Email from ICANN

Happy New Year!

Monday, 05 January 2026

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 [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

ICANN85

· Register now

· NEXT WEEK: ICANN85 Community Childcare Grants Program: Apply Now

Information Sharing

· NEW: Last Call: Nominations for the ICANN Community Excellence Award

· NEW: Celebrating Our Achievements in 2025

· NEW: Cheers to a Successful Year at ICANN

· NEW: A Year of Progress on the Path to Opening the 2026 Round of New gTLDs

· NEW: ICANN Request for Information: Event Sponsorship Management

· NEW: ICANN Office of Ombuds Seeks Input on Updated Framework and Process

· NEW: Registry Service Provider Application Support During ICANN Office Closure

Webinars

· NEXT WEEK: 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 🚨

· CLOSES THURSDAY: ICANN Community Excellence Award: Now Accepting Nominations

· CLOSES FRIDAY: 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: ICANN Office of Ombuds Framework and Process

· 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)

· Proposed Updates to the Trademark Clearinghouse Requirements

· ICANN FY27–31 Operating & Financial Plan, ICANN/IANA FY27 Op Plans & Budgets

· Draft PTI FY27 Operating Plan and Budget

Events

· These events occur in January 2026.

ICANN85

NEXT WEEK: 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. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Information Sharing

NEW: Last Call: Nominations for the ICANN Community Excellence Award

The award recipient(s) will be announced in March 2026 at ICANN85 in Mumbai, India.

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

NEW: Celebrating Our Achievements in 2025

On behalf of the Board, I am grateful to your commitment to preserving a secure, stable, and interoperable Internet.

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

NEW: Cheers to a Successful Year at ICANN

We saw successes in promoting a more multilingual Internet by organizing the third annual Universal Acceptance Day, in combating Domain Name System Abuse through enforcing the contract amendments, and in many other areas.

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

NEW: A Year of Progress on the Path to Opening the 2026 Round of New gTLDs

In some ways, the real work still lies ahead of us, as we move from "standing up" the program to actually running it, processing applications, and ultimately, onboarding new gTLD registries.

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

NEW: ICANN Request for Information: Event Sponsorship Management

Potential providers may respond to this RFI to indicate their interest in this initiative, and to showcase their capabilities for the full end-to-end sponsorship management services within the sponsorship lifecycle.

DEADLINE: 23 January 2026

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

NEW: ICANN Office of Ombuds Seeks Input on Updated Framework and Process

The ICANN Ombuds is revising the framework to reflect the evolution of the Ombuds Office, to address emerging needs in the ICANN community, clarify process, and to further align with good-practice professional standards and processes.

Announcement. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Public Comment. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

NEW: Registry Service Provider Application Support During ICANN Office Closure

If an RSP applicant encounters any issues, we encourage them to report it using the RSP portal. ICANN staff will address the issues immediately upon our return on 5 January.

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

Webinars

NEXT WEEK: 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

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

CLOSES THURSDAY: 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]

CLOSESFRIDAY: 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]

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]

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. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

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]

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. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

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. [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!