ICANN Grant Program Application Window Closing Soon | | |
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Applications for the ICANN Grant Program’s first round of submissions are due at 20:00 UTC on 24 May 2024.
In this first cycle of the ICANN Grant Program, up to $10 million in grants will be distributed for projects that are consistent with ICANN's mission and aligned with the objectives of the program. Eligible organizations that apply can seek awards between $50,000 and $500,000 in this first cycle for projects up to 24 months in duration.
The ICANN Grant Program is a unique opportunity to make a difference in the Internet ecosystem and to positively impact people around the world through creative and innovative solutions that further ICANN’s vision of a single, open, and globally interoperable Internet.
Read this blog for more information on the ICANN Grant Program, or visit the ICANN Grant Program website.
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ICANN’s WSIS+20 Webpage and Outreach Efforts | | |
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By Veni Markovski, VP, Government Engagement – UN NY and Interim Head of Government and IGO Engagement
I am pleased to announce the launch of the WSIS+20 webpage and the ICANN WSIS+20 Outreach Network. The World Summit on the Information Society: 20-year Review (WSIS+20) Outreach Network brings together like-minded stakeholders to facilitate coordinated efforts leading up to the WSIS+20 negotiations in 2025.
The new webpage offers access to a variety of resources, including articles, interviews, and other content related to WSIS+20. We encourage stakeholders from all sectors to engage in constructive and collaborative discussion, to stay informed, and to actively contribute to the dialogue surrounding WSIS+20.
The WSIS+20 Review provides an important opportunity to reflect on the progress made over the past two decades and to address the evolving challenges facing the digital landscape. At the heart of it lies the multistakeholder model of Internet governance that fosters collaboration and inclusivity among governments, the technical community, civil society, businesses, academia, and individual users.
Please visit the new webpage for more details. To learn more, read my blog.
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Register Now for ICANN80
Registration is open for the ICANN80 Policy Forum, which will be held 10–13 June 2024 both virtually and in-person in Kigali, Rwanda. To attend in person, you must register by 7 June 2024. On-site registration will not be available.
The online-only ICANN80 Prep Week will take place 28–30 May 2024. The Prep Week schedule will be published today, 13 May, and the full meeting schedule will be published on 20 May. Visit the ICANN80 webpage to learn more.
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Recap of the UA Day Keystone Event | | |
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On 28 March, the keystone event for Universal Acceptance (UA) Day 2024 was held in Belgrade, Serbia, co-organized by ICANN, the Universal Acceptance Steering Group, and the Serbian National Internet Domain Registry (RNIDS).
The full-day event, which had more than 320 attendees both in person and online, consisted of a variety of UA awareness, training, academic curriculum, adoption, and strategy sessions led by leaders from ICANN, RNIDS, and other industry organizations. The sessions aimed to help stakeholders better understand the benefits of UA and how they can make their systems UA-ready.
As the anchor event for the second annual UA Day, the event garnered coverage from local and regional media as well as leading industry trade publications and brought attention to the importance of UA for digital inclusivity and a multilingual Internet.
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APAC ACTIVITIES AND HIGHLIGHTS | | |
ICANN Calls for DNSSEC Adoption and Validation in the Pacific | | |
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Under the theme “Bridging the sustainable future; navigating innovation in a disruptive telecom landscape,” the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) held its Annual Business Forum and Expo in Port Vila, Vanuatu, from 29 April to 2 May 2024. The premier information and communication technology conference in the region brought together high-level delegations from telecommunications organizations, Internet service providers, cable and satellite providers, equipment vendors, and regulatory groups.
During the session on cybersecurity, Save Vocea, ICANN’s Vice President for Stakeholder Engagement – Oceania, detailed ICANN’s efforts to mitigate Domain Name System (DNS) abuse and urged service providers in the region to adopt and validate DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC).
“It was a packed agenda leading to useful industry discussions like digital inclusion and connectivity in the Pacific, emerging trends, disaster readiness, and cybersecurity cooperation,” concluded Vocea.
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ICANN APAC-TWNIC Engagement Forum Covers Key Regional Issues | | |
Above: Representatives from the ICANN organization participated in discussions on Internet resiliency, the New Generic Top-Level Domains Program: Next Round, IDNs, cybersecurity, and youth participation in Internet governance. | |
ICANN and TWNIC convened regional stakeholders last month in Taipei for the 5th ICANN APAC-TWNIC Engagement Forum. Held alongside the 41st TWNIC IP Open Policy Meeting, the two-day event served as a platform to discuss views from the region and to explore policy, technology, and cooperation on the Internet. This year, in addition to the traditional ASCII website, the event was accompanied by a newly created Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) website.
One of the event highlights was the keynote speech by Bertrand de La Chapelle, the Executive Director of the Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network. In his remarks, he discussed the current Internet landscape and provided an outlook on Internet governance. This set the stage for a high-level opening panel on the challenges and opportunities for maintaining a global and interoperable Internet.
If you missed the event, you can watch the session recordings.
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Asia Pacific GAC Network Members Strengthen Ties | | |
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Twenty-eight members of the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) from more than a dozen countries and territories in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region met virtually in March to compare notes on the ICANN79 Community Forum and discuss capacity-building efforts. The gathering served as a virtual continuation of the group’s earlier in-person workshop held on the sidelines of the ICANN78 Annual General Meeting.
During the March meeting, the group discussed regional regulatory developments, Internet governance, DNS abuse, and the New Generic Top-Level Domains Program: Next Round.
