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Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

Ask Katoh-San if he would release his seat and ask Hagen Hultzsch, who is now down on the floor there, to join us on the board as the newly-placed board member. You'll all recall, those of you who were Montreal will have met Hagen. We'll pause for a moment as everybody says goodbye to Katoh-San. Please don't leave the room, Katoh-San. Please stay here. We don't want to lose you just yet.

I want to welcome Hagen Hultzsch to the board. He is a long-time affiliation with Deutsche Telekom and with the community and is a splendid addition to the board.

So now that we've done this little dance of chairs. I'd like now to convene the new board for an organizational meeting. As all of you know, at the close of the annual general meeting, we must then reelect officers of the board and reconfirm officers of the ICANN corporation. So we have several agenda items which the now seated new board needs to complete. There are not very many of these items, and with any good luck, we'll finish this before 11:00, which I suspect will be at least a record for this board's completion of work.

So first item, if I can call -- yes, we have already the first item.

We have to elect a Board Chair and a Board Vice Chair. The procedure that we now use under the new rules of ICANN's bylaws are that the Board Governance Committee is responsible for preparing a slate of officers for consideration by the Board. The Board Governance Committee has reported to the board a recommendation that I be reelected Chairman. And if you choose to adopt this resolution, you will have, in fact, accomplished that.

If you choose not to adopt this resolution, then it will be incumbent upon you to find someone else to take on this task. That's not intended as a threat; but plainly, one of you would have to take on this task. So at the risk of being very self-serving, maybe I should ask Lyman if you would kindly put this motion on the table.

Lyman Chapin: Yes. I would like to move to place this resolution on the table.

Vint Cerf: Ivan seconds.

Alejandro Pisanty: Alejandro Pisanty seconds.

Vint Cerf: Go ahead. That's all. You were just seconding. Did you want to say something?

Ivan Moura Campos: No, no, no. Alejandro said something on the phone.

Alejandro Pisanty: I said I was seconding the motion.

Vint Cerf: I'm sorry. Thank you. This disembodied voice. I was looking for a face to go with it, and there wasn't one.

So officially, let's let Katoh-San -- let's let Alejandro second the motion.

(Laughter.)

Vint Cerf: Is there -- now I'm really confused. Maybe I should just go to sleep. Is there discussion of this resolution? Apparently not. I'll ask all those in favor to raise your hand. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, and Alex, how do you vote?

Alejandro Pisanty: I vote in favor.

Vint Cerf: so it is unanimous and I am now bound in chains for another year. Could we have the second resolution, please.

(Applause.)

Vint Cerf: Well, thank you very much for that vote of confidence.

The second recommendation from the board governance committee is a unanimous recommendation that Alejandro Pisanty be elected Vice-Chairman of the Board. And since I don't feel any reluctance at this point to place this motion on the table, I will do so, and ask that this be seconded and voted upon.

Is there a second? Tricia seconds.

Is there any discussion of this motion?

Alejandro Pisanty: Alejandro Pisanty has a point here.

Vint Cerf: Yes, Alejandro.

Alejandro Pisanty: Vint, I think I speak on behalf of the whole Board Governance Committee, and certainly speaking for myself, we have not fully satisfied by our achievements up to this point. We are on the way to create procedures in order to bring before the Board's plate frankly open and competitive (inaudible) for these positions, as well as will happen for some others like Committee Chairs. And we pledge to do some really significant progress on this task, at least for the time of the next physical meeting of the board.

Vint Cerf: Thanks, Alex, I really am glad to hear that, and we look forward to hearing what the Board Governance Committee has to say about procedures along those lines. In the meantime, are there any other comments on this resolution?

I'll call for the vote, then. All those in favor, please raise your hand. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Alex, how do you vote?

Alejandro Pisanty: You know I would prefer to abstain.

Vint Cerf: You're not allowed to abstain, Alex. We had a discussion about this.

Alejandro Pisanty: Then I won't vote against the committee. I'll vote in favor.

(Laughter.)

Vint Cerf: Just for the record, the habit of abstaining when you're being considered for a position I think is irresponsible. I think if you're not in favor of yourself, then why should anybody else vote for you. And I can assure you, as I mentioned earlier to others, when the President is running for President, he does vote for himself.

