CcNSO

Industry:	ccTLDs
Founded:	2003
Members:	165
Website:	CCNSO.ICANN.org

The Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) is a body within ICANN created by and for ccTLD managers. It provides a forum for topical issues relating to ccTLDs from a global perspective.

Overview

The ccNSO provides a platform for nurturing consensus, technical cooperation, skill-building, and facilitating the development and implementation of best practices for ccTLDs and their managers.

The ccNSO develops and recommends global policies to the ICANN Board for issues relating to ccTLDs. These processes are managed by the ccNSO Council and typically organized through Working Groups. The ccNSO made policy recommendations on the introduction of Internationalised Domain Name (IDN) ccTLDs.

The ccNSO provides ccTLD managers a way to work together with other stakeholders and communities, such as the Government Advisory Committee (GAC) and the Generic Names Supporting Organisation (GNSO).

ccNSO Membership

Membership in the ccNSO is open to all ccTLD managers responsible for managing an ISO 3166 country-code top-level domain, but there are no fees or costs incurred by becoming a ccNSO member. A ccTLD registry operator's participation in the ccNSO is entirely voluntary. Likewise, they do not have to adopt nor are they bound by ICANN consensus policies; ccTLDs can operate without interference from ICANN.

ccNSO Council

The ccNSO is overseen by its council, which is in charge of coordinating the functions of the larger group and managing its policy recommendations. The councilors lead many ccNSO discussions and aim to develop official community positions for their board recommendations. Between the three ICANN conferences, the council hosts meetings via conference calls.

There are three councilors per global region, and three councilors are chosen by ICANN's NomCom. A term on the Council lasts three years, and the election cycle is staggered so that each year there are a total of 18 councilors representing five regions. The three chosen by the NomCom represent a business perspective from outside the ccTLD community. All councilors are able to be re-appointed following the conclusion of their term.

Councilors

Current councilors include:

Africa:

• Abdalla Omari (Term ends March 2021)
• Biyi Oladipo (Term ends March 2022)
• Souleymane Oumtanaga (Term ends March 2023)

Asia Pacific

• Young Eum Lee (Term ends March 2021)
• Jordan Carter (Term ends Mar 2022)
• Ai-Chin Lu (Term ends March 2023)

Europe

• Katrina Sataki (Term ends March 2021) (Chair)
• Nick Wenban-Smith (Term ends March 2022)
• Giovanni Seppia (Term ends March 2023)

Latin America

• Margarita Valdes (Term ends March 2021)
• Demi Getschko (Term ends March 2022)
• Alejandra Reynoso (Term ends March 2023) (Vice Chair)

North America

• Byron Holland (Term ends March 2021)
• Pablo Rodriguez (Term ends March 2022) (Vice Chair)
• Stephen Deerhake (Term ends March 2023)

Nominating Committee Appointees

• Laura Margolis (Term ends at Annual Meeting 2021)
• Marie-Noémie Marques (Term ends at Annual Meeting 2022)
• Javier Rúa-Jovet (Term ends at Annual Meeting 2023)

The ccNSO also contributes one member to ICANN's NomCom, and this position is currently held by Annebeth Lange.

History

One of the biggest complaints with the structuring of ICANN's DNSO came from ccTLD registry operators, who felt that the supporting organization was mainly concerned with gTLDs and that they needed their own separate organization. On October 29, 2002, the country code managers emphasized their dissatisfaction by withdrawing completely from the DNSO. This action prompted and expedited the replacement of the DNSO with the GNSO, which was created in December 2002. Work began on creating the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) in September 2002, culminating in the creation of the ccNSO at ICANN 17 in June 2003.

More Information

For more information on the ccNSO, visit the official website at ccNSO.ICANN.org.