Created to foster strong relationships among APAC-based GAC members, the APAC GAC network was initiated in early 2023. The group’s next in-person meeting will be a capacity-building workshop during the 2024 APAC DNS Forum on 22 July in Bali, Indonesia.
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ccNSO Votes for (de-)Selection of Internationalized Domain Name ccTLD Strings Policy | | |
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The members of the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) have recently voted on the proposed policy on the (de-)selection of Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) country code top-level domain (ccTLD) strings and related matters. The vast majority of ccTLDs that voted (97 percent) support the proposed policy. The ccNSO Council expects to submit the policy to the ICANN Board around the ICANN80 Policy Forum in June 2024.
The policy paves the way for non-Latin script ccTLDs and their variants to be accessible for domain name registration and will eventually replace the IDN ccTLD Fast Track Process.
Moreover, the ccNSO Council and the ccNSO Guidelines Review Committee are planning to hold a "World Cafe" session at ICANN80. This interactive format will be used to solicit feedback and suggestions from the ccTLD community and other stakeholders on how to further improve the ccNSO membership voting process.
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GAC Is Planning a High-Level Government Meeting in June | | |
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Final preparations are now being made for the upcoming Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) High-Level Government Meeting (HLGM), hosted by the Government of Rwanda and taking place on Sunday, 9 June 2024.
The June event at the Kigali Convention Center will be the fifth HLGM and will take place one day before the ICANN80 Policy Forum.
Session themes at the HLGM will include ICANN and the Multistakeholder Model; Cooperation and Governance; Toward Better Digital Inclusion; and Support the Development of Meaningful Connectivity in Africa.
HLGMs are events hosted, organized, and implemented by a GAC member government in conjunction with the GAC and ICANN. HLGMs underscore the vital role governments play in advising the ICANN Board on public policy issues that are crucial for the secure and stable operation of the DNS.
HLGM attendees typically include invited senior representatives from governments and international organizations around the world that have an interest in policies governing the DNS.
For more information, please visit the ICANN80 HGLM webpage.
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Read the IDN EPDP Phase 2 Initial Report | | |
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The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) recently released the Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) Phase 2 Initial Report, focusing on second-level variant management. Phase 1 addressed topics related to gTLD definition and variant management, with 69 GNSO Council-approved recommendations awaiting Board consideration.
The EPDP Team now seeks feedback on 20 preliminary recommendations covering topics like "same entity" at the second-level and IDN Table harmonization, adjustments in registry agreements and services, registration dispute-resolution procedures, trademark protection mechanisms, and updating the IDN Implementation Guidelines.
The community can review the announcement or provide input directly on the Public Comment page.
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Launching a New Website for the Next Round | | |
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The New gTLD Program website launched on 1 May 2024. The site is devoted to the New gTLD Program, encompassing the 2012 round and the next round of new gTLD applications. The website marks the first in a series of milestones and deliverables, paving the way for the opening of the New gTLD Program: Next Round in April 2026.
The site aims to provide applicants and the ICANN community with valuable information, resources, and news. This is in support of ICANN org’s initiative to enable the expansion of the Internet’s DNS through the introduction of new gTLDs .
The site includes a timeline for the opening and closing of the new gTLD application window, news and announcements, and FAQs. Additionally, there is detailed information on programs, such as the Applicant Support Program and the Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program. The site will be a valuable resource for both applicants and the community during the journey to the next round of gTLD applications.
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Registration Data Request Service Metrics Published | | |
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After successfully launching the free and proof-of-concept Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) in November, the ICANN organization has released its fourth report on usage and demand metrics covering the month of March 2024.
The RDRS is a pilot program that provides a more consistent and standardized platform for handling requests for access to nonpublic data related to the registration of generic top-level domains (gTLDs). The service will run for two years, offering a test case for a System for Standardized Access/Disclosure, envisioned by the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) in recommendations in the Final Report of the Temporary Specification for the gTLD Registration Data Phase 2 Expedited Policy Development Process.
The ICANN organization will release monthly reports on RDRS metrics and will hold a session during the ICANN80 Prep Week to share the report’s results. These monthly reports and sessions will inform discussions between the GNSO Council and the ICANN Board on the pending recommendations. To learn more about the benefits of the RDRS and how it works, visit https://www.icann.org/rdrs-en.
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GETTING TO KNOW THE ICANN COMMUNITY | | |
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Ian Sheldon
Australia
From Canberra, Australia, Ian Sheldon currently serves as the Director of the Internet Governance Team, in the Australian Government’s Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development Communications and the Arts. His team’s core responsibility is championing a free, open, secure, and interconnected Internet.
As Australia’s Governmental Advisory Committee representative at ICANN, Sheldon is passionate about amplifying the voice of the Asia Pacific region on Internet matters. While ICANN is one of his core priorities, he also routinely engages with other I-star organizations.
Sheldon is also deeply involved in covering multilateral organizations where Internet issues routinely make their way onto the agenda, including at the International Telecommunications Union and the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity.
With NetMundial+10, the U.N. Global Digital Compact, and the World Summit on the Information Society+20 reviews taking place this year and next, Sheldon is keen to find ways to showcase and improve the multistakeholder system of Internet governance.
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ICANN Around the World
Regional Offices:
Los Angeles, U.S.A. (Headquarters)
Brussels, Belgium
Istanbul, Türkiye
Montevideo, Uruguay
Singapore
Engagement Centers:
Beijing, China
Geneva, Switzerland
Nairobi, Kenya
Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
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