Apply Now to Join the ICANN Board, the Councils of GNSO and ccNSO, and the ALAC

This is an update on the progress of the 2011 ICANN Nominating Committee. ICANN's Nominating Committee (NomCom) began its work in December 2010 following the ICANN Annual Meeting in Cartagena, Colombia.

ICANN's Nominating Committee (NomCom) invites Statements of Interest and candidate recommendations from the Internet community for key leadership positions to fulfill ICANN's technical and policy coordination role. Interested individuals are invited to submit a Statement of Interest to the 2011 NomCom for the following positions:

• Two members of the Board of Directors of ICANN
• Three At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) representatives (one each from the Africa; Asia/Australia/Pacific; and Latin America/Caribbean regions)
• Two members of the Council of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO)
• One member of the Council of the Country-Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO)

The NomCom is an independent committee tasked with selecting eight members of the Board of Directors and other key positions within ICANN's structure. ICANN is a public benefit, non-profit corporation dedicated to: preserving the operational security and stability of the Internet; promoting competition; achieving broad representation of global Internet communities; and supporting the development of policies appropriate to its mission through bottom-up, consensus-based processes.

The 2011 Nominating Committee has received 35 Statements of Interest to date, all of the candidates are male. Five candidates are from Europe, seven are from Asia/Australia/Pacific, six are from Latin America/Caribbean, nine are from North America, and eight are from Africa.

Sixteen candidates have declared a willingness to serve on the ICANN Board, five have declared a willingness to serve on the GNSO Council, four have declared a willingness to serve on the ccNSO Council, and 10 have declared a willingness to serve on the ALAC. Please note that some candidates have asked to be considered for more than one position.

Individuals selected by NomCom will have a unique opportunity to work with accomplished colleagues from around the globe, address the Internet's intriguing technical coordination policy development challenges with diverse functional, cultural, and geographic dimensions, and gain valuable insights and experience from working across boundaries of knowledge, responsibility and perspective.

Those selected will gain the satisfaction of making a valuable public service contribution towards the continued function and evolution of an essential global resource. Considering the broad public interest, selected individuals will work to achieve the goals towards which ICANN is dedicated in order to facilitate the Internet's critically important societal functions.

Current Board members who have been selected by the NomCom include:  Steve Crocker, Cherine Chalaby, Bertrand de la Chapelle, Erika Mann, Gonzalo Navarro, Rajasekhar Ramaraj, George Sadowsky, and Katim Touray.

The NomCom has keenly noted the ATRT recommendations and decided to conduct a number of meetings at the 40th ICANN Meeting in San Francisco, California, in order to obtain input regarding desirable applicant qualities and to provide detailed information to the community about the work of the Committee.

Statements of Interest for the positions described above can be submitted through an on-line application form at http://nomcom.icann.org/apply or by contacting nomcom2011@icann.org.

Candidate recommendations can be submitted through an on-line form at http://nomcom.icann.org/suggest or by contacting nomcom2011@icann.org. Questions or comments may also be emailed to nomcom2011@icann.org.

More information regarding the NomCom can be found at http://nomcom.icann.org. Applications will be considered in confidence and should be received by 4 April 2011 for full consideration. Selections will be announced in early September 2011. Successful candidates will take up their positions following ICANN's Annual Meeting in October 2011.

Background on Nominating Committee:

The Nominating Committee is designed to function independently from the ICANN Board, Supporting Organizations, and Advisory Committees. NomCom members act only on behalf of the interests of the global Internet community and within the scope of the ICANN mission and responsibilities assigned to it by the ICANN Bylaws.

NomCom members contribute understanding of the broad interests of the Internet community as a whole, and knowledge and experience of specific Internet constituencies who have appointed them.

The challenge for the NomCom is to integrate these perspectives and derive consensus in its selections. Although appointed by Supporting Organizations and other ICANN entities, individual NomCom members are not accountable to their appointing constituencies.

Members are accountable for adherence to the ICANN Bylaws and for compliance with the rules and procedures established by the Nominating Committee.

Successful candidates are not remunerated, although direct expenses incurred in the course of duty will be reimbursed. Fluency in English is a requirement for all positions. These positions may involve significant international travel, including personal presence at periodic ICANN meetings, as well as regular telephone and Internet communications.

Recent ICANN Meetings have been held in South Korea, Kenya, Belgium and Colombia. Meetings during 2011 are scheduled for San Francisco in the USA, Singapore and Africa. The diverse locations facilitate participation across the world's Internet community; an aspect of growing importance as ICANN's recently signed Affirmation of Commitments emphasizes ICANN's accountability to the community.