> guiding non-profit organizations and individuals to the Internet. For
> example, I assisted in getting the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition (
> unscn.org) disentangled from the UN presence on the Internet by
> establishing their own domain (I did the initial registration and connected
> them with the appropriate local resources to maintain the Internet
> presence) and I did the same for a special interest group of returned Peace
> Corps volunteers to form a country-specific site, also by initiating their
> registration and ultimate transfer to the appropriate technical support
> services.
>
>
>
> *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. *I do not have any specific concerns or limitations regarding
> online participation in meetings of the EC, or in-person meetings when they
> resume. As mentioned, I have self-funded my attendance at many recent ICANN
> meetings over the past few years. While professional, and other,
> commitments may at times place limitations, I expect to be able to satisfy
> any reasonable time commitment required. My expectation is that there will
> be periods that will require substantial time, perhaps spanning many days
> over a period of weeks.
>
>
>
> *Communication with the membership is critical. How would you keep members
> apprised of your EC-related activities? *I understand that communication
> is a necessary element of community engagement, and in addition to the
> normal networking tools available, I would try to reach out individually to
> members for their input.
>
>
>
> *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?
> Incumbent candidates should answer in a manner that is both backward and
> forward-looking, i.e. taking note of their contributions and work in the
> previous year. *I have observed during my time as an EC Rep that within
> ICANN (not so much the org, but the greater community) a substantial focus
> on satisfying the needs of commercial entities, seemingly at the expense of
> the rights of individuals or other non-commercial stakeholders. As part of
> the community I hope to strengthen my ability to advocate for a greater
> non-commercial voice within the entire ICANN ecosystem. Within NCUC, my
> observation is that there may be some benefit to a stronger human-centred
> approach to policy in a way that focuses more directly on users, rather
> than institutions.
>
>
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