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

[Olga Kyryliuk]

I’d like to second Ken’s nomination. I believe the very fact the he steps forefront with self-nomination says a lot about his dedication to further contribute to NCUC development on top of regular job obligations. Ken has been always very attentive to details and supportive to other EC members. Please do support him with your votes.
Best,
Olga


14 травня 2023 р. о 19:20:25,від "Ken Herman" <ken at kherman.com>:

Hello members of the Non-Commercial User Constituency (NCUC) community:







 



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.







 



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.







 



I look forward to continuing the important work within the NCUC.







 



Thank you.







 



Ken Herman







 





 





 





 



Candidate Statement:







 



Name, declared region of residence, gender and employment; Kenneth Herman/North America/Male/Technology Consulting







 



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:







 



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.







 



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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