Nomination of Michael Karanicolas to GNSO Council

[Violet Rose Ningakun]

I see a full representation of everyone's interest (stakeholders)
especially those who are interested to participate but are often
intimidated by,"impenetrable acronyms and procedures," I give my support
for Michael Karanicolas for the GNSO Council.  I believe with these
objectives and his experience in influencing change in a short time as a
new member of ICANN, he will be able to increase the accessibility and
transparency of decision-making processes and improve stakeholder engagement

Good luck Michael,

Violet

On Fri, Aug 18, 2017 at 5:40 AM, Michael Karanicolas <mkaranicolas at gmail.com
> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Thanks very much, Robin, for that nomination, and to everyone else for
> those very kind words. I'm happy to accept the nomination, and attach my
> candidate statement below:
>
> *   - Name: *Michael Karanicolas
> *   - Region:* North America
> *   - Gender:* Male
> *   - Employment: *Formerly with the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD),
> now a consultant for the Open Government Partnership (OGP), assessing
> transparency reforms undertaken by the Canadian government, and carrying
> out broader research on the efficiencies and benefits of open contracting
> processes.
> *   - Any conflicts of interest:* None
>  *  - Reasons for willingness to take on the tasks of the particular
> position: *As a relatively new face at ICANN, having only joined the NCUC
> in 2015, among my main priorities is to increase the accessibility and
> transparency of decision-making processes, with an eye to boosting
> stakeholder engagement. Too often, ICANN's processes are hidden behind
> impenetrable acronyms and procedures, which I believe frustrates many who
> would otherwise be interested in getting involved. My main motivation for
> seeking this position is to work to enhance the lines of communication
> between the GNSO and the community as a whole, and to boost the ability of
> interested participants to contribute their thoughts and ideas, fulfilling
> the potential of ICANN's bottom-up policy development process.
> *   - Qualifications for the position: *Since 2010, I've worked as a
> human rights advocate with a dual focus on freedom of expression and
> transparency (the right to information). As part of my advocacy, I've
> worked to design, enhance and implement public engagement processes in a
> range of contexts, from developed democracies, to emerging democracies, to
> non-governmental structures like international banks, NGOs, and of course
> here at ICANN. Community engagement, and opening lines of communication,
> are a specialization of mine, and I would look forward to opportunities to
> use these skills in the context of the GNSO.
> Although I joined NCUC relatively recently, in my time here I've
> demonstrated a strong ability to push processes forward, and to collaborate
> effectively with stakeholders from other constituencies. This is best
> evidenced by my role as Rapporteur of the CCWG on Transparency, where I've
> been able to overcome substantial policy differences between stakeholders
> representing different interests to arrive at a set of concrete
> recommendations for reform, which are currently in the final stages of
> approval. I've also been an active member of the working groups regarding
> Rights Protection Mechanisms and, most recently, for the allocation of
> ICANN's Auction Proceeds, and I am currently on the Executive Committee of
> the NCUC.
> Through my work with CLD and, more recently, with the OGP, I have had to
> collaborate with partners from every region of the world, and representing
> every stakeholder group imaginable. This includes business interests,
> particularly from the tech sector, as I've worked to enhance human rights
> protections among private sector intermediaries. I also have extensive
> experience working with government officials to try and persuade them to
> improve human rights protections. This includes developed democracies as
> well as repressive States. I am very familiar with the language of
> governments, and would make a powerful advocate for our interests.
> Moreover, as an advocate, building broad coalitions is a particular
> specialization of mine. As part of campaigns for greater transparency, one
> of my trademarks was to unite campaigners from a variety of sectors
> (environmental activists, LGBTQ activists, unions, student groups, etc.)
> who shared a common goal of enhancing access to government records. Uniting
> disparate groups around points of common interest is a particular skill of
> mine, and one which would be useful at the GNSO.
> *   - Statement of availability for the time the position requires:* Anyone
> who has watched the way the work of the CCWG on Transparency has advanced
> will know I have no problem putting the hours in. Originally one of two
> Rapporteurs for the group, and now the lone Rapporteur after the departure
> of my colleague from the business constituency, I have kept things moving
> forward at a good pace. However, now that that work is coming to a close, I
> expect to have more time to devote to ICANN. My move from full-time
> employment with CLD to a consultancy-based system should also provide me
> with more available time to contribute.
>
> Best wishes, and best of luck to the other (really outstanding) candidates
> whose names have been put forward,
>
> Michael Karanicolas
>
> On Fri, Aug 4, 2017 at 7:43 AM, Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I have seen Michael Karanicolas in action at three ICANN meetings now,
>> and one thing I’ve observed is that he has an executive presence — when he
>> speaks, people listen. We could really use a bit more of that on the GNSO
>> Council.
>>
>> As Robin noted in her nomination, Michael has demonstrated that he has
>> the capability to represent us well on Council because he has already
>> represented us professionally and intelligently on the NCUC Executive
>> Committee and was co-rapporteur of the transparency subgroup in the
>> CCWG-ACCT WS2. In my humble opinion, we would be very lucky to have him
>> advocating for and advancing non-commercial interests on Council too.
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Ayden Férdeline
>> linkedin.com/in/ferdeline <http://www.linkedin.com/in/ferdeline>
>>
>>
>> -------- Original Message --------
>> Subject: Re: Nomination of Michael Karanicolas to GNSO Council
>> Local Time: August 2, 2017 4:58 PM
>> UTC Time: August 2, 2017 3:58 PM
>> From: alfamamadou at HOTMAIL.COM
>> To: NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>>
>>
>> Great to have such great and young candidates to volunteer for NCSG
>> councilors position in GNSO. My support to Michael Karanicolas and Ayden.
>> Good luck guys..
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Envoyé depuis mon smartphone Samsung Galaxy.
>>
>>
>> -------- Message d'origine --------
>> De : Robin Gross <robin at IPJUSTICE.ORG>
>> Date : 01/08/2017 20:05 (GMT+00:00)
>> À : NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>> Objet : Nomination of Michael Karanicolas to GNSO Council
>>
>> It is my honor to nominate Michael Karanicolas for the GNSO Council.
>>
>> Michael has been instrumental in the CCWG Accountability, specifically in
>> bringing meaningful improvements to ICANN’s transparency.  Among other
>> things, Michael served as the Rapporteur for the CCWG transparency working
>> group, which was the first working group to complete its recommendations
>> for accountability improvements.
>>
>> Until recently, Michael served as the Senior Legal Officer at the Centre
>> for Law and Democracy and he is now joining the Open Government
>> Partnership.
>>
>> I’m confident that Michael will make an excellent GNSO Councilor for NCSG
>> and bring a unique knowledge base and skill set to our councilors as a
>> whole.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Robin
>>
>>
>>
>
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