May 2026 - ALAC - lists.icann.org

Fwd: WEBINAR 21 MAY 14:00 UTC –From Access to Agency: Rethinking Digital Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities in the Age of AI
by Judith Hellerstein May 14, 2026

May 14, 2026

HI All, Here is the information about the webinar I was mentioning to all today on the OFB Call. it is on May 21 at 1400 UTC. Title is "From Access to Agency: Rethinking Digital Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities in the Age of AI :. Registration is listed below Please register for Zoom meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KFURWYPUR1y838puqmLxpA <https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KFURWYPUR1y838puqmLxpA> RTT can be found here -- https://www.streamtext.net/player?event=cfi-dcad We will also have Sign interpretation for this event. We hope you will join us on May 21 at 1400 UTC (10am Eastern) . W Best, Judith _________________________________________________________________________ Judith Hellerstein, Founder & CEO Hellerstein & Associates 3001 Veazey Terrace NW, Washington DC 20008 Phone: (202) 362-5139 Skype ID: judithhellerstein Mobile/Whats app: +1202-333-6517 E-mail:Judith@jhellerstein.com Website:www.jhellerstein.com Linked In:www.linkedin.com/in/jhellerstein/ Opening Telecom & Technology Opportunities Worldwide Blue event banner for an Internet Governance Forum accessibility event. The graphic includes the IGF Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability logo in the upper left and a large faded GAAD logo with a keyboard icon in the background on the right. The main title reads: “From Access to Agency: Rethinking Digital Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities in the Age of AI.” The date, 21 May 2026, appears at the lower left. The a11ySIG logo is displayed in the lower right corner. <https://i0.wp.com/www.a11ysig.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/dcad-gaad20…> REGISTER <https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KFURWYPUR1y838puqmLxpA> | REAL TIME TEXT <https://www.streamtext.net/player?event=cfi-dcad> | ADD TO CALENDAR <https://addcal.co/e/dcad-gaad2026> | PERMALINK <https://isoc.live/21073> On Thursday May 21, 2026 at 14:00-15:00 UTC the Internet Governance Forum Dynamic Coalition of Disability and Accessibilit <https://igf-dcad.org/>y (IGF-DCAD) and the Accessibility Special Interest Group <https://www.a11ysig.org/> (A11ySIG) will commemorate Global Accessibility Awareness Day <https://accessibility.day/> (GAAD) 2026, via webinar conversation with Dr. Vint Cerf titled ‘From Access to Agency: Rethinking Digital Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities in the Age of AI <https://www.a11ysig.org/gaad2026/%20%E2%80%8E> ‘ Over the past decade, global policy discourse has increasingly focused on expanding “internet access” as a cornerstone of digital inclusion. Yet for persons with disabilities, connectivity alone does not translate into meaningful participation. A user may be connected, possess a device, and have basic digital skills—and still remain excluded due to inaccessible design, incompatible platforms, or poorly implemented technologies. This gap calls for a conceptual shift: from access to agency. At the same time, the rapid integration of artificial intelligence into digital ecosystems is reshaping how users interact with technology. AI-powered tools—such as automated captioning, voice interfaces, and assistive agents—hold transformative potential. However, they also introduce new risks, including bias, unreliable outputs, and inaccessible design layers that may deepen exclusion if left unaddressed. Against this backdrop, accessibility must be reframed not as a technical afterthought, but as a governance, rights, and development issue—central to debates on AI, digital public infrastructure, and inclusive innovation. GUEST Dr. Vint Cerf – Chief Internet Evangelist, Google HOSTS Dr. Muhammad Shabbir – Co-cordinator, IGF-DCAD Judith Hellerstein – Co-cordinator, IGF-DCAD #gaad #dcad @a11sig #accessibility #pwds #ai _________________________________________________________________________ Judith Hellerstein, Founder & CEO Hellerstein & Associates 3001 Veazey Terrace NW, Washington DC 20008 Phone: (202) 362-5139 Skype ID: judithhellerstein Mobile/Whats app: +1202-333-6517 E-mail:Judith@jhellerstein.com Website:www.jhellerstein.com Linked In:www.linkedin.com/in/jhellerstein/ Opening Telecom & Technology Opportunities Worldwide -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: WEBINAR 21 MAY 14:00 UTC –From Access to Agency: Rethinking Digital Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities in the Age of AI--10am Eastern, 7am Pacific