Re: [Fwd: Press Release: ICANN Taps Twomey to Lead its Govt. Advisory Comm ittee]

[edyson@edventure.com (Esther Dyson)]

okay, one by one.  We *did* have a meeting, on January 17, by phone, and the
minutes are posted. We voted on Twomey, and he is now in charge of drawing
up the committee,  It is an advisory committee, not a supporting
organization, and its role is to represent governments as a whole in their
communications with us.  It's all on the Website. We *are* communicating;
maybe you are not always reading.

Esther


At 10:12 AM 04/02/99 +0100, Ivan Pope wrote:
>On Fri, 29 Jan 1999 Esther Dyson wrote to the DNSO list:
>>  The
>>GAC is not actually under our control, and is being formed by various
>>government officials.  (See our Website, again, for further info.)
>>
>>Esther
>
>Today a press release comes, which states:
>
>>ICANN ... today announced that it has selected Dr. Paul Twomey as
>>>chairman of its Governmental Advisory Committee.
>
>>>"The role of the GAC is a significant element of ICANN," said Dr.
>>>Twomey, "And I acknowledge that ICANN's invitation for me to chair the
>>>GAC is a great compliment ... I will endeavour to ensure
>>>that the principles affirmed by ICANN, which are those of fairness and
>>>transparency of policy and procedure, are upheld, and that these
>>>principles are exercised to the maximum extent feasible."
>
>> It is a tribute to Dr.
>>>Twomey's outstanding qualifications that the Board of Directors voted
>>>unanimously for his appointment."
>
>Well, here are a couple of questions:
>Who selected Dr Twomey?
>Who are the various government officials who Esther refers to?
>How and when did the Board of Directors vote for Dr Twomey?
>What sort of transparency of policy and procedure is this?
>
>I'm sure that in the spirit of 'fairness and transparency of policy and
>procedure' we will get full answers to these questions. I am especially
>interested in how the Board gets to vote when it isn't having meetings? I
>mean, in my company this sort of thing is a bit dubious legally.
>Ivan
>-------------------------
>
>>THE INTERNET CORPORATION FOR ASSIGNED NAMES AND NUMBERS
>>
>>For Immediate Release
>>February 3, 1999
>>
>>
>>ICANN Taps Paul Twomey to Develop and Lead its Governmental Advisory
>>Committee-
>>Australian Internet Leader Brings Wealth of International Expertise to
>>ICANN
>>
>>
>>Los Angeles, Calif. - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
>>Numbers (ICANN), a new, non-profit, international corporation formed to
>>oversee a select number of the Internet's core technical management
>>functions, today announced that it has selected Dr. Paul Twomey as
>>chairman of its Governmental Advisory Committee.  An Australian
>>government official with responsibility for information economy issues,
>>Dr. Twomey will lead the committee charged with providing advice and
>>counsel to ICANN on a wide-range of government-related matters.
>>
>>"We are delighted to have someone of the caliber of Dr. Twomey joining
>>our effort," said Eugenio Triana, ICANN board member and liaison to the
>>Government Advisory Committee. "With his combination of Internet and
>>government experience, Dr. Twomey will be invaluable in our efforts to
>>work with leaders and nations across the globe to help ensure the
>>continued, smooth functioning of the Internet.  It is a tribute to Dr.
>>Twomey's outstanding qualifications that the Board of Directors voted
>>unanimously for his appointment."
>>
>>Consisting of representatives of national governments, multinational
>>governmental organizations and treaty organizations, the Governmental
>>Advisory Committee (GAC) will act as an independent advisory body to
>>ICANN's Board of Directors.  The GAC is charged with advising ICANN on
>>the concerns of governments, particularly where ICANN's policies
>>interact with national laws and international agreements.  The precise
>>structure and mandate of GAC is yet to be developed.  Leading this
>>effort will be one of Dr. Twomey's main responsibilities.
>>
>>Dr Twomey is currently the chief executive officer of Australia's
>>National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE, www.noie.gov.au).
>>The NOIE has direct responsibility for developing and coordinating
>>strategies to address the convergence of the information economy,
>>information technology and telecommunications issues driven by the
>>digital revolution. Dr. Twomey is also the Australian government's
>>Special Adviser for the Information Economy and Technology. In this
