Dear Anil
Assalamu Alaikum, I wanted to take a moment to express my full support for the concerns raised by our fellow UASG community members. As someone who deeply values the principles of justice and accountability, which are core to our faith, I believe it is essential that the leadership of UASG remains firmly in the hands of those elected by the community. The responsibility for guiding our initiatives should rest solely with them, as they have been entrusted by us to lead with wisdom and fairness.
It is disheartening to witness that the direction of UASG appears to be increasingly influenced by staff and nonelected individuals, rather than being led by our elected leadership. This shift not only challenges the autonomy of our group but also undermines the trust and responsibility that our leadership holds. As stewards of this initiative, we must ensure that our actions reflect the values of transparency, shura, and collective responsibility.
In line with the teachings of our faith on which Nabil will agree, we emphasize the importance of justice and accountability in all matters, I urge that we address this issue with the seriousness it deserves. Let us work together to restore the integrity and purpose of UASG, ensuring that our leadership remains true to the principles that guided their election.
I look forward to your response and sincerely hope that proactive steps will be taken to rectify this situation. May Allah guide us all to act in the best interests of our community and bless our efforts with success.
JazakAllah Khair for your attention to this matter.
Best regards,
Shaked
I wanted to take a moment to express my full agreement with the points raised by Mikhail and Diana. I also believe that the complete accountability of UASG should rest with the elected leadership. It is concerning that ICANN staff appears to be driving what UASG must do, rather than this being a UASG leadership led initiative elected by UASG community. This shift undermines the purpose and autonomy of the group.
Anil, you mentioned that the leadership would carry these concerns and the community's sentiments into future discussions and decisions. Could you please clarify when and how this will be done? At present, it seems that UASG is in a state of inactivity, which is deeply troubling for those of us invested in its success.
I look forward to your response and hope to see proactive steps taken to address these issues.
Maxim_______________________________________________On Thu, 15 Aug 2024 at 15:15, anil Jain via UA-discuss <ua-discuss@icann.org> wrote:Dear Diana, Roberto, Mikhail,_______________________________________________Thanks for expressing your candid observations and suggestions.We shall carry these feelings of community in discussions and decisions.Thanks,AnilSent from my iPhoneOn 15 Aug 2024, at 5:03 AM, Diana Arteaga via UA-discuss <ua-discuss@icann.org> wrote:_______________________________________________Anil,I also fully support these important points mentioned by Mikhail.
- The current state of UASG seems to be a direct result of your leadership.
- It appears that ICANN and its staff are controlling the direction, leaving UASG leadership without the necessary authority.
- Governance issues in uasg could have solved in one meeting and things must have progressed by now.
- Clear progress plan for UASG’s future in ICANN 81 must be presented to community by UASG elected leadership.
- Most important, The responsibility rests with UASG leadership team we elected, not with the Coordination Group. Coordination Group has not powers or formal existence as per approved charter from UASG community, it's a small team to support UASG leadership and be part of various technical working groups. Why in UASG any decision will be approved or disapprove by any other group then elected Leadership, it's clear violation of charter fundamentals and community decisions. Even ICANN or it's legal can't say that Community approved charter has any given any authority to so called coordination group and not to elected leadership.
So I strongly believe that you must put a break on all these discussions and we Look forward for necessary steps by elected leadership to resolve all pending issues and provide a clear roadmap for UASG.Yes i also endorsement from you that community needs assurance that the organization is moving forward in positive direction with clear understanding and mandate.DianaOn Tue, 13 Aug, 2024, 11:31 am mikhailyakushev--- via UA-discuss, <ua-discuss@icann.org> wrote:_______________________________________________Mikhail YakushevDear Anil,
Thank you for your recent communication, which reassures us that UASG is still active. I’ve been meaning to reach out for some time, so I’m glad for this chance to connect.
However, I hope you’ll allow me to speak candidly. Here are my thoughts: The current state of UASG seems to be a direct result of your leadership. It appears that ICANN and its staff are controlling the direction, leaving UASG leadership without the necessary authority.
The governance issues you mentioned have persisted since ICANN 78, nearly a year ago, yet we’ve seen little progress. Fundamental problems, such as individuals holding multiple roles within UASG and the long-standing tenures of working group chairs and vice-chairs, remain still unaddressed. These could have been resolved in a single meeting, but due to conflicts of interest among the all, including yourself, they have not been settled.
The lack of updates and the delay in resuming meetings have left us in uncertainty, especially with no information on the activities of the Communication Working Group. You mentioned the release of three newsletters, yet they are not available on the UASG website. Additionally, the FY25 financial plans, which are usually finalized and shared with the community by July, have not yet been communicated.
