Email from ICANN Monday, 22 December 2025 ICANN Community Digest The Digest will resume publication in the new year on 05 January 2026. Click here to learn more about the New gTLD Program Applicant Support Program Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program 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 CLOSES TODAY: Sign up for the session slot for "Get To Know ICANN Community" Onboarding Program for Newcomers, including ICANN85 Fellowship and NextGen@ICANN Programs Participants ICANN85 Community Childcare Grants Program: Apply Now Information Sharing NEW: Review of Reviews Cross Community Group Progress/Status Update NEW: ICANN Seeks Feedback on Trademark Clearinghouse Requirements NEW: SSAC in 2025: Technical Insight and Global Policy Impact NEW: Reflecting on One Year as ICANN Ombuds NEW: Working Together: A Landmark Year for ICANN and the LAC Community Webinars Register to Attend: Informational Webinar on ICANN's and PTI’s Draft FY27 Plans Next 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 🚨 CLOSING SOON: ICANN Initiates RFP for Asset Management and Custodial Services CLOSING SOON: ICANN Community Excellence Award: Now Accepting Nominations CLOSING SOON: Call for Applications: NextGen@ICANN86 ICANN Request for Proposal: New gTLD Program: 2026 Round Background Screening Services Invitation to Provide Input for the 2026 ICANN Nominating Committee Cycle ICANN Request for Proposal: 2026 Round Safeguard Assessment Call for Nominations for ICANN Fellowship Program Mentors ICANN Request for Proposal: Evaluator Panels for String Similarity and Variant Strings for the new gTLD Program: 2026 Round Apply Now for ICANN and PTI Leadership Positions ICANNWiki Seeking Volunteers Public Comment NEW: Public Comment Summary Report: Updated GNSO Stakeholder Group and Constituency Charter Amendment Process NEW: Public Comment Summary Report: String Similarity Evaluation Data for New gTLD Program: Next Round NEW: Proposed Updates to the Trademark Clearinghouse Requirements CLOSES TODAY: Name Collision IPv6 Research Study Proposed GNSO Process for ICANN Board to Reverse Adoption of GNSO Policy Recs String Similarity Evaluation Guidelines for New gTLD Program: 2026 Round Proposed Next Round Base gTLD Registry Agreement - Spec 14 (Variant TLDs) ICANN FY27–31 Operating & Financial Plan, ICANN/IANA FY27 Op Plans & Budgets Draft PTI FY27 Operating Plan and Budget Events These events occur in December 2025 and January 2026. ICANN85 Register now CLOSES TODAY: Sign up for the session slot for "Get To Know ICANN Community" Onboarding Program for Newcomers, including ICANN85 Fellowship and NextGen@ICANN Programs Participants Want to introduce your group’s work to ICANN85 Community Forum newcomers, including Fellowship and NextGen@ICANN Programs Participants? Sign up for a 30 minute session on 7-8 March, 2026. These outreach sessions are part of the ""Get To Know ICANN Community"" Onboarding Program for Newcomers and are an opportunity for every SO/AC to share information with the ICANN Meeting newcomers and highlight the important work that your group does within ICANN. The link to sign up for available slots is as follows: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TAxTUrE0ZkODdrend9OClQ5I_1r5Rs_BHSQ5.... For any additional questions, please contact ICANN Fellowship Program Manager, Siranush Vardanyan at siranush.vardanyan@icann.org. The deadline to sign up for a slot is December 22, 2025 ICANN85 Community Childcare Grants Program: Apply Now 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. DEADLINE: Friday, 16 January 2026, at 23:59 UTC Read more. Information Sharing NEW: Review of Reviews Cross Community Group Progress/Status Update As 2025 concludes, find out more about the Reviews CCG progress, status and planned next steps leading up to ICANN85. NEW: ICANN Seeks Feedback on Trademark Clearinghouse Requirements The TMCH Requirements describe the detailed requirements for registry operators in relation to their Sunrise and Trademark Claims periods. Announcement. Public Comment. NEW: SSAC in 2025: Technical Insight and Global Policy Impact SSAC is grateful to all members and invited experts whose volunteer contributions fuel our impact. Read more. NEW: Reflecting on One Year as ICANN Ombuds A year goes by very quickly when you're doing work you love for an organization whose mission grows increasingly more vital each day. Read more. NEW: Working Together: A Landmark Year for ICANN and the LAC Community The year's accomplishments highlight the region's growing readiness, strong community collaboration, and shared commitment to a secure, stable, and multilingual Internet. Read more. Webinars Register to Attend: Informational Webinar on ICANN's and PTI’s Draft FY27 Plans The webinar will provide an overview of the draft plans for ICANN and Public Technical Identifiers (PTI) which will be posted for separate, concurrent Public Comments. The webinar will be presented at two different times, and community members can register for one or both of the sessions: 14 January 2026 at 00:00 UTC Read more and register. Next Round 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. Key Topic Overview Documents. 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. 