Rosemary Sinclair - Non Commercial Stakeholder Group Board Appointee to the GNSO
12 October 2009
I am Managing Director of ATUG, the Australian Telecommunications Users Group, a not for profit, membership funded group representing the interests of organisations using communications and internet services to deliver their own services for their client base. Among the membership are health and educational institutions, community sector organisations, regional community organisations as well as banks, retailers, transport companies and other businesses.
I am also Chairman of INTUG, the International Telecommunications Users Group. INTUG has contacts with many groups including consumer groups with an interest in communications services, access and applications. Members have diverse interests in policy outcomes for their own members but INTUG provides a forum for sharing ideas, knowledge and experience to enable the development of shared positions or to support specific positions with information and balanced perspectives.
INTUG Head of Delegation to APECTEL and Expert Adviser at OECD CISP meetings. Since 2003 I have represented INTUG at APECTEL meetings every 6 months. APECTEL stakeholders are from the economies around the Asia Pacific Region including PR China, US, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Chile, Peru, Mexico among the 22 members.
Since 2008 I have represented INTUG as an Expert Adviser to the OECD's Communications Infrastructure and Services Policies Working Group. This meeting has discussed a number of Internet related policy issues and developments.
In 2008 the Australian Government reviewed the participation of consumer groups in communications policy development and implementation in Australia. I was part of a multi-stakeholder group involved in reviewing existing arrangements and proposing a new structure, responsibilities and funding base for a new organisation, ACCAN - the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network.
Since 2003 I been organizing ATUG's Regional Roadshow has involved visiting over 75 towns throughout Australia, travelling over 100,000 kms and speaking with over 3500 community members about the availability and potential of advanced communications services. Recent focus has been on the Internet and e-security. People of all backgrounds attend the town events - local government, older citizens, young students, parents, local business operators, farmers. The shared vision is high quality communications and online services in the remotest parts of Australia.
In the future more and more effective use of communications by these groups will depend on the Internet - this is the basis of my interest in participating in the work of ICANN.