Email from ICANN

FYI

Thursday, 04 December 2025

ICANN Community Digest

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

Applicant Support Program [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program [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

Information Sharing

· NEW: ICANN Publishes Fiscal Year 2026 First Quarter Management Financial Results

· NEW: Call for Nominations for ICANN Fellowship Program Mentors

· NEW: Invitation to Provide Input for the 2026 ICANN Nominating Committee Cycle

· NEW: ICANN Initiates RFP for Asset Management and Custodial Services

· NEW: WSIS+20 Briefings: A Collaborative Path for Internet Governance

· NEW: Approved Resolutions | Special Meeting of the ICANN Board | 20 November 2025

Webinars

· NEW: 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 🚨

· ICANN Community Excellence Award: Now Accepting Nominations

· Call for Applications: NextGen@ICANN86

· ICANN Request for Proposal: Evaluator Panels for String Similarity and Variant Strings for the new gTLD Program: 2026 Round

· ICANN Request for Proposal: New gTLD Program: 2026 Round Background Screening Services

· ICANNWiki Seeking Volunteers

Public Comment

· CLOSES TODAY: String Similarity Evaluation Data for New gTLD Program: Next Round

· CLOSES MONDAY: ICANN Public Meeting Proposed Dates for 2029–2033

· Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) Policy Alignment Analysis

· Timeline for Urgent Requests for Lawful Disclosure of Nonpublic Registration Data

· 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

Events

· These events occur in December 2025.

Information Sharing

NEW: ICANN Publishes Fiscal Year 2026 First Quarter Management Financial Results

Funding through September 2025 was higher than budget and higher than the same period in the previous year, driven by higher-than-planned domain name transactions, registrar accreditation, and application fees.

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

NEW: 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. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

NEW: 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. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

NEW: 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. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

NEW: WSIS+20 Briefings: A Collaborative Path for Internet Governance

ICANN's perspective as part of the technical community, and its relationships with governments, the ITU, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), illuminated how a multistakeholder approach to Internet governance fosters innovation, stability, and accountability.

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

NEW: Approved Resolutions | Special Meeting of the ICANN Board | 20 November 2025

Please find the approved resolutions from the 20 November 2025 Special Meeting of the ICANN Board here [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net].

Webinars

NEW: 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:

18 December 2025 at 15:30 UTC

14 January 2026 at 00:00 UTC

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 [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

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. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

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. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

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. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

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: 23:59 UTC on 16 January 2026

Read more. [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!