Public Interest Registry—the not-for-profit operator of the .org domain—today announced it is accepting nominations from individuals to join the Public Interest Registry NGO Community Advisory Council. As part of the Advisory Council, members will provide input on issues facing the NGO (non-governmental organisation) community to help Public Interest Registry better serve users of .ngo|.ong—soon-to-be-launched top-level domains intended exclusively for NGOs across the globe.

Today through October 31, 2014, interested individuals can nominate themselves or other candidates to serve in one of the seven open positions on the Advisory Council. The role of the Advisory Council is to focus on the unique issues of the NGO community, ranging from policy to the introduction of new services. Members are expected to provide input on new policies, strategies and services to advance .ngo|.ong as a thriving non-commercial Internet community.

“Before we pursued the development of .ngo|.ong, we at Public Interest Registry traveled all around the globe to meet with NGOs about their online challenges and how these new domain extensions could be beneficial,” said Brian Cute, CEO of Public Interest Registry. “The NGO Community Advisory Council will help us continue this effort by ensuring that NGOs have active representation in the decision making process of the .ngo|.ong suite of online services.”

With the .ngo|.ong domain, NGOs of all sizes and reach will have access to an exclusive online identity and membership to a community website with a searchable directory to improve visibility, raise funds and connect with other NGOs. The validation process—managed by Public Interest Registry—reassures Internet users worldwide that websites with .ngo and .ong identities represent genuine NGOs.

Advisory Council members will represent a diverse spectrum of the non-commercial community, chosen from each of the following seven regions: Asia; Oceania; Africa; Europe; North America; Latin America and the Caribbean; and the Middle East and North Africa. Members will be drawn from various sectors of the non-commercial community such as educational, artistic, cultural, human rights, political, religious and scientific sectors. Advisory Council members will serve a three-year term beginning in December 2014.

Eligible candidates should have significant leadership experience in the nonprofit and NGO arena, an acute understanding of the issues and policies that affect the community, and an affinity with the values of Public Interest Registry. Candidates should submit their expression of interest detailing their experience, expertise and qualifications online here.