Date: Thu, 14 May 2026 13:47:38 -0400 From: Judith Hellerstein <judith(a)jhellerstein.com> Reply-To: judith(a)jhellerstein.com Organization: Hellerstein & Associates To: NA Discuss <na-discuss(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org> HI All, I thought NARALO Members might be interested in joining this webinar I am hosting From Access to Agency: Rethinking Digital Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities in the Age of AI :. Registration is listed below We will have human captioning and also International Sign interpretation for this event. We hope you will join us on May 21 at 1400 UTC (10am Eastern) . We will send the stream text links later. Please register for Zoom meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KFURWYPUR1y838puqmLxpA <https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KFURWYPUR1y838puqmLxpA> Best, Judith _________________________________________________________________________ Judith Hellerstein, Founder & CEO Hellerstein & Associates 3001 Veazey Terrace NW, Washington DC 20008 Phone: (202) 362-5139 Skype ID: judithhellerstein Mobile/Whats app: +1202-333-6517 E-mail:Judith@jhellerstein.com Website:www.jhellerstein.com Linked In:www.linkedin.com/in/jhellerstein/ Opening Telecom & Technology Opportunities Worldwide -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: [DCAD] WEBINAR 21 MAY 14:00 UTC – GAAD Event – From Access to Agency: Rethinking Digital Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities in the Age of AI Date: Tue, 12 May 2026 22:22:05 -0400 From: Joly MacFie via DCAD <dcad(a)lists.igf-dcad.org> Reply-To: Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability <dcad(a)lists.igf-dcad.org> To: Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability <dcad(a)lists.igf-dcad.org> CC: Joly MacFie <admin(a)igf-dcad.org> Blue event banner for an Internet Governance Forum accessibility event. The graphic includes the IGF Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability logo in the upper left and a large faded GAAD logo with a keyboard icon in the background on the right. The main title reads: “From Access to Agency: Rethinking Digital Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities in the Age of AI.” The date, 21 May 2026, appears at the lower left. The a11ySIG logo is displayed in the lower right corner. <https://i0.wp.com/www.a11ysig.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/dcad-gaad20…> REGISTER <https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KFURWYPUR1y838puqmLxpA> | REAL TIME TEXT <https://www.streamtext.net/player?event=cfi-dcad> | ADD TO CALENDAR <https://addcal.co/e/dcad-gaad2026> | PERMALINK <https://isoc.live/21073> On Thursday May 21, 2026 at 14:00-15:00 UTC the Internet Governance Forum Dynamic Coalition of Disability and Accessibilit <https://igf-dcad.org/>y (IGF-DCAD) and the Accessibility Special Interest Group <https://www.a11ysig.org/> (A11ySIG) will commemorate Global Accessibility Awareness Day <https://accessibility.day/> (GAAD) 2026, via webinar conversation with Dr. Vint Cerf titled ‘From Access to Agency: Rethinking Digital Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities in the Age of AI <https://www.a11ysig.org/gaad2026/%20%E2%80%8E> ‘ Over the past decade, global policy discourse has increasingly focused on expanding “internet access” as a cornerstone of digital inclusion. Yet for persons with disabilities, connectivity alone does not translate into meaningful participation. A user may be connected, possess a device, and have basic digital skills—and still remain excluded due to inaccessible design, incompatible platforms, or poorly implemented technologies. This gap calls for a conceptual shift: from access to agency. At the same time, the rapid integration of artificial intelligence into digital ecosystems is reshaping how users interact with technology. AI-powered tools—such as automated captioning, voice interfaces, and assistive agents—hold transformative potential. However, they also introduce new risks, including bias, unreliable outputs, and inaccessible design layers that may deepen exclusion if left unaddressed. Against this backdrop, accessibility must be reframed not as a technical afterthought, but as a governance, rights, and development issue—central to debates on AI, digital public infrastructure, and inclusive innovation. GUEST Dr. Vint Cerf – Chief Internet Evangelist, Google HOSTS Dr. Muhammad Shabbir – Co-cordinator, IGF-DCAD Judith Hellerstein – Co-cordinator, IGF-DCAD #gaad #dcad @a11sig #accessibility #pwds #ai -- Joly MacFie Administrator Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability https://igf-dcad.org/ +1 218 565 9365

