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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-GB link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>All,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I have periodically posted content to the from page of the GNSO website indicating current focus, trends etc.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I had intended to post the latest message today built, on reflection, have posted it to this list (see below) for any feedback.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Please give me any feedback you may have asap so that I can have it posted to the website on Monday.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><br>Thanks,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Jonathan<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>--<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:12.0pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#79726C'>As we come to the end of the first quarter of 2014, many of us are heading to the 49<sup>th</sup> ICANN meeting, taking place in Singapore. The GNSO Council will meet in person and engage in interactive sessions with working groups and others as part of the work programme undertaken at an ICANN meeting. Of course, ICANN meetings provide an essential opportunity for interaction both within the GNSO and the broader ICANN community. The Council’s momentum is around its core function of policy management within the GNSO and, ahead of the Singapore meeting, ICANN staff have prepared a very useful <a href="http://gnso.icann.org/en/node/44139">Background Briefing</a> document on current active policy work. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:12.0pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#79726C'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:12.0pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#79726C'>We believe that the policy management function can benefit from continuous improvement and so are active in seeking to improve the ways in which we work. Our recognition of the need for evolution and continuous improvement of how we work is paying dividends and is assisted by the capable work of the Standing Committee on Improvements, a group we relatively recently agreed should be retained as a Standing Committee. In addition to initiatives from within the GNSO to evolve and improve, there are other key drivers we are keenly aware of, such as the critical appraisal of key elements of our work which arose from the work of the recent Accountability & Transparency Review Team. We can now look forward as to how we absorb and act on those recommendations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:12.0pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#79726C'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:12.0pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#79726C'>All of our work takes place in the larger ICANN and global context, a point that has become impossible to miss, given the significant focus of many within the ICANN community on the overarching issue of governance of the Internet and how that might evolve. Indeed, the GNSO Council has felt the need to introduce an item to its agenda for the past couple of Council meetings, whereby we have the opportunity to discuss the developing issues around internet governance. Within the GNSO, the evolving bottom-up, multi-stakeholder model that ICANN is rightfully proud of is alive and well and we are committed to the essential principles that underpin that model.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:12.0pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#79726C'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:12.0pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#79726C'>Notwithstanding that, the GNSO is<span class=apple-converted-space> </span></span><em><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#79726C'>the</span></em><span class=apple-converted-space><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#79726C'> </span></span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#79726C'>place at ICANN where policy relating to generic domain names is developed and the GNSO Council is committed to ensuring we retain a focus on doing that, and doing it well, for the remainder of 2014 and beyond.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:12.0pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#79726C'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:12.0pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#79726C'>Jonathan Robinson – Chair, GNSO Council<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>