ICANN At Large Nomination Application

At Large Candidate Page

Eric Lee

Email	ericlee@labourstart.org
Region	North America

PROFESSIONAL
Employer(s)
Labour and Society International, London
QUALIFICATIONS
Statement addressing the candidates qualifications and experience specifically relevant to (a) ICANN's technical and administrative responsibilities, and (b) your leadership and policy-level roles.
As the author of book, "The Labour Movement and the Internet: The New Internationalism", and founder of the LabourStart website (http://www.labourstart.org), I believe that I am uniquely qualified to help represent the views of ordinary working people and their trade unions on the ICANN Board. I have been involved in the net since 1993, and authored the first international labour website the following year. Working on the net is my full time profession, and I set up and administer websites, teach and train on the subject, consult with unions around the world, and have authored dozens of articles about the net. I understand the domain name system and ICANN's role and believe my background and skills will ensure that I play a constructive role in the decision making process there. My candidacy has been endorsed by a number of unions including the International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (representing 11 million workers in 124 countries) and the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (the German national trade union center).
ICANN RELATED INTERESTS
ICANN-related interests, including: (a) Employment and consulting relationships (b) Ownership or investment interests in any ICANN-related businesses (c) Official positions in any ICANN-related businesses or organizations
I am employed by Labour and Society International as its ICT Co-ordinator; I consult with trade unions in the UK and elsewhere. I have no personal business stake in ICANN related businesses.
BACKGROUND
Background information, personal statement, URL, or other information you would like posted in connection with your name on the ICANN website.
URL: http://www.labourstart.org/icann/ Personal statement: I am a trade union member and long-time social change activist, born in the USA, having lived for some 18 years in Israel, and now based in the United Kingdom. I am deeply concerned that ICANN is taking decisions that affect working families -- such as the decision to charge $50,000 merely to apply for a top level domain name -- without any input at all from civil society. The question of whether there should be, for example, a ".union" top level domain, is not a technical one but a political one, and requires that at least one person from the trade union movement sit on ICANN's Board. The role of that person will be to ensure that the voice of the organized workers is heard and their interests represented on a committee which is now populated solely by businessmen and academics. I think that the Internet belongs to everyone and I will work for its democratization from top to bottom. Phone number: +44 20 83461953.
OFFICIAL STATUS
Status as an official of a national government or a multinational entity established by treaty or other agreement between national governments, such as an elected official or employee of a government or multinational entity.
No, I am not.