>>capacity, he is charged with providing strategic advice to the
>>government on developing its information economy and information
>>technology priorities and strategies, including a National Strategy for
>>the Information Economy (www.noie.gov.au/nationalstrategy/index.html).
>>
>>"The role of the GAC is a significant element of ICANN," said Dr.
>>Twomey, "And I acknowledge that ICANN's invitation for me to chair the
>>GAC is a great compliment to Australia's role to date in the Internet
>>reform process. In my position as Chairman, I will endeavour to ensure
>>that the principles affirmed by ICANN, which are those of fairness and
>>transparency of policy and procedure, are upheld, and that these
>>principles are exercised to the maximum extent feasible."
>>
>>About Paul Twomey
>>Prior to his appointment to his current role, Dr Twomey held consecutive
>>Executive General Manager positions with the Australian Trade Commission
>>(Austrade); first as head of strategic development, and more recently as
>>the leader of its operations throughout Europe. He was also the leader
>>of Austrade's Global Information Technology and Telecommunications
>>Network, assisting Australia's IT&T firms to market their products and
>>services to key European, American and Asian markets.
>>
>>Dr Twomey has also worked as a consultant with the global management
>>consultancy McKinsey & Company.  In this role, he advised major
>>corporations from the telecommunications, financial service and tourism
>>sectors in Australia, the United States, Japan and Hong Kong.  Dr.
>>Twomey holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of
>>Cambridge.  He is widely published in academic and popular journals.
>>
>>About ICANN
>>The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a
>>new, non-profit, international corporation formed to oversee a select
>>number of the Internet's core technical management functions.  Between
>>now and September 2000, ICANN will take over responsibility for
>>coordinating domain name system management, IP address space allocation,
>>protocol parameter assignment, and root server system management, a
>>privatization called for the in U.S. Government's White Paper on the
>>Management of the Internet Domain Name System.
>>
>>In the past, many of these functions have been handled by the U.S.
>>government, or by its contractors and volunteers.  This informal
>>structure represented the spirit and culture of the research community
>>in which the Internet developed. However, the growing size and
>>international importance of the Internet has necessitated the creation
>>of a technical management  body that is both more formalized in
>>structure, and more fully reflective of the geographic diversity of the
>>Internet community.
>>
>>ICANN is a non-profit corporation with an international board of
>>directors.  Its initial board is led by interim chairman Esther Dyson,
>>and has members drawn from several nations. This initial board is
>>completing ICANN's by-laws and procedures and working to pave the way
>>for a smooth and stable transition to private sector management of
>>technical management functions.  The day-to-day management of ICANN is
>>led by its interim President and CEO, Mike Roberts.
>>The initial board members will be succeeded by board members elected by
>>four different constituency groups, collectively representing a broad
>>range of the Internet's technical and user communities around the globe.
>>
>>
>>Twomey Contact:
>>
>>Brendan Harkin
>>National Office for the Information Economy
>>General Manager, Public Affairs
>>61-29240-0912
>>
>>ICANN Contacts:
>>
>>Molly Shaffer Van Houweling
>>ICANN
>>650-965-0410
>>msvh@icann.org
>>
>>Sean Garrett
>>Alexander Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
>>415-923-1660
>>sgarrett@alexanderogilvy.com
>>
>>Europe:
>>Patrick Worms
>>Vice President, Technology Communications
>>Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Brussels
>>(+32-2) 545 6609
>>patrick.worms@ogilvy.be
>>
>>Asia:
>>Patricia Ratulangi
>>Senior Associate, Technology Practice
>>Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Singapore
>>Tel 65 2779563
>>patricia.ratulangi@ogilvy.com
>
>
>
>


Esther Dyson			Always make new mistakes!
chairman, EDventure Holdings
interim chairman, Internet Corp. for Assigned Names & Numbers
edyson@edventure.com
1 (212) 924-8800
1 (212) 924-0240 fax
104 Fifth Avenue (between 15th and 16th Streets; 20th floor)
New York, NY 10011 USA
http://www.edventure.com

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