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. 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 for more information. Questions about the ASP or becoming a supported applicant Mentor can be sent to globalsupport@icann.org. Action Items CLOSING SOON: ICANN Initiates RFP for Asset Management and Custodial Services Firms may respond to this RFP to provide asset management services only, custody services only, or both asset management and custody services. DEADLINE: 23:59 UTC on 31 December 2025 Read more. CLOSING SOON: ICANN Community Excellence Award: Now Accepting Nominations The Community Excellence Award recognizes ICANN community members who have deeply invested in consensus-based solutions and contributed substantively to the ICANN multistakeholder model. DEADLINE: 8 January 2026 at 23:59 UTC Read more. CLOSING SOON: Call for Applications: NextGen@ICANN86 ICANN wants to hear from university students living and studying in the European region who are interested in the future of the Internet and participating in the Public Meeting. DEADLINE: 9 January 2026 Read more. ICANN Request for Proposal: New gTLD Program: 2026 Round Background Screening Services Its purpose is to safeguard registrants and the public interest by ensuring that corporations, organizations, and institutions are in good standing and eligible to operate a gTLD. DEADLINE: 23:59 UTC on 16 January 2026 Read more. Invitation to Provide Input for the 2026 ICANN Nominating Committee Cycle Specifically, it seeks feedback on the guidance and candidate job descriptions provided by the receiving bodies, as well as additional qualities, skills, or considerations that should be prioritized in candidate selection. DEADLINE: 21 January 2026 Read more. ICANN Request for Proposal: 2026 Round Safeguard Assessment The safeguard assessment provider will determine whether an applied-for string fits into one of the risk-based groups that will require specific safeguard public interest commitments (PICs) as contractual obligations in the 2026 Round registry agreement. DEADLINE: 22 January 2026  Read more. Call for Nominations for ICANN Fellowship Program Mentors Interested SOs/ACs should select their respective Fellowship Program mentor representative to serve for the ICANN87–ICANN89 meetings, and notify ICANN Fellowship Program Manager Siranush Vardanyan via email at siranush.vardanyan@icann.org no later than 10 February, 2026. Read more. ICANN Request for Proposal: Evaluator Panels for String Similarity and Variant Strings for the new gTLD Program: 2026 Round The selected provider(s) will also be required to collaborate with ICANN on the development of evaluation guides for the work conducted by the panels, ensuring that the evaluation processes are transparent, consistent, and repeatable across all gTLD applications. DEADLINE: Wednesday 18 February, 23:59 UTC Read more. Apply Now for ICANN and PTI Leadership Positions The selected individuals will have a unique opportunity to work with accomplished colleagues from around the globe to help shape the policy development and technical coordination of the Internet's unique identifiers. DEADLINE: 18 February 2026 Read more. 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 NEW: Public Comment Summary Report: Updated GNSO Stakeholder Group and Constituency Charter Amendment Process NEW: Public Comment Summary Report: String Similarity Evaluation Data for New gTLD Program: Next Round NEW: Proposed Updates to the Trademark Clearinghouse Requirements Open for Submissions Date: Tuesday, 18 December 2025 Closed for Submissions Date: Thursday, 27 January 2026 CLOSES TODAY: Name Collision IPv6 Research Study Submissions Opening Date: Monday, 20 October 2025 Submissions Closing Date: Monday, 22 December 2025 Proposed GNSO Process for ICANN Board to Reverse Adoption of GNSO Policy Recs Submissions Opening Date: Thursday, 20 November 2025 Submissions Closing Date: Thursday, 22 January 2026 String Similarity Evaluation Guidelines for New gTLD Program: 2026 Round Submissions Opening Date: Wednesday, 26 November 2025 Submissions Closing Date: Thursday, 22 January 2026 Proposed Next Round Base gTLD Registry Agreement - Spec 14 (Variant TLDs) Submissions Opening Date: Wednesday, 10 December 2025 Submissions Closing Date: Tuesday, 27 January 2026 ICANN FY27–31 Operating & Financial Plan, ICANN/IANA FY27 Op Plans & Budgets Open for Submissions Date: Tuesday, 16 December 2025 Closed for Submissions Date: Thursday, 12 February 2025 Draft PTI FY27 Operating Plan and Budget Open for Submissions Date: Tuesday, 16 December 2025 Closed for Submissions Date: Thursday, 12 February 2025 See upcoming proceedings. See other public consultations. Events These events occur in December 2025 and January 2026. To learn more, please visit our community engagement calendar. Libyan School on IG 2025 ICANN Webinar: DNS101 ICANN's Training on Advanced DNS DNSSEC Workshop Jordan 2026 PTC'26 (MN)NUG ICANN Webinar Series for EMEA: Charting the Path Ahead for ICANN's DNS Abuse Mitigation Efforts Volume 7, Issue 91 | Archive | Next Issue: Monday, 05 January 2026 STAY INFORMED: Subscribe here ICANN | 12025 Waterfront Drive Suite 300 | Los Angeles, CA 90094-2536 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice