| gTLD | Full Legal Name | E-mail suffix | Detail | | .NGO | Public Interest Registry | pir.org | View |
PIR is a NGO, and thereby part of the NGO Community. PIR as a NGO has extensive gTLD management experience via the .ORG gTLD. PIR a supporting organization to the Internet Society (ISOC) and is committed to supporting the Internet Society’s (ISOC) mission stated below.
History of PIR’s Relationship to the NGO Community
In January 2003, PIR, assumed responsibility for operating .ORG and maintaining the authoritative database of all .ORG domains.
Created in 1984, .ORG is one of the Internetʹs original seven top-level domains (TLDs), along with .com, .net, etc. Although it is ʺopenʺ and ʺunrestrictedʺ, .ORG has been the domain of choice for organizations dedicated to serving the public interest. The high regard of these well-intentioned organizations was soon conferred to this domain, and today .ORG is considered around the world to be the domain of trust.
Public Interest Registry’s (PIR) primary activity is to maintain the .ORG domain registry as the exemplary top level domain (TLD) registry service, by advocating for higher standards of Internet security, safety and reliability. PIR’s mission is to facilitate the effective use of a global Internet among non-commercial and other Internet users worldwide. In its relationship with the ISOC, (reference Evaluation Questions #9a and #9b), PIR is committed to supporting ISOC’s goals of encouraging the evolution of the Internet as research, education and communication infrastructure equally accessible to the global non-commercial, NGO and nonprofit community. PIR’s activities also include funding educational programs focused on expanding the knowledge and ability of non-commercial, NGO and nonprofit organizations located in technologically deprived areas of the world to more efficiently and effectively use the Internet as a tool to better accomplish their important mission.
The 2003 transition of .ORG from the previous operator to PIR was the largest transfer in Internet history. More than 2.6 million domains were transferred in about a day, without negatively impacting any .ORG registrant or website.
Since 2003, PIR has been connected with NGOs through our management of .ORG, and recently in preparation for our pursuit of the .NGO gTLD domain, we have worked closely with the NGO Community to develop the requirements and specification for the proposed .NGO gTLD.
Current Relationship to the NGO Community
PIR is a strong supporter of NGOs in both a direct role as manager of the .ORG gTLD and through other efforts, including:
• A ʺStrategic and Sponsoring Partnerʺ of NTEN, the Non-Profit Technology Network of 10,000 members and over 30,000 participants in the community, covering 126 countries. NTEN aspires to a world where all nonprofit organizations use technology skillfully and confidently to meet community needs and fulfill their missions.
• Making financial contributions to various organizations, such as the NCUC (Non Commercial Constituency of ICANN) and Centr. For NCUC, annual donations have been in the $5,000 to $15,000 range every year since PIR assumed operations of the .ORG registry.
• In December 2005, PIR sponsored a symposium at the Nelson Mandela Center in Cape Town, South Africa bringing in various Internet leaders in Africa to discuss the needs of the Internet in Africa.
• In response to Hurricane Katrina, in New Orleans, Louisiana, PIR donated $1 for every new create for a limited time. The final donation was over $100,000 to the Red Cross.
• In response to JapanʹsTsunami disaster, a 3 month program was rolled out to waive renewal fees for Japanese domain name holders, in order to help those affected and unable to renew their .ORG domains.
Within the community, there is a wide appreciation of PIR’s role as an advocate of “do good” for the Internet at large, and in many countries around the world there is a general perception that .ORG domains are more trusted than other domains. At the time of application submission, PIR manages nearly 10 million .ORG domains, and is seen to do so in an exemplary way. We are very happy to be judged on this reputation.
PIR has over 500 letters of support from the NGO Community endorsing its application for .NGO. PIR will continue outreach to the community and anticipates receipt of additional support letters from NGOs throughout the ICANN application evaluation process. Specific recognition of PIR’s efforts to support the nonprofit community includes:
• “As a not-for-profit corporation, we believe that being part of the .org domain has done much to reinforce MITRE’s identity as an organization chartered to work in the public interest. [Thanks to PIR’s] continuing work to enhance the .org domain.ʺ - Al Grasso, President and CEO, The MITRE Corporation (the first .ORG registrant).