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Fwd: Please vote for EuroSSIG!
by Wolfgang Kleinwächter May 6, 2026

May 6, 2026

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VSIG Group O
by Glenn McKnight May 5, 2026

May 5, 2026

*Hi folks* We are looking for anyone interested in doing a LIVE session for our Group O starting in September to November online for Introduction to Internet Governance. We like to reach out to the ATLARGE community if anyone is an experts on Social and Cultural issues as well as Emergent Technologies. Our goal is to provide opportunities for our community experts to have an audience and share their research and work experience. Please contact me if interested I can go over the topic areas Thanks Glenn Glenn McKnight, MA Virtual School of Internet Governance Chief Information Officer www.virtualsig.org *YOUR SOURCE FOR INTERNET GOVERNANCE EDUCATION * *Mobile 437-237-4655*

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SAC 127 and DNS abuse
by Evan Leibovitch May 4, 2026

May 4, 2026

Hi all, Anyone who is following the issue of DNS Abuse, which we have been discussing here, would be well advised to have a look at SSAC 127 <https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/security-and-stability-advisory-committe…> issued last year, on the top of "DNS Blocking Revisited". This one one of the few ICANN documents of which I am aware that deals with personal-level blocking as a way to mitigate abuse as well as state- and infrastructure-level blocking. It spends a useful amount of effort on how end users can implement their own personal "blocking" through VPNs and "Public Resolvers": * Users are aware of the benefits of public DNS resolvers and have been > reconfiguring their systems to leverage these services. This shift has been > fueled by a growing understanding of the potential privacy and performance > advantages that public resolvers offer over default DNS configurations, and > in response to cases of state censorship and the abuse of DNS services > offered by ISPs.* This, to me, offers a rationale on how educating the public - and indeed the broader ICANN community -- about such facilities is directly relevant to ICANN's mission and At-Large's role within it. I note with curiosity the complete lack of mention of one of the main reasons end-users are implementing such services: the blocking of advertising and tracking sites. To many people, myself included, the use of digital fingerprinting and tracking of personal details across different websites is as abusive as phishing and almost as abusive as malware sites. While mention is made of Cloudflare and Canadian Shield, the report completely ignores services such as Control D, Adguard DNS and NextDNS which block ads and trackers as well as more-malicious sites. For some blocking ads is a significant way to speed web-page rendering. And while some may debate the ethics of ad blocking, I am not aware of any jurisdiction in which doing so is illegal. While it speaks of the use of the DNS to block pornography and gambling sites, as well as in-browser checks against malicious sites, oddly SSAC 127 ignores one of the main reasons people search for alternative DNS servers. But except for that notable error of omission, and is a worthwhile read for anyone who cares about what end-users (the ALAC constituency) can do to mitigate DNS abuse ... that is, considering that what constitutes "abuse" is not rigid and many approaches are available. -- Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada @evanleibovitch / @el56

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Fwd: [SubPro-IRT] New gTLD Program: 2026 Round now accepting applications
by Justine Chew May 1, 2026

May 1, 2026

*My apologies for the receipt of duplicates or triplicates due to cross posting* For your attention -- 2026 Next Round application submission window is now open and *will close on 12 August 2026*. Kind regards, Justine ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Jared Erwin via SubPro-IRT <subpro-irt(a)icann.org> Date: Fri, 1 May 2026 at 01:10 Subject: [SubPro-IRT] New gTLD Program: 2026 Round now accepting applications To: subpro-irt(a)icann.org <subpro-irt(a)icann.org> Dear IRT Members, The New gTLD Program: 2026 Round application submission period is now open. Please see the announcement here: https://www.icann.org/en/announcements/details/icann-opens-application-wind…. Congrats to all on this tremendous achievement! Best Jared -- Jared Erwin Senior Director, New gTLD Program Global Domains & Strategy (GDS) Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) jared.erwin(a)icann.org _______________________________________________ SubPro-IRT mailing list -- subpro-irt(a)icann.org To unsubscribe send an email to subpro-irt-leave(a)icann.org _______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos) You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.

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