Ever wondered how the Internet actually works? Let me introduce myself: I'm Vint Cerf, I'm Chairman of the Board of ICANN, and one of the inventors of the Internet, among many, and I've been in this game since 1969, if you want to be precise about it; '73 since the basic design of the network. But I've also served on the Board of ICANN since 1999. ICANN was founded in 1998: I witnessed the creation of the first board, and then became a member in late 1999, and became Chairman of the Board in the year 2000. What is ICANN? The importance of ICANN would be very hard to underestimate. The organisation has responsibility for policy with regard to certain technical aspects of the Internet: the assignment and allocation of IP address space, and the decision about how domain names - which top level domains should be introduced into the route and who should operate the registries associated with them. In addition to that, the IANA function, which has those two responsibilities, also accepts information from the Internet Engineering Task Force and maintains tables of parameters that are needed to make the protocols of the Internet work correctly so the implementers, if they can follow all of the specifications and the tables, will in fact be able to write software which interoperates through the Internet. In the absence of interoperability, we don't have an Internet. What existed before ICANN? Before there was an ICANN, there was a man named Jon Postel, who we called the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority - and to be honest with you, before that we called him the numbers tsar. His responsibility was, essentially, the same as ICANN's responsibility: figuring out who should operate the top-level domains, whether there should be any additional top-level domains, and how and to whom IP address space should be assigned. Jon passed away in 1998, just as ICANN was being formed, and his responsibility, if he were to look at it today, is vastly more complex - it would have been more complex - partly because during this period of time, since 1998, the Internet has exploded in scale. Its participants have increased to over a billion worldwide, and it has become a very very big economic engine for many, many parts of the world and many different parts of industry. What that means is that a responsibility for policy-making is now increasingly important, because of its economic impact, and quite frankly because of its political implications. How does ICANN work? It's a volunteer organisation. Policy-making is a voluntary, multi-stakeholder activity. We have a number of different organisations that are part of ICANN - and I won't go through all of them now - but they need to be populated by volunteers. This is an uncompensated effort. You have to have a passion for the Internet. You have to want the Internet to continue to operate. You have to want to see the decision-making process contributing to the Internet's continued evolution, stability and security. Some people have asked me, "Why on earth would you continue to serve on this fairly difficult assignment?" One answer is that I'm not going to continue after October, because my term limits are up. On the other hand, I've been lucky that my employers have permitted me to serve on the Board for quite a long time. Who is ICANN looking for? If I were looking forward now, after I depart from the Board, wondering what kind of people I would want to see serving on the Board, or serving in other policy-making roles I would look for people who are sincere in their ability to participate, who really are prepared to spend the time that's needed. Second, who have a clear understanding of the functions of ICANN, and understand what the limitations are. This is a multi-stake holder organisation, which is unique. ICANN is a creation - it's an invention - that I don't believe is mirrored by many other structures in the world. So we are inventing new kinds of practices for the establishment of policy. It's not just a question of government public policy, it's a question of the stakeholders, the registrars, the registrees, the users, the technical community, the address assignment community. All of them have to contribute to policy-making. I think I would look for people who are capable of seeking consensus, who want consensus - who are constructive in their efforts. I would like people who have served on boards before, and understand what non-profits are all about. I'm looking for people who have specific expertise: we need people who understand what accounting is all about, we need people who understand what it means to operate a business without loss of revenue, who understand the need to build up reserves in order to overcome potential periods of revenue variation. I would be looking for people with the technical understanding of how the network works, so that they can balance what is asked for from the general community in terms of ICANN operation, and what is technically feasible. Can we find people with this range of skill sets? Can we find people who are willing to commit themselves to the work that's required? Can we find people who are creative in their ability to think about alternative structures and ways of doing business? Well, I hope the answer is yes. So far, for the last 8 years, we have populated the board with some very capable people. We're finding that it's harder and harder to do that, partly because the complexity of the decisions has increased, and their importance has increased. All I can say, is that service to ICANN and its community is service to the more general Internet. And unless there is, someday, a replacement for ICANN, we have to make it work. And we seriously need people who want to make it work. Those are the people I'm looking for! Would the young Vint Cerf have applied to ICANN's Nominating Committee? Well the old Vint Cerf *did* apply to the Nominating Committee to join ICANN: I submitted an application to the NomCom. And I was appointed twice now, by the NomCom. My second term is ending in October of this year. But yes, I did apply, and was accepted by the NomCom - but I went through the process that everyone else who goes through that route will have to go through. What makes ICANN unique? Well, I think that it is a grand experiment, in some respects. We've probably gone farther than most other organisations that see a need a need to have multiple stakeholders participate in policy-making and decision-making. We're especially unique because we have a governmental element within the multi-stakeholder structure. So now we see this dialogue that's occurring among the various interested parties: that's unusual and new. And we're still experimenting. We're still exploring structures for that space. I don't think the evolution is over yet. I think ICANN will continue to adapt, partly as its role in the Internet continues to evolve, but particularly, I think, as we begin to understand how best to make this multi-stakeholder structure work. Why should YOU apply? Well, if you really care about how the Internet evolves, and how ICANN's policy decisions affect the way the domain name system and the Internet address space allocation is done - if you really care about that, then you want to be a part of this apparatus, whether it's at the Board level, or at the supporting organisation level, or even simply to participate as a member of one of the various communities Your views and perspectives won't be heard unless you participate. Not everyone in the world feels the need to be a participant in policy-making, but some people can make a difference. An individual can make a difference. So if you really want to participate in this, I would encourage you to do so. ICANN is looking for the next Vint Cerf. Is it you? There are 9 places available within ICANN this year, including 3 on the Board... If you want to decide the future of the Internet, all you have to do is apply Just visit http://nomcom.icann.org But be quick! Closing date for applications: 16 May 2007 http://nomcom.icann.org http://blog.icann.org http://public.icann.org