[NCUC-DISCUSS] 2026 Election Q&A via Email

[Umut Pajaro]

Hello,

Thank you for this important question.

My experience in policy development has been shaped by active participation
within the ICANN ecosystem and leadership in broader global and regional
Internet Governance forums. My direct involvement with ICANN was fostered
through ICANN's policy paper related to Universal Access, and open
standards. This experience provided me with a foundation in the
complexities of the DNS system, policy development, and the
multi-stakeholder model from a non-commercial perspective. Within the UN
IGF framework, I have been deeply involved in AI governance, notably
serving as the Team Lead for the PNAI Sub-group on Liability as a mechanism
for supporting AI accountability. In this role, we explored financial
liability frameworks to safeguard communities from algorithmic harms, which
culminated in co-authoring the PNAI Policy Brief. Furthermore, as the
Chapter President of ISOC Colombia and an active member of the ISOC Gender
Standing Group, my policy work has centered on grassroots digital rights,
researching the implications of platform moderation policies in Colombia
and analyzing the risks of disinformation and digital rights violations. I
have consistently advocated within the IGF and the Youth Coalition on
Internet Governance for policies that combat tech-facilitated violence and
ensure safe, inclusive digital spaces for marginalized groups.

If elected to the NCUC Executive Committee, I intend to bring my
human-centric lens to several key policy areas going forward. First, I am
committed to defending the privacy of non-commercial registrants under
WHOIS and data privacy frameworks, ensuring that data disclosure policies
within ICANN do not compromise the physical or digital safety of activists,
educators, and NGOs who face tangible real-world risks. Second, drawing
directly from my work with the PNAI, I want to bridge the gap between
emerging AI governance and domain policies, assessing how the intersection
of these technologies might weaponize DNS Abuse definitions or
disproportionately silence non-commercial voices. Finally, building on my
experience promoting open knowledge and safe environments, I will push for
policies that treat linguistic inclusion, digital literacy, and online
safety as fundamental human rights rather than technical afterthoughts. I
look forward to bringing this intersection of technical policy, AI ethics,
and human-centric advocacy to the NCUC's ongoing work.

Best regards,

Umut Pajaro Velasquez

On Fri, May 22, 2026 at 3:45 PM Kathy Kleiman <kathy at dnrc.tech> wrote:

> Yes, and hello Candidates, and thank  you so much for running!  This is a
> very exciting election with such exceptional talent and interest.
>
> *I was hoping each of you would share your experience in ICANN policy
> issues (comments, working groups, etc), and what type of policy issues you
> would like to participate in going forward?  *
>
> Best regards,
>
> Kathy
> On 5/22/2026 4:35 PM, Andrea Glandon via Ncuc-discuss wrYeote:
>
> Hello all,
>
>
>
> The candidates for NCUC Executive Committee positions will be answering
> questions via email. If you have a question for any of the candidates,
> please reply off this email or submit it to the email list for the
> candidates to answer. Below are a list of all the candidates and the
> position they are running for.
>
>
>
> NCUC Chair-Wisdom Donkor
>
>
>
> NCUC EC Rep-AF-Ines Hfaiedh
>
> NCUC EC Rep-AF-Houda Chihi
>
>
>
> NCUC EC Rep-EU-Farell Folly
>
>
>
> NCUC EC Rep-AP-Jasmine Ko
>
> NCUC EC Rep-AP-Razoana Moslam
>
>
>
> NCUC EC Rep-NA-Namra Naseer
>
>
>
> NCUC EC Rep-LAC-Umut Pájaro
>
> NCUC EC Rep-LAC-Lia Hernández
>
>
>
>
>
> 2026 Election wiki page:
> https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/bgDTOw
>
>
>
> Thanks!
>
> *Andrea Glandon*
>
> Policy Operations Sr. Coordinator
>
> Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ncuc-discuss mailing listNcuc-discuss at lists.ncuc.orghttps://lists.ncuc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ncuc-discuss
>
> --
> Kathy Kleiman
> Past President, Domain Name Rights Coalition
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ncuc-discuss mailing list
> Ncuc-discuss at lists.ncuc.org
> https://lists.ncuc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ncuc-discuss
>


-- 
Umut Pajaro Velasquez *(Elle, Le /They, Them)*
Consultorx e Investigadorx en ética y gobernanza de IA
Comunicadorx Social
MA en Estudios Culturales
----------------------------------
AI ethics and Governance Consultant/Researcher
Communications Studies
MA Cultural Studies
—----------------------------------
Whatsapp: +573052494349
Telegram: @umutpajaro
(https://linktr.ee/elojodepajaro)
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