This situation, I believe, highlights your leadership failure. Previous chairs managed similar challenges with the same ICANN staff, but under your leadership, UASG appears to have regressed.
As ICANN 81 approaches, the community deserves clarity on whether the ongoing challenges are due to ICANN policies, staff issues, or budget constraints. More importantly, we need a clear progress plan for UASG’s future. It is essential that all governance issues are resolved and clearly communicated by the current UASG leadership during ICANN 81.
The responsibility rests with you and the leadership team we elected, not with the Coordination Group. It is your duty to fulfill these responsibilities, as the Coordination Group was not elected by the community nor given the authority to make such decisions. Charter updates and ICANN legal have no bearing on this matter; the UASG community elected its leadership with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, and it is expected that you will carry them out.
I strongly urge you to take decisive action for the benefit of UASG and the broader community. Leadership in UASG should come from you, not the staff, who are there to support, not to lead, at least by Dr. Sarmad this was never done, if seda is doing its her mistake.
Please take the necessary steps to resolve all pending issues and provide a clear roadmap for UASG. The community needs assurance that the organization is moving forward, as soon it may be.
My Two Cents
________________________________________________Dear UASG members,It is sometime since we interacted with each other.UA activities in ICANN are growing at unprecedented pace. In addition to UASG, ccNSO,GAC, gNSO and ALAC have taken up UA related activities in an aggressive way, helping UASG in achieving its objective. I may not be fulfilling my duty without mentioning UA WG of ICANN which is a strong UA pillar for all of us.UASG since last six months is into two major processes in addition to normal activities; i.e; drafting 5 years strategic plans and modifications in Its Governance policies.I am happy to inform you that discussions on 5 years strategic plans are completed within all chartered Working groups of UASG and we are ready to share the same with you shortly to seek your comments and feedback.As far as UASG Governance issues are concerned, we have already taken decision and implemented SOI ( Statement of Interest) process within UASG. ICANN staff supporting UASG is in the process of final implementation and issuance of final guidelines.UASG Coordination Working group is in final stages of concluding discussions and its recommendations of all governance issues referred to us thru ICANN staff. This outcome is likely to be shared with all of you for your comments and feedback, hopefully by September 2024.ICANN at present is having financial crunch, due to which they have decided to reduce expenditure and staff. SOs/ACs are advised to reduce their budget & expenditure, so UASG. We are informed that now onwards, UASG will only get support of ICANN staff for conducting seven one hourly meetings per month. ICANN staff have suggested some infrastructure changes in UASG organisational structure to make it possible. For making suggested infrastructure changes, UASG leadership have sought guidance from ICANN legal team whether UASG charter require changes for these fundamental changes or not. We are expecting to receive soughted legal advice by end of current week. Pending these changes, Seda, Sr Manager ICANN has kindly drafted schedule for conducting meetings of Coordination WG, Tech WG, Measurement WG and EAI working group till December 2024. Members of these WGs might have received the schedule by now. You are requested to contact Seda for any inconvenience in presented scheduling if any.Second Edition of UA Day celebration was a grand success. UASG received almost 50% higher response than last year. It was reported that more organisations and large number of individuals have participated in UA day activities from March24 to May2024. Thank You all for making this a biggest event of ICANN. 3rd Edition of UA Day is likely to be announced on 15th August,2024. I urge prominent countries/ organisations to be ready to forward your willingness/ nominations for the Global/Regional/National and Local UA Day events.All Working Groups are very active in their activities. Participation have gone up significantly in their regular meetings. To mention few, Tech WG have completed a survey on reasons of adoption/ No adoption of UA , analysis of response so received is in progress, EAI WG have taken out a “ Self Testing tool Guidelines of E-mail Servers/ applications, Measurement WG have drafted a out of box curriculum for UA related teaching courses in academia. Communication WG have taken out 3rd Edition of UASG News letter.With implementation of 5 years strategic plans, we hope we all shall be working on filling up remaining gaps in UA Adoption, which is latest plan of UASG in addition to UA awareness.Local Initiatives and UA Ambassadors are our UA soldiers on field, who have volunteered themselves to carry UA policies and guidelines for Internet practitioners for awareness, training, workshop and adoption. I must salute the spirit and special efforts taken by our field HEROs.Lastly I must say that Every Day is a challenge for us. We must be ready to welcome new gTLD round and face possible challenges of IDN rich gTLD demand in 2026.With Best Wishes,Anil Kumar Jain Chair, UASG
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