NCSG Chair candidate statement

[Rafik Dammak]

Hi all,

Please find below my candidate statement,

   - *Name, declared region of residence, gender and employment;*

Rafik Dammak
Tunisian national residing in Japan, Asia
Male
Software Engineer and Architect, working on data center services.


   - *Any conflicts of interest:*

none

   - *Reasons for willingness to take on the tasks of the particular
   position:  *

I cannot pretend to be new to NCSG. I volunteered in different roles
previously, and my last role was as GNSO councilor till 2020. I only came
back lately to participate in a working group on behalf of NCSG last year
i.e. GGP for applicant support working group and kept following NCSG and
ICANN activities via attending NCSG policy calls, ICANN meetings remotely
and so on.

I would like to volunteer for the NCSG chair position for a second time as
I was NCSG chair from 2013 to 2015. I do believe I am familiar with the
duties and expectations for such a role, and with the provisions in the
NCSG charter.

I am aiming:

   1. To keep advocating for NCSG positions  and non-commercial interests.
   in particular with the new and continuous challenges within ICANN.
   2. For that purpose, I will do my best  as I did before to keep NCSG
   membership informed about NCSG Executive Committee activities and ICANN
   updates in general. I also want to emphasize working and cooperating with
   the members of  EC and  other NCSG committees to make us more effective,
   coordinated for the benefit of the whole NCSG. I will also work with the
   the leadership of NCSG constituencies NCUC and NPOc
   3. As NCSG chair, I will keep focusing on helping newcomers and those
   interested in policy to grasp more about ICANN and in particular how GNSO
   functions with regard to working groups and policy development processes,
   and onboard them more effectively. I will also continue the work on the
   existing membership engagement through the NCSG monthly policy conference
   calls or topic webinars, regular ICANN reports and making that information
   more accessible and digestible.
   4. Continue the ongoing work on updating our operating procedures and
   document them, and identifying anything missed to be covered. Ensuring that
   expected  and regular activities to be done in a timely manner such as
   preparing for ICANN meetings, applications reviews, responding to ICANN
   consultations, deadlines and work with other groups. Basically keeping a
   functional NCSG and improving it.


   - *Qualifications for the position:*

I served NCSG interests in several roles and became aware about  our
members' needs, expectations but also keeping learning  about them, also
about the challenges that still need to be dealt with.

I participated in several working groups within ICANN on behalf of NCSG. I
was co-chair of the new applicant support working group , a cross working
group between GNSO and ALAC aimed to give support for new gTLD applicants
from developing countries. I was also the co-chair of the cross-community
working group on Internet Governance which covered IG topics from ICANN
standpoint. The group  was formed prior to the first Netmundial to connect
ICANN to UN  and other IG processes and keep the community informed.

 I was  the GNSO council liaison to the EPDP team to monitor the discussion
in that working group and report to the council on a regular basis. This
EPDP or the Expedited Policy Development  Process was aimed to come up with
a new policy to replace the temporary specification and get Whois complied
with GDPR. I ended-up being vice-chair then working group chair to deliver
the final report.

As indicated before, I was GNSO councilor for NCSG so I am familiar with
GNSO policies, processes and procedures, following the changes happening
there but also the challenges for many PDP processes lately. I am also
aware of the dynamics of the groups we have to work with in GNSO and
developed good relations with their leaders for many years. I was NCSG
Policy Committee chair focusing on improving the work there and enhancing
NCSG policy capabilities. I kept in touch with our councillors to consult
and share thoughts.

I was appointed by NCPH to the GNSO council leadership, working with the
chair and CPH vice chair.  In this role, as a  leader of the GNSO council,
I had to consider various viewpoints and work with the leadership to
improve GNSO as a whole. This leadership was one of the most productive in
terms of devoting ideas to improve policy making at GNSO. GNSO is the home
of NCSG. Its improvement directly affects NCSG interest and I was glad to
be a part of a process that set the stone for the betterment of GNSO
processes and successful policy.

I was NCSG and NCUC chair, doing the admin and organizational work at
stakeholder group and constituency level, liaising with ICANN staff and
leadership,  with other groups officers. That gave me insight about
members' expectations, capabilities of NCSG as a group and familiarity with
ICANN as a structure.


 • *Statement of availability for the time the position requires:*
Yes, I am available and committing as NCSG chair to allocate the required
time to do what is expected and go beyond when needed. That can be
confirmed by my attendance in the different groups where I am participating
or participated. I understand the time requirements and when there is a
peak of activities like around the ICANN meeting.

*  • The nominee’s statement may also include any other information that
the candidate believes is relevant: *

I may have listed too many roles and activities to emphasize my work and I
assume that doesn't seem exciting or thrilling nor inspiring. However, what
I care more about is representing NCSG and ensuring its sustainability. I
am practical and pragmatic due to my background. I cannot promise a lot for
the sake of getting elected  because nobody can do everything by themself,
alone and we need to work with others to achieve NCSG goals. I also stepped
back for some time allowing me to do retrospectives and having enough time
to think about involvement in NCSG and what to do better.

Now, I will be grateful to come back and continue the work, to be
accountable, to be responsive, to try to improve things as much as possible
and to be judged through my actions:
- Informing members about policy discussion  and/or ICANN activities and
involving them .
- Improving onboarding of new members and the inreach of existing members
- Preparing new leaders who will run for positions in future.
- Working with other groups and counterparts, within GNSO and outside, to
promote NCSG positions and create more synergies in the different
positions, but also fixing issues and disagreements such as board seat 14
process/selection. Coordinating with ICANN as an organization through its
different staff and departments.
- Working with NCSG constituencies and coordinating our activities for
better synergy and effectiveness.
- Working with NCSG committees, and coordinating with our representatives
to the GNSO council.
- Dealing with the new and old challenges faced by NCSG such as the
Holistic Review or changes within ICANN itself that might impact us as a
group. Focus on keeping NCSG functioning and improving its capabilities

I am happy to respond to any question or inquiry. I am looking forward to
the call with candidates and being able to talk with you all.

Take note of my statement and keep me accountable about my commitments if
I am elected.

Best Regards,

Rafik Dammak
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