Email from ICANN

FYI

From: ICANN Community Digest <digest@icann.ccsend.com>
Reply-To: "policyinfo@icann.org" <policyinfo@icann.org>
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 10:01 AM
To: Devan Reed <devan.reed@icann.org>
Subject: [Ext] NEW: ICANN’s Commitment to the Africa Community

Thursday, 20 November 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: GNSO Seeks Input on Process for the ICANN Board to Reverse Adoption of Policy

· NEW: RST Environments Brought Back Online

· NEW: ICANN Welcomes Newly Appointed Trusted Community Representatives

· NEW: ICANN’s Commitment to the Africa Community

Webinars

· NEXT WEEK: ICANN Webinar Series - Europe: Key Insights from the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) Two-Year Pilot and Next Steps

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 🚨

· TOMORROW: Call for Expressions of Interest for the ICANN Director Nominated by At-Large

· TOMORROW: Call for Nominations: 2026 ICANN Leadership Program

· CLOSES MONDAY: Updated: ICANN Issues Call for UA Day 2026 Proposals

· ICANN Community Excellence Award: Now Accepting Nominations

· 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

· NEW: Public Comment Summary Report: Preliminary Issue Report on a Policy Development Process on DNS Abuse Mitigation

· NEW: Proposed GNSO Process for ICANN Board to Reverse Adoption of GNSO Policy Recs

· CLOSES MONDAY: Draft LAC Regional Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2026–2030

· ICANN Public Meeting Proposed Dates for 2029