I believe, that Internet Users play an important role in a triangular governance structure of the Internet. Neither an inter-governmental organisation nor a traditional transnational private sector corporation should alone make key decisions on technical issues with far reaching political, economic and social consequences. My understanding of an "At Large Organisation" is that this organisation should become a third factor in global Internet governance, representing users and particular civil society next to governments and private industry. Its main task would be to rebalance decisions concerning the key ressources of the Internet (Domain Names, Addresses, Protocols, Root Server) by identifying special interests of Internet users, in particular from a point of view of civil society, and introducing them into a broader global bottom up policy development process. An ALSO should both act as an initiator of discussions and as a coordinator of actions with regard to ICANN´s mission. It should be also an organisator for the development of mechanisms for the election of representatives of Internet Users to the decision making bodies within the ICANN structure.

Policy and regulation of the transborder flow of communication and the development of the Internet are subjects of my academic research work since more than 20 years. I was involved in a number of international governmental and non-governmental projects (including UNESCO, ITU, European Commission, Internet Society) and have published numerous articles. I am an Internet User since December 1991 when I got my first e-mail address at the University of Tampere in Finland. I am also the contact point of a non-for provit organisation in Germany, which holds the domain name HYPERLINK http://www.medienstadt-leipzig.org www.medienstadt-leipzig.org . I have followed ICANN´s development since the beginning in 1998 very closely as an independent academic observer. In recent years I became involved in a number of activities, related to the At Large Membership issue. My position at the University of Aarhus allow me both to remain independent and to find the time and ressources to participate in the process. With detailed knowledge on the ICANN process and numerous contacts to different ICANN stakeholders - from private industry to governments - I believe that I can make a constructive contribution to the building of a global Internet User Organisation.

Wolfgang Kleinwaechter is a Professor for International Communication Policy. Since 1998 he works at the Department for Media and Information Sciences of the University of Aarhus in Denmark. Before that he had appointments at the Institute for international Studies of the University of Leipzig/Germany (until 1991), the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Tampere/Finland (1992) and the School of International Services at the American University in Washington, D.C. (1993/1994). Between 1994 and 1998 he was the coordinator of the regional Information Society Initiative of the Free State of Saxony in Germany and the Chairman of the Management Board of the Inter-Regional Information Society Initiative (IRISI) of the European Commission in Brussles. He has a B.A. in Communication Sciences (1971), a M.A in International Law (1974) and a Ph.D. in International Relations (1981) from the University of Leipzig/Germany.