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20(b) Explain the applicant's relationship to the community identified in 20(a)

gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.NGOPublic Interest Registrypir.orgView
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.
gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.cpaCPA AUSTRALIA LTDcpaaustralia.com.auView
As a leading global accounting body and professional organisation, CPA Australia represents the interests of and provides services to its 139,000 members and offers professional education and training programs to its members and the accounting profession. CPA Australia provides a young professional network to students through its Passport program. CPA Australia has Mutual Recognition Agreements with leading accounting bodies around the world and offers reciprocal membership and programs to individuals who are either practising accountants or undertaking equivalent education courses through these organisations. CPA Australia’s relationship with the different parts of the CPA community is as follows:

- Full CPA Australia members who have successfully completed the CPA Program, certified as a CPA by CPA Australia and continue to meet all requirements of their practising certificate (as described above in 20(a));

- Associate members who have completed the foundation level examinations with CPA Australia (or equivalent accredited degree), are required to complete the CPA Program within six years and who belong to the global network of CPA Australia members;

- Accounting and finance students, graduates and young professionals who have joined the CPA Passport Program, a global young professional network providing access to job opportunities and career resources; and

- Reciprocal members of overseas accounting bodies with which CPA Australia has Mutual Recognition Agreements who are equivalent to full or Associate members at CPA Australia.


CPA Australia has a clear relationship and strong connection with its well-defined community identified above and is committed to serving, representing, educating, supporting and regulating its membership. CPA Australia’s core services provided to the CPA community include education, training, technical support and advocacy. CPA Australia and members work together with other international accounting bodies to represent the views and concerns of the profession to governments, regulators, industry, academia and the general public. Members volunteer their time and expertise for the benefit of CPA Australia and the accounting profession as a whole, helping to make it a leading global accounting body and a dynamic and influential organisation. CPA Australia’s international presence continues to grow in terms of representation on international bodies and influence in the profession globally. In areas of financial reporting, taxation and corporate governance, CPAs are thought leaders in Australia and internationally.

The CPA designation is a mark of high professional competence indicating soundness in depth, breadth and quality of accountancy knowledge. The designation provides members with an internationally recognised postgraduate qualification and is widely regarded by employers, members, consumers and the business community. As such, CPAs provide the global business community with the highest quality professional accounting advice in a wide range of areas, including financial accounting and reporting, corporate governance and taxation, helping to ensure that companies are financially sound, socially and environmentally responsible and accountable, which is in the interests of all stakeholders and the public as a whole.

CPA Australia has a rigorous corporate governance structure to ensure that it remains socially responsible and accountable to the community it represents. CPA Australia’s Board of Directors, comprised almost entirely of Fellow Certified Practicing Accountants (FCPAs), is the governing body of CPA Australia and is appointed by the Representative Council. The CPA Australia Board of Directors governs four board committees that assist the board in its decision-making and policy processes, including Audit and Risk, Finance, Nomination and Remuneration and Policy Governance. CPA Australia has four advisory committees which advise the Board of Directors on matters such as professional qualifications and education and public practice. The Representative Council is responsible for appointing the CPA Australia Board of Directors and is comprised of representatives from each division, various advisory committees, staffed branches, industry sectors and membership groups. Members are elected to Divisional and Branch Councils by members of the division or branch. The councils are an important channel of communication between members and the board and are essential for serving members. Their key focus is on member engagement and advocacy of the CPA Australia community and wider accountancy profession. CPA Australia also communicates with its members through a variety of printed magazines as well as online publications. Divisional committees are then established by Divisional Councils to further enhance member engagement. The committees represent the interests of members within a particular sector or group and act in an advisory capacity to the Council, under agreed terms of reference or a charter. This strong corporate governance structure, along with CPA Australia’s by-laws and code of conduct that all CPA Australia’s staff must abide by, ensures that members of the CPA Australia community are well represented and have a strong voice in the CPA Australia organisation which, in turn, remains transparent and accountable to the community.

CPA Australia is committed to act in the public interest and has an obligation to ensure that complaints about members are investigated thoroughly, in an impartial and timely manner, at all times striving to preserve the rights of members whilst acknowledging the public interest concerns of a complainant. Joining the CPA community means committing to upholding the reputation of the CPA designation by adhering to the obligations spelt out in CPA Australiaʹs Constitution and By-Laws, the Code of Professional Conduct and Applicable Regulations. To ensure all members uphold these standards, CPA Australia has a formal process that enables complaints about its members to be heard, evaluated and, where appropriate, disciplinary action be taken.