(Laughter.)

Vint Cerf: So, Alex, we accept your vote. It is unanimous. And you and I will do our best to serve this Chair -- serve this Board and ICANN to the best of our ability.

Alejandro Pisanty: My pledge, too.

Vint Cerf: The next item of business is to elect Corporate Officers.

(Applause.)

Vint Cerf: Thank you.

The next item of business is to formally confirm the corporate officers of ICANN. Unless there's objection from the Board, I'd like to suggest that we treat all of these resolutions at once rather than doing them one at a time.

If you are in agreement with that I will put an omnibus resolution on the table that, if you agree, would confirm Paul Twomey as the Chief Executive Officer and President, John Jeffrey as the General Counsel and Secretary, Kurt Pritz as the Vice President for Business Operations, and Diane Schroeder as Chief Financial Officer. So let me ask if there is any objection from the board to placing all of these on the table at once for a vote together. Not seeing any objections to that, I so move. Michael Palage seconds.

Is there any further discussion of these recommendations.

All those in favor, please raise your hand. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Alex, how do you vote?

Alejandro Pisanty: Favor.

Vint Cerf: It's unanimous. And we have confirmed all of the current officers of ICANN to serve in that indentured servitude for the following year.

The next item on the agenda is an appreciation to the many people who have combined to make it possible for us to meet here and to have a successful and productive week at ICANN. And so with your permission, I would like to read this resolution into the record.

Whereas, ICANN has successfully completed its 2003 annual meeting in Tunisia; whereas, the planning and execution of the meeting has been conducted in exemplary fashion; whereas, the gracious and warm hospitality, splendid facilities, strong support, and close attention to fulfilling the needs of participants have all been truly magnificent, it is therefore resolved that the ICANN Board expresses its deep appreciation and thanks, on its own behalf and on behalf of all participants, to the Tunisian Internet Agency and Dr. Faryel Beji under the Patronage of the Ministry of Communications, Technology and Transport, and Mr. Sadok Rabeh, and with the collaboration of the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce, and Handicrafts, and Mr. Mondher Znaidi. The Board also extends its thanks to all sponsors of the meeting, including the IPv6 forum in Tunisia, the Arabic Internet Names Consortium, the National Dutourisme Tunisiene, Tunisie Telecom, Tunisia Air, Planet, GlobalNet, Cepex, VeriSign, SOCOPA, Sotetel, and the many international and national sponsors.

The Board thankfully acknowledges the unstinting hard work of the staff of the Tunisian Internet Agency, particularly lamia Chaffai Sghaeir and I would add Donna G. from the Tunisian Office, and the Mirimar Carthage Palace Hotel for this magnificent facility. We would like to especially acknowledge the effort made by the general manager of the hotel, Orlando Kouch and his staff to meet all of our many requests.

The Board expresses its great appreciation to the ICANN staff present here in Carthage; Laura Brewer and -- here I go again, Teri. I can never get this right. Darrenougue. Did I get it right? And the rest of the ICANN staff for their dedicated efforts in ensuring the smooth operation of the meeting.

I would like to ask that we -- first of all, I need a second for this motion. I see about a dozen of them.

I would like to ask that we vote on this by the usual applause.

Thank you very much.

(Applause.)

Vint Cerf: And because she happens to be in the room, I would like to ask Professor Beji to just come up for a minute. I want to say thank you.

(Applause.)

Vint Cerf: If I ever get into any kind of a disagreement, I want her on my side.

Okay. We have one final item to do, and I hope that you'll forgive me for wanting to do this one, too.

Those of you who knew Jon Postel will note that he passed away in October of 1998. It's just a little over five years ago. And I thought it might be appropriate to place in resolution and in our minutes a remembrance of Jon now that five years have passed.

So the resolution, if you approve it, reads as follows. That the ICANN board places into the minutes of its meeting of 31 October, 2003, in Carthage, Tunisia, a letter from the family of Jon Postel commemorating the fifth anniversary of his passing. And it's further resolved that the ICANN Board reiterates its commitment to the key goals which Jon worked for during his life and career; stable operation of the domain name system, and continued evolution of the Internet.

