FYI---

 

From: ICANN Community Digest <digest@icann.ccsend.com>
Reply-To: "policyinfo@icann.org" <policyinfo@icann.org>
Date: Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 11:01 AM
To: Julie Bisland <julie.bisland@icann.org>
Subject: [Ext] NEW: 2026 Round Progress Highlights

 

Wednesday, 19 February 2026

 

ICANN Community Digest

 

 

 

 

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

·     Prep Week Schedule

·     ICANN85 Schedule Now Available

·      

Information Sharing

·     NEW: ICANN Announces NextGen@ICANN86 Participants

2026 Round

·     NEW: 2026 Round Progress Highlights

·     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 Request for Proposal: Geographic Names and Reserved Names Panelss

·     ICANNWiki Seeking Volunteers

Public Comment

·     NEW: Public Comment Summary Report: Proposed Updates to the Trademark Clearinghouse Requirements

·     MONDAY: Latin Script Diacritics PDP Initial Report

·     Name Collision Procedure Documentation

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

·     Standard Bylaws Amendment – Transition Article on Specific Reviews

·     Proposed Root KSK Algorithm Rollover

Events

·     These events occur in February 2026.

 

 

 

ICANN85

 

 

 

Information Sharing

 

NEW: ICANN Announces NextGen@ICANN86 Participants

 

The 12 NextGen@ICANN participants attend universities in the European region, where they study engineering, political science, technology, and other relevant subjects.

 

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

 

2026 Round

 

NEW: 2026 Round Progress Highlights

 

ICANN is less than three months away from opening the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round application window on 30 April.

 

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

 

 

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 Request for Proposal: Geographic Names and Reserved Names Panels

 

Interested providers are invited to submit proposals that ICANN will then evaluate for capability and expertise. Because the work related to both panels is similar, ICANN intends to consolidate the work with a single provider.

 

Deadline: 13 March 2026

 

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

 

 

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 [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!

 

Public Comment

 

 

 

MONDAY: Latin Script Diacritics PDP Initial Report [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Open for Submissions Date: Monday, 12 January 2026

Closed for Submissions Date: Monday, 23 February 2026

 

 

Name Collision Procedure Documentation [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Open for Submissions Date: Thursday, 29 January 2026

Closed for Submissions Date: Monday, 16 March 2026

 

 

Fundamental Bylaws Amendments on IANA-Related Reviews and CSC Charter Update [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Open for Submissions Date: Wednesday, 11 February 2026

Closed for Submissions Date: Monday, 30 March 2026

 

 

Standard Bylaws Amendment – Transition Article on Specific Reviews [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Open for Submissions Date: Wednesday, 11 February 2026

Closed for Submissions Date: Monday, 30 March 2026

 

 

Proposed Root KSK Algorithm Rollover [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Open for Submissions Date: Tuesday, 3 February 2026

Closed for Submissions Date: Monday, 6 April 2026

 

 

 

Events

 

These events occur in February 2026.

To learn more, please visit our community engagement calendar [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net].

·     DNS Abuse in Cybercrime: Practical Investigation Workshop Using WHOIS and RDAP

·     Virtual School on Internet Governance Course - Session on WISIS+20

·     Connected Africa Summit 2026-Partners Breakfast Meeting

·     Domain Summit Africa 2026

·     ITU-ATU-ICANN regional technical information session (online) dedicated to strengthening digital infrastructure in Africa

·     ICANN Webinar Series for EMEA: The Rise and Fall of Undelegated TLDs

·     Unlocking the Power of the Internet with a .Brand Domain Name

·     (NY)NUG

·     IX Fórum Regional Edição Sudeste - Ribeirão Preto / SP

 

Volume 8, Issue 14 | Archive [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net] | Next Issue: Monday, 23 February 2026

STAY INFORMED: Subscribe here [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]