• “We recognize and applaud PIRʹs long-standing commitment to the non-profit community since taking over the management of .ORG.” - Lisa Vogt, APR, Director of Marketing & Communications, SOS Children’s Villages – USA.
PIR has conducted outreach, worked with established relationships, and developed new types of relationships which will facilitate the delivery of the .NGO domain and related services to the NGO Community. Our discussions and outreach have included NGOs in several countries across Asia, Europe, North America, South America⁄Latin America, and Africa as well as many different segments of the NGO Community to ensure wide acceptance and adoption of our proposed gTLD domain and related services. The segments include but are not limited to agriculture, environment, arts⁄culture, charitable services, human rights, humanitarian, and advocacy for a range of issues affecting societal development.
Accountability to the NGO Community
By offering .NGO as a secure and well-managed domain of trust uniquely for eligible NGOs, PIR believes that NGOs can benefit from the Internet and our specific services as a means to safely and reliably reach out to the community and sponsors. PIR will be accountable to the NGO Community by:
• A NGO Community input process soliciting input from the community through the NGO Advisory Council drawn from the community and accepting a broad range of input to stay current on the issues of importance to the community and manage the NGO verification process;
• Creating and marketing .NGO as a distinctive place on the Internet for NGOs to differentiate and promote their organization;
• Establishing community programs to support capacity building of NGOs with technical and educational platforms;
• Enforcing registration policies that elevate the integrity of the domains in the .NGO gTLD name space, soliciting input from the NGO Community;
• Easing discovery and promotion through the creation, management and promotion of the .NGO gTLD;
• Offering registration from a proven, scalable registry platform that can ensure 100% DNS availability;
• Delivering a challenge process for the NGO Community to dispute the legitimacy of a .NGO registrant or its activity on a .NGO domain; and,
• As a community priority gTLD, PIR is committing to manage the .NGO domain with participation of the community. Failing to do that would put our registry contract in jeopardy.
PIR is in an excellent position to provide such support to the NGO Community given documented experience running a stable and trusted registry. PIR holds a track record demonstrating good intent to the global community by being a leader in activities such as implementation of anti-abuse policies, DNSSEC, active participation in numerous public interest events, etc.
| gTLD | Full Legal Name | E-mail suffix | Detail | | .radio | European Broadcasting Union (EBU) | ebu.ch | View |
The EBU, mandated by its Members and with the support of WBU and other relevant organisations, is applying for a .radio TLD on behalf and for the benefit of the entire Radio community in the public interest.
((Relations to any community organisations))
((Relations to the community and its constituent parts⁄groups))
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the EBU is one of the largest associations of national broadcasters in the world. The EBU has a staff of 350 operating in Geneva with offices in Beijing, Brussels, London, Madrid, Moscow, Rome, Singapore, New York and Washington DC. It has 74 active members and brings together 85 national media organisations in 56 countries in and around Europe. The member broadcasters reach an audience of 650 million listeners and viewers weekly.
The EBU is a member of the World Broadcasting Union (WBU), the platform that gathers regional Broadcasting Unions (as described in response to Q11H).
The EBU official languages are English and French. It is an international non-governmental organisation incorporated as not-for-profit Association under Swiss Law, registered under its French name ʺUnion Européenne de Radio-Télévisionʺ (UER).
The EBU was formed on 12th February 1950 by 23 broadcasting organisations from Europe and the Mediterranean at a Conference at Devon. UK. It was on the 6th of June 1954 that Montreux became the venue for the first transmission by the EBU’s Eurovision Network. The EBU inheriting the mantel of the International Radio Union that was founded in 1927, the European Broadcasting Union promotes cooperation between broadcasters and facilitates the exchange of audio and audio-visual content. The EBUʹs mission includes contribution to freedom of expression, media freedom and pluralism, social integration, development of technology and cohesion for all peoples and communities.
