Email from ICANN

Monday, 23 March 2026

ICANN Community Digest

Click here to learn more about the New gTLD Program

2026 Round Applicant Guidebook

2026 Round Vendor Sourcing Timeline

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

Information Sharing

NEW: Call for Applications:NextGen@ICANN87
NEW: ICANN87 Fellowship Application Round Now Open
ICANN86 Community Childcare Grants Program: Apply Now

2026 Round

ICANN Announces Community Priority Evaluation Provider for 2026 Round
2026 Round Highlights from ICANN85
Call for Expressions of Interest: 2026 Round Independent Objectors
More Entities Qualify for ICANN’s Applicant Support Program
Next Round Champions Toolkit Available in the Six ICANN Languages

🚨 Action Items 🚨

ICANN Request for Proposal: Name Collision Temporary Delegation
GNSO's DNS Abuse Mitigation PDP-1 Observer Enrollment
ICANNWiki Seeking Volunteers

Public Comment

Fundamental Bylaws Amendments on IANA-Related Reviews and CSC Charter Update
Proposed Root KSK Algorithm Rollover
Standard Bylaws Amendment – Transition Article on Specific Reviews
Draft Guidelines for Advancing UA Adoption

Events

These events occur in March 2026.

Information Sharing

NEW: Call for Applications: NextGen@ICANN87

ICANN is calling for applications for NextGen@ICANN Program participants to attend the ICANN87 Annual General Meeting in Muscat, Oman, 17–22 October 2026.

NEW: ICANN87 Fellowship Application Round Now Open

ICANN is opening the application round for the ICANN Fellowship Program for ICANN87 Annual General Meeting. The ICANN87 meeting is scheduled for 17–22 October 2026 in Muscat, Oman. If ICANN87 is held virtually, the Fellowship Program also will be held virtually. The deadline to apply is 19 April 2026 at 23:59 UTC.

ICANN86 Community Childcare Grants Program: Apply Now

ICANN opened the application round for its Community Childcare Grants Program for ICANN86 in Seville, Spain. The program facilitates the in-person participation of community members with children who are 12 years old or younger at ICANN Public Meetings and eligible ICANN events.

2026 Round

ICANN Announces Community Priority Evaluation Provider for 2026 Round

ICANN announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Analysys Mason Limited to be the Community Priority Evaluation (CPE) provider for the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round.

2026 Round Highlights From ICANN85

With ICANN85 behind us, I'd like to provide you with an update on the progress being made as we approach the launch of the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round. The ICANN85 Community Forum, the last Public Meeting before the launch day, was busy and productive.

Call for Expressions of Interest: 2026 Round Independent Objectors

ICANN opened a Call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) to identify three individuals to serve as Independent Objectors, including one who will act as chair, as part of the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round. The Independent Objectors will file Community and Limited Public Interest objections and appeals and participate in mediation, where appropriate. Although an individual may be affiliated with a firm, that person will be ultimately responsible for the processes described in this EOI. Individuals from the same firm will not be selected.

More Entities Qualify for ICANN’s Applicant Support Program

As of 27 February, there are five fully qualified supported applicants and seven that are conditionally qualified, bringing the total to 12 – with 62 applicants still in review.

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.

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.

Action Items

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.

Deadline: 6 April 2026

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

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. Then, make sure to read the short content guide to get a feel for what belongs in the wiki. Also, feel free to take a look at some data source suggestions on where to find reliable data. Happy editing!

Public Comment

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

Open for Submissions Date: Wednesday, 11 February 2026

Closed for Submissions Date: Monday, 30 March 2026