Dear All, In preparation of ICANN57, please find an overview below of the 8 so-called “High Interest Topics” that have been confirmed. HIT 1 (how to do outreach within each SO/AC) and HIT 6 (Q&A with ICANN general counsel on the legal advice that ICANN receives and how that supports the ICANN mission) are both hosted under auspices of the ccNSO. Saturday, 5 November 2016 HIT 1: How to do outreach within each SO/AC 11:00 - 12:15 • Hall 3 (Main) http://sched.co/8cya Chair: Cheryl Langdon-Orr Introduction: Sandra Hoferichter Moderators: Thomas Rickert and Peter Vergote * Background/ Importance: ICANN Meetings are a central principle of ICANN's multi-stakeholder model because they provide a venue for progressing policy work, conducting outreach, exchanging best practices, conducting business deals, interacting among members of the ICANN Community, including Board and Staff, and learning about ICANN. Cross-community engagement and outreach were very prominently on the agenda of the policy forum, and this will most likely continue to be so in the future * Session Goals/Expected Outcomes: Create awareness on what outreach means to ICANN, what has been done and what are the next steps for the SOs & ACs on this matter. What does outreach mean to each SO/AC? Once that question has been answered, one can work on a better interpretation of outreach, and develop or refine a strategy on reaching out to new potential members as well as to engage new and existing members. * Session Format: Setting the scene regarding the various initiatives, and the concerns raised about the level of outreach currently available. After the high level introduction, moderators take over and ask the audience questions, and invite them to share views. Wrap-up by the chair. HIT 2: Mitigation of abuse in gTLDs 13:45 – 15:00 • Hall 3 (Main) http://sched.co/8cyY HIT 3: Update on WHOIS-related initiatives 15:15 - 16:45 • Hall 3 (Main) http://sched.co/8cyZ There are currently several substantial Whois-related initiatives underway across ICANN and its Community: the Next Generation Registration Directory Services GNSO Policy Development Process, the implementation of the Proxy & Privacy Services Accreditation GNSO Policy Recommendations, as well as other activities such as the development of the Whois Accuracy Reporting System or the Implementation Advisory Group on the Whois Conflict Procedure with Local Laws. 

 Expected Outcomes: Update of the ICANN Community and it’s SO/ACs on objectives, scope, timeline, progress and achievements of relevant initiatives; Presentation of the body of knowledge documented in work products or discussions to date, including that of the PSWG; Sharing of views by the ICANN Community and it’s SO/ACs on challenges as well as potential synergies among all current initiatives Sunday, 6 November 2016 HIT 4: Exploring the public interest within ICANN’s remit 15:15 - 16:45 • Hall 3 (Main) http://sched.co/8cyd A panel comprised of members of the ICANN community will lead and moderate the discussion in order to reach a shared understanding of what the concept of public interest means in the context of ICANN, explore how public interest could be operationalized as the basis for decision-making at ICANN, and determine next steps. HIT 5: DNS and Content Regulation 17:00 - 18:30 • Hall 3 (Main) http://sched.co/8g4p The session will bring together all relevant stakeholders and constituencies including GAC and law enforcement representatives, the Intellectual Property Constituency, the Non-Commercial Users Constituency, and the registrars and registries, to discuss and debate the appropriate role of ICANN and its contracted parties in relation to Internet content hosted at a domain. Monday, 7 November 2016 gTLD Marketplace Health Index Metrics 09:00 - 10:15 00 • Hall 2 http://sched.co/8cyz (This is not a HIT session, but of relevance to the ccTLD community as well.) The gTLD Marketplace Health Index presents statistics and trends related to generic top-level domains. ICANN plans to publish the index twice a year to track progress against its goal of supporting the evolution of the domain name marketplace to be robust, stable, and trusted. In this session, members of ICANN’s Global Domains Division will provide an overview of this new initiative and how it contributes to broader progress measurement against the organization’s key performance indicators. HIT 6: Q&A with ICANN general counsel on the legal advice that ICANN receives and how that supports the ICANN mission 15:15 - 16:45 • Hall 3 (Main) http://sched.co/8cyj Moderator: Jay Daley (.nz) Panel members: Chris Disspain (ICANN Board), John Jeffrey (ICANN’s General Counsel and Secretary) The bottom-up process and contributions via the multistakeholder model are the core of ICANN but claims have regularly been made that the legal advice provided to ICANN does not support that. This session seeks to explore the reasons these claims surface by examining both the nature of the questions asked, the laws/guidelines that are consulted, the processes by which this advice is produced, how this differs for internal and external counsel and how it is then shared with the community. The expected outcome of this session is a major step forward in transparency around the production of legal advice, a better understand of the operating practices the legal team work within and ideas for how to continue this process to increase community scrutiny of legal advice received by ICANN. HIT 7: Underserved regions in ICANN 17:00 – 18:30 • Hall 3 (Main) http://sched.co/8cyk The session will explore and share possible initiatives that would assist Under-Served Regions in ICANN. The Under-Served Regions High Interest Topic session is open to all participants and will be a cross-community discussion. The session will tackle topics such as the definition of underserved and the 2014 ICANN report on the Under-Served Regions and to what extent have the recommendations contained in that report been implemented. HIT 8: Internet governance public session 18:30 – 20:00 • Hall 3 (Main) http://sched.co/8cyn For the last few years, we have regularly held a public session on Internet Governance. It allows the Community to discuss and opine on important IG issues that will affect ICANN. The Session informs staff on the views of the Community as well as allowing us an opportunity of providing relevant and pertinent information. In addition to facilitating an information exchange and a dialogue on important IG issues (such as the IGF) the session at ICANN 57 will, we believe, develop further thinking on Internet Fragmentation. Useful links & info: · Link to MEETING GUIDE & VENUE MAP, including SHUTTLE SCHEDULE: http://buff.ly/2eUSja6 and airport transfers: http://buff.ly/2e05j0s · Full ICANN schedule: http://buff.ly/2eUWL8T The ICANN57 App is available for download. The App contains the event schedule, and practical info on for instance transportation. · Overview of all ccNSO sessions in Hyderabad: http://buff.ly/2dP83ur · Remote participation ccNSO sessions: http://buff.ly/2eyJiqB Best regards, Joke Braeken ccNSO Policy Advisor joke.braeken@icann.org<mailto:joke.braeken@icann.org> Follow @ccNSO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ccNSO Follow the ccNSO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ccnso/ http://ccnso.icann.org