The 2013 ICANN Nominating Committee (NomCom) has completed its selections for nine leadership positions within ICANN, listed below for each ICANN body, in alphabetical order by family name:

ICANN Board of Directors

Cherine Chalaby, Africa

Bruno Lanvin, Europe

Erika Mann, Europe

ALAC

Rafid Fatani, Asia/Australia/Pacific Islands

Beran Doneh Gillen, Africa

Leon Sanchez, Latin America/Caribbean Islands

GNSO Council

Daniel Reed (Non-Contracted Party House)

Thomas Rickert (Contracted Party House)

ccNSO Council

Celia Lerman – Latin America/Caribbean Islands

Those selected will take up their positions after the end of ICANN's Annual General Meeting, which will take place during the ICANN Public meeting scheduled for November 17-21, 2013, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The NomCom is charged with recruiting and selecting a portion of ICANN's leadership. The NomCom is mandated to ensure that overall ICANN's leadership is diverse in geography, culture, skills, experience, and perspective. The basic criteria is that selectees are people of integrity, objectivity and sound judgment, can support decision-making within groups, can work effectively in English, have an understanding of ICANN's mission and operation, are committed to its success, experienced in world affairs, contribute to cultural, professional and geographic expertise, and can work long and hard as volunteers in the global public trust.

Balancing Confidentiality with Transparency

Discussing the 2013 Nominating Committee results, Yrjö Länsipuro, the Chair of the 2013 NomCom, shared the following:

I am very happy to report that the 2013 NomCom reached a unanimous decision about the entire slate of selectees at our meeting in Durban, South Africa, immediately after the 47th ICANN meeting in that city.

There were 110 candidates, a record number reached only once before (2003). This number reflects a growing interest for ICANN leadership positions, and also the strong outreach efforts by the 2013 NomCom.  I want to thank all candidates and encourage those whom we could not select this time, to keep up their interest in ICANN.

The 2013 NomCom was committed to striking a new balance between the imperative for confidentiality and protecting the privacy of the candidates, with the need to ensure that the NomCom processes are up to ICANN standards of openness and transparency. Accordingly, while maintaining strict confidentiality of candidate specific information, we held NomCom meetings in Beijing and Durban that were open to all community members, both in person and online. We also issued monthly progress report cards of our work to all constituencies and stakeholder groups represented on the committee.

Last but not least, I want to thank all NomCom members, and ICANN staff supporting the NomCom, for their commitment to a year of very hard work and carrying it through with persistence, in a cooperative, constructive and collegial spirit.

Regional Breakdown

As noted above, the 2013 NomCom received 110 Statements of Interest from candidates all over the world (27 female and 83 male), during its open nomination period from 7 November 2012 to 15 May 2013. The regional breakdown of this year's candidates is:

• 12 from Africa
• 29 from Asia/Australia/Pacific
• 33 from Europe
• 18 from Latin America/Caribbean
• 18 from North America

For more information about the NomCom, please visit http://nomcom.icann.org/

WITSA Vice-Chair (Africa) & Africa ICT Alliance (AfICTA) Board member, Roger Latchman presented AfICTA Special Recognition Award to ICANN President & CEO Fadi Chehade for his contribution to the use of ICTs for the socio-economic development of Africa at the on-going ICANN Meeting in Durban, South Africa...

New Face, Same Values

55 years on, CSSA (Computer Society South Africa) has become IITPSA (Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa) – the formal change being announced at the Annual General Meeting on 23 July 2013.

The move follows an international trend to emphasise the value of professionals in the industry, supported by research among the South African information technology community and reinforced by the recent recognition by the South African Qualifications Authority of CSSA as the professional body for the sector.
The IITPSA’s striking new identity is launched, with a bold logo and new supporting media, including web site (www.iitpsa.org.za), membership cards, stationery and marketing material. Tony Parry, Executive Director / CEO and manager of the transition, confirmed that all events and communications after the AGM will carry the new brand. “It will take a year to replace all the membership cards and members will be able to use the CSSA post-nominals until December 2014,” he adds. Parry also said that the process of informing all the stakeholder organisations was underway.

Rabelani Dagada, President of IITPSA, pointed out that the philosophy was that the body is no longer a club serving its members but a respected professional group serving its community. “Our members are working to meet the demand for information systems that are designed, built and maintained to be secure, robust and responsible, using the application of skills that follow approved standards of practice and ethical behaviour,” he said.
Dagada went on, “The new face that is IITPSA underlines the values of advocacy, education, transformation and representation that the Institute offers the critical technology sector – professionals and aspiring professionals with shared interests in creating a better tomorrow for South Africa.”

AfICTA, Africa ICT Alliance, a private sector-led initiative of ICT industry leaders in Africa, celebrated its first anniversary, 26-28 June 2013 in Lagos, Nigeria with an inaugural Summit with the theme: “Fulfilling the Promise of the Digital Age in Africa”. Delegates attended the event from Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Togo and the USA with many others from South Africa, Rwanda, the Gambia, Burundi and Namibia participating remotely.

At the end of its 1^st physical Board Meeting on 25 June, 2013, the Board members signed the Lagos Declaration with the commitment to:

1. Uphold the vision, mission and goals of AfICTA
2. Support, promote and defend the multi-stakeholder principle of ICT and Internet governance
3. Enhanced Cooperation (all stakeholders working together) as a principle for collaborative governance for Africa’s sustainable socio-economic development
4. Enriching African economies through continuous networking, business to business and ICT driven intra-African trade
5. Engage and cooperate with other stakeholders and stakeowners towards the realization of all the above

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