On 13.08.2024, at 08:00, 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
UA-discuss mailing list -- ua-discuss@icann.org
To unsubscribe send an email to ua-discuss-leave@icann.org
_______________________________________________
By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
UA-discuss mailing list -- ua-discuss@icann.org
To unsubscribe send an email to ua-discuss-leave@icann.org
_______________________________________________
By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.