The Future of ICANN: A Series of Regional Consultative Meetings http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-15aug08-en.htm 15 August 2008 A series of regional consultative meetings about crucial changes to ICANN will take place over the next three months in an effort to reach out to and involve the organization's global stakeholders. Four dates had been set so far*, with at least one other due to be announced shortly. They are: Tuesday, 19 August: Montevideo, Uruguay Tuesday, 26 August: Christchurch, New Zealand. Monday, 15 September: Geneva, Switzerland Tuesday, 30 September: Washington DC, United States of America A further date in Africa will be added shortly. The meetings will be a part of ICANN's Improving Institutional Confidence (IIC) consultation that was opened in June following the community's response to the Midterm Review of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) that ICANN has with the US Department of Commerce. To date, three documents have been produced to guide the IIC consultation: a Transition Action Plan; an Improving Institutional Confidence in ICANN document; and an FAQ. All three documents have been produced by the President's Strategy Committee (PSC) of ICANN and they are currently under review by the PSC following a first public comment period that closed on 31 July. The regional consultative meetings will explain the IIC consultation and its aims, and encourage discussion and debate surrounding a number of measures for improving confidence in ICANN both as an organization and as a model for coordinating the Internet's unique identifiers. At least one member of the PSC and one ICANN staff person will be present at each meeting and will help manage it. More details on the meetings and the consultation can be found online at http://www.icann.org/en/jpa/iic/regional-meetings.htm. Any questions about the meetings or process should be sent to iic@icann.org. ICANN encourages all those in the community to try to take part in one of the sessions and looks forward to engaging with its stakeholders over the next few months. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- * With the exception of Washington, the dates coincide with existing meetings where Internet community members and those interested in ICANN issues are already expected to attend. -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart, Matthias Langenegger, Frederic Teboul ICANN At-Large Staff email: staff@atlarge.icann.org