Email from ICANN

Thursday, 26 February 2026

ICANN Community Digest

Click here to learn more about the New gTLD Program [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

2026 Round Applicant Guidebook [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

2026 Round Vendor Sourcing Timeline [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

The ICANN organization Policy Development Support function publishes this twice-weekly digest

to help ICANN community groups track requests and follow updates.

Do you have any ideas for improving the ICANN Community Digest?

Write to us at policyinfo@icann.org!

Table of Contents

ICANN85

· Register now

· Prep Week Schedule

· ICANN85 Schedule Now Available

· PRSP Pre-ICANN85 Briefing

· A Preview of the ICANN85 Community Forum

· NEW: ICANN85 Policy Outlook Report

· NEW: Travel Update for ICANN85 in Mumbai, India

· NEW: The Many Layers of Mumbai: 10 Things to Know before ICANN85

Information Sharing

· NEW: ICANN Invites Applications for the Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy

· NEW: At-Large Community Nominates Justine Chew as Next ICANN Board Director

2026 Round

· NEW: 2026 Round Progess Continues

· NEW: Ensuring a Secure, User-Friendly gTLD Application System for the 2026 Round

· ICANN Materials Provide Prospective New gTLD Applicants Clarity on Key Topics

· Next Round Champions Toolkit Available in the Six ICANN Languages

· Call for ASP Mentors

🚨 Action Items 🚨

· NEW: ICANN Request for Proposal: Name Collison Temporary Delegation

· NEW: Feedback Sought on UA Expert Working Group Guidelines for ICANN org

· ICANN Request for Proposal: Geographic Names and Reserved Names Panelss

· ICANNWiki Seeking Volunteers

Public Comment

· NEW: Draft Guidelines for Advancing UA Adoption

· Name Collision Procedure Documentation

· Fundamental Bylaws Amendments on IANA-Related Reviews and CSC Charter Update

· Standard Bylaws Amendment – Transition Article on Specific Reviews

· Proposed Root KSK Algorithm Rollover

Events

· These events occur in February 2026.

ICANN85

Prep Week Schedule [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

PRSP Briefing [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

ICANN85 Schedule [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

ICANN85 Policy Outlook Report [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

NEW: Travel Update for ICANN85 in Mumbai, India

As we prepare for ICANN85, scheduled for 7–12 March 2026 in Mumbai, India, we are monitoring potential air travel disruptions arising from developments in Iran that might impact the region.

India remains a safe host country and ICANN85 will proceed as planned. However, these recent developments may result in travel disruptions such as flight delays or cancellations, affecting some attendees. We are actively monitoring the situation and recommend travelers contact their airline or travel provider directly for the most up-to-date information regarding any changes or disruptions to their journey.

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

NEW: The Many Layers of Mumbai: 10 Things to Know Before ICANN85

Mumbai is a city that moves fast, thinks big, and carries centuries of history alongside everyday life. As ICANN85 brings the global Internet community to India's financial and cultural capital – India's largest city, with an estimated population of 22 million – a little local context can go a long way. Here are 10 things worth knowing before you arrive, each offering a glimpse into what makes Mumbai unique.

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Information Sharing

NEW: ICANN Invites Applications for the Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy 2026

ICANN announced that the application window for the Regional Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy (APIGA) 2026 will open on Thursday, 5 March 2026, at 00:00 Korea Standard Time (4 March at 15:00 UTC).

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

NEW: At-Large Community Nominates Justine Chew as Next ICANN Board Director

ICANN announced that the At-Large community has nominated Justine Chew to serve on ICANN's Board of Directors. She is expected to begin her three-year term at the end of ICANN's next Annual General Meeting, ICANN87, on 22 October 2026. Chew succeeds León Felipe Sánchez Ambía, who has served in this role occupying Seat 15 on ICANN's Board since 3 November 2017.

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

2026 Round

NEW: 2026 Round Progress Continues

Over the past week, ICANN continued to progress on the roadmap to opening the application window for new generic top-level domains (gTLD).

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

NEW: Ensuring a Secure, User-Friendly gTLD Application System for the 2026 Round

As we draw ever closer to opening the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round, the ICANN organization (org) is focused on ensuring that the application management system and processes provide a stable and user-friendly experience.

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

ICANN Materials Provide Prospective New gTLD Applicants Clarity on Key Topics

ICANN org is developing supplemental, complementary materials to aid prospective generic top-level domain (gTLD) applicants in understanding the Next Round application requirements, and how to navigate the application and evaluation processes.

Blog [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net].

Key Topic Overview Documents. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Next Round Champions Toolkit Available in the Six ICANN Languages

ICANN is working with the community to identify potential Applicant Support Program (ASP) applicants – especially in regions that are currently under-represented in ICANN. If you are interested in helping to raise awareness among your own contacts or communities, please use the materials in the Next Round Champions Toolkit [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net].

To stay up to date on the New gTLD Program: Next Round and ASP, join the mailing list: nextroundinfo@icann.org. ASP leads, targets, and ideas can be sent to engagement.newgTLDprogram@icann.org.

Call for ASP Mentors

ICANN is seeking volunteer mentors who would like to offer their expertise to supported applicants as part of the ASP in the new gTLD Program: Next Round [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]. ICANN is looking for mentors who can share insights and experience across ICANN Languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, or Spanish) to support diverse gTLD applicants.

Mentors may play a role in: advising applicants on navigating the gTLD application process and DNS industry; identifying resources; providing guidance; sharing experiences as appropriate; and helping supported applicants navigate the ICANN community and Public Meetings. If you or someone in your network might be interested, please refer to the mentor registration announcement [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net] for more information.

Questions about the ASP or becoming a supported applicant Mentor can be sent to globalsupport@icann.org.

Action Items

NEW: ICANN Request for Proposal: Name Collison Temporary Delegation

ICANN issued a request for proposal (RFP) to identify a service provider to operate the Name Collision Temporary Delegation process for the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round.

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

NEW: Feedback Sought on UA Expert Working Group Guidelines for ICANN org

ICANN org set up the Universal Acceptance (UA) Expert Working Group (EWG) in August 2025 to develop guidelines for ICANN org's work on advancing UA adoption. The UA EWG is publishing those guidelines for ICANN to identify strategic and practical mechanisms for encouraging UA adoption across a diverse set of stakeholders.

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

ICANN Request for Proposal: Geographic Names and Reserved Names Panels

Interested providers are invited to submit proposals that ICANN will then evaluate for capability and expertise. Because the work related to both panels is similar, ICANN intends to consolidate the work with a single provider.

Deadline: 13 March 2026

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

GNSO’s DNS Abuse Mitigation PDP-1 Observer Enrollment

While the PDP membership is structured as a representative model, all of the ICANN community are also free to enroll as an Observer to follow the deliberations of the PDP. To enroll as an Observer, enrollments will be fielded through ICANN Join. If you have not used ICANN Join before, please follow the first-time user instructions below. Accessing ICANN Join does require having an ICANN Account.

ICANN Join Instructions [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

ICANNWiki Seeking Volunteers

ICANNWiki is seeking volunteers to assist with creating and editing articles and content for the site. Do you want to help? Getting started is as simple as requesting an account [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]. Then, make sure to read the short content guide [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net] to get a feel for what belongs in the wiki. Also, feel free to take a look at some data [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]source suggestions [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net] on where to find reliable data. Happy editing!