If you accept this and vote in favor of this resolution, you will include in the record of our meeting a letter from his family, which I would like to read.

It was dated the 16th of October,2003, which is the fifth anniversary Jon's death. And this.

It reads, "Dear friends of Jon. While we prefer to celebrate the anniversary of his birthday on August 6th, this is five years today since we lost Jon. Internet pioneer, family member, friend, colleague, mentor, writer, RFC editor, leader, listener, visionary, mediator, researcher, backpacker, and photographer; an art-loving international traveler, naturalist, gardener, native Californian, and storyteller; a fair-minded, level-headed, beard-and-sandals nice guy. He also loved libraries and the Sierras, could get angry when people didn't follow through with what they said they'd do, and quietly championed women's rights. He helped us all believe that the Internet is for everyone.

At his sudden death, hundreds of moving tributes were sent from around the world beginning with Vint Cerf's RFC 2468 and there were memorial gatherings in Los Angeles. The transfer of responsibility from IANA to ICANN had just been formalized and that public process was unfolding. Five years ago the family felt overwhelming grief as well as gratitude and did not know how to thank so many people for their thoughtfulness, kind words, prayers and generosity. We still don't know how, but thought you'd like to know that various posthumous honors have arisen. We'll try to list them here but wonder if we've missed some. And let us know if perhaps we've listed these in some way that is inaccurate. Each of these works is the result of the combined efforts of many people who admired Jon and wanted to find ways to continue the spirit of his life's work. Good-hearted collaboration was a hallmark of the way he worked and lived, so these are all wonderful accomplishments.

Recent tributes are listed. The Internet society has the Jon Postel Distinguished Service Aaward, a fund was endowed to honor those who have served modestly and selflessly for the benefit of the Internet and its netizens with Jon as the first recipient in June of 1999. At the University of California, Los Angeles, Computer Science Department, there is a Jonathan B. Postel distinguished lecturer series. Information Sciences Institute of the University of Southern California. The Postel Center for Experimental Networking, a research facility and program. Electronic Freedom Foundation, Jon Postel Pioneer of the Electronic Frontier, 1999. The Omneon Video Networks named a conference room after Jon. A scholarship fund at the University of Pennsylvania and Professorship at one of the Claremont colleges in California was established. The Nigerian Internet Society has been honoring Jon Postel. They've been working on projects led by Giandomenico Massari who has been kind enough to keep us informed with messages and photographs. A new I.T. Center at the University of Port Harcourt. The Rivers State Governor graced the occasion along with other dignitaries and university authorities, staff and students, the inscription on the building says T. Y. Danjuma it center dedicated to the memory of Jon Postel, Internet Pioneer, 1943-1998, dedicated October 23, 2002. And there was another I.T. Center at the Port Harcourt Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers dedicated in May of this year, and a third one located at the Nigerian Society of Engineers dedicated October 3rd.

Three more projects are planned for the ISOC Nigeria Chapter. First is another I.T. Center. Second is Port Harcourt, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The next will focus the Internet on Telemedicine with local and foreign organizations involved to create an I.T. Center for Telemonitoring and video conferencing will benefit the health of Nigerian patients. A third will be a teaching room with a multimedia projector connected to a consulting room so doctors can discuss specific therapies and use these resources to improve Nigerian medical system and the training of medical staff. And Jon Postel Memorial Grove planted with redwoods and oaks planted in his honor on a ranch in Northern California.

We know each of you have found personal ways to acknowledge Jon's contributions and to move forward with your life and work, happy to have known him.

Warmly and with gratitude, Lois Postel and family.

So I move that we place this into the record. Is there -- if everyone agrees, if there is a second, perhaps we can acknowledge in our usual way.

(Applause.)

Vint Cerf: And unless there is any new business for this new board, -- I don't see any, I will call this meeting to a close. We've completed our work in record time, thanks to the hard work of the members of staff, the Board, and all of the participants.

See you all in Rome.

Meeting is adjourned.

(Applause.)

(10:45)