<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><div>Dear WG members,</div><div><br></div><div>At the GNSO Council’s wrap up meeting in Los Angeles earlier this month, the Council discussed the selection of the next Working Group that it thought would be at a stage to benefit from the pilot project it is testing in this financial year (FY15). The pilot project is basically a one-day face to face meeting of a selected Working Group at an ICANN Public Meeting, with the objective of assisting that selected WG to complete its work effectively and efficiently through a full-day session run by a professional as well as a community-based facilitator. As our WG is making good progress such as to be on track for completing many of our chartered tasks by the ICANN53 Public Meeting in June 2015, the Council has selected our WG for the one-day facilitated session at ICANN52 in February 2015.</div><div><br></div><div>This will be the second group selected for this one-year pilot project, the first having been the Privacy & Proxy Services Accreditation Issues PDP Working Group in Los Angeles. Feedback given by that WG following their one-day session indicates that they found it extremely helpful in working through some difficult questions and in further making progress toward completion of their work. </div><div><br></div><div>Please note that funding for the one-day session is provided only for one or two nights’ hotel accommodation; <u>it does not cover airfare or other travel costs</u>. In order to ensure sufficient representation at the meeting by the broad diversity of interests represented in the GNSO and other ICANN groups, each GNSO Stakeholder Group/Constituency and all other participating Supporting Organization/Advisory Committees will each be assigned 6 hotel nights (so that each group can nominate between 3 to 6 members to attend, for 1 to 2 nights each.) With this in mind, staff therefore proposes that the one-day session take place on the Friday immediately following the official end of the ICANN meeting, i.e. <b>Friday 13 February 2015</b>.</div><div><br></div><div>Some of you may have heard that ICANN is currently considering postponing the February 2015 meeting due to the possibility of travel restrictions to Marrakech being placed on ICANN community members: <a href="https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-10-26-en">https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-10-26-en</a>. I do not at this time have any updated information or confirmation of either a continuation, postponement or cancellation of the Marrakech meeting; however, should the meeting go ahead as planned, staff wanted you to have as much notice as possible of the additional meeting day for our WG. </div><div><br></div><div>You may wish to note also that if your travel to ICANN52 will be covered at least in part by ICANN Constituency Travel, I am informed that the names and travel dates of ICANN-sponsored travelers will need to be submitted by 10 November 2014. Please look out for further notices about this and the fate of the Marrakech meeting from my colleagues who are involved in meeting and travel planning.</div><div><br></div><div>I’d be happy to provide more information about the one-day facilitated session on our call tomorrow.</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks and cheers</div><div>Mary</div><div><br></div><div><div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri">Mary Wong</font></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri">Senior Policy Director</font></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri">Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN)</font></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri">Telephone: +1 603 574 4892</font></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri">Email: mary.wong@icann.org</font></font></div><div><br></div></div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div><br></div><br></div></body></html>