On behalf of its members, the EBU transmits sports, news and music events to broadcasters worldwide through its satellite and fiber network. EBU services include radio network services, a music exchange for radio, a news exchange for radio and television, radio studies and market research as well as coordination of broadcast retransmission between member and⁄or non-member participants. The EBU conducts collective negotiation of broadcasting and re-transmission rights on behalf of its members, in particular sports rights. It coordinates joint productions for radio and television. EBU technical activities include research and development of new media as well as standards development. Key areas have been radio data system (RDS), digital audio broadcasting (DAB), digital video broadcasting (DVB), high-definition TV (HDTV). The EBU promotes open technical standards and interoperability. It studies digital technology for production and transmission and issues recommendations on appropriate solutions.
The EBU membership is composed of Active members and Associate Members (as described in response to Question 11(H)
The EBU application for the .radio TLD is the expression of a large support base within the community of radio broadcasting worldwide and the decision to apply was taken at a regular gathering of Directors General of the various Unions.
All member Unions of the WBU have written letters of endorsement for the EBU application as follows:
ABU (Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union), representing national broadcasters of Asia and Oceania reaching audiences of 3 billion users, (60 countries).
AUB-UAR (African Union of Broadcasters), representing national broadcasters of Africa, (50 countries).
NABA (North American Broadcasting Association), representing the national broadcasters of United States, Mexico and Canada.
OTI (Organización de Televisión IberoAmericana), representing national broadcasters of Latin America and the Iberian peninsula, (60 countries).
CBU (Caribbean Broadcasting Union) representing national broadcasters of the Caribbean, (29 countries)..
AIR-IAB, (Asociación Internacional de Radiodifusión) representing commercial broadcasters from 16 South American countries plus a number of other radio associations on other continents.
ASBU (Arab States Broadcasting Union) representing broadcasters of the 23 Arab League member countries.
The EBU has also garnered support from other broadcasters’ associations covering continental regions or specialized channels:
AIB - Association for International Broadcasting, grouping international broadcasters world-wide.
AER - Association of European Radios: commercial radio broadcasters of Western Europe.
AMARC - Association Mondiale des Radiodiffuseurs Communautaires: all community radios in 115 countries around the world.
EGTA - European Association of Television and Radio Sales Houses, the regional association that gathers all vendors of Radio and TV advertising around Europe.
URTI - Union Radiophonique et Télévisuelle Internationale, a UNESCO non-profit recognized association that promotes and organizes the exchange of radio and TV programmes free-of-charge between broadcasters from the North and the South of the world.
IMDA - Internet Media Device Alliance, bringing together a number of world radio stakeholders specialized in interactive services and related equipment.
Finally, and to bear witness to the special character of this application for a community based TLD, the EBU has asked one very important partner in the radio world - the Metropolitan Opera of New York - to endorse the request. The Met endorsement demonstrates that a community-based .radio TLD is not only of interest for broadcasters, but also for all those who cooperate with this community to promote cultural diversity and excellence.
The Met distributes its concerts worldwide through a network of selected cultural radio stations in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, making it possible for millions of listeners in every country to share in a unique musical experience, straight from this most prestigious New York concert and opera stage.
For further information, please see attachments to 20 (f).
((Accountability mechanisms of the applicant to the community))
The EBUʹs supreme governing body, the General Assembly, meets twice yearly. The General Assembly appoints an Executive Board of 11 members. All EBU Members are equally represented and have the same voting rights. While EBU membership is reserved to national broadcasters, participation is also open to associate Members and broadcasters without national affiliation (Approved Participants).
Most of the EBU services are available to any type of organisation irrespective of activity or EBU membership (such as non-member broadcasters, sports federations, host broadcasters, rights owners, cultural institutions).
EBU, the WBU and other relevant supporting organisations will set up a .radio policy advisory body called WRAB (World Radio Advisory Board), composed of radio broadcasters and other representative stakeholders of the community to oversee both the policies and operations of the .radio TLD Registry.
Radio has been a critical tool in modern societies for developing social accountability. The public interest is at the heart of the industry, and its members are fully committed by nature and vocation to transparency, accountability and social responsibility. EBU, the WBU and other relevant supporting organisations commit to enshrine those values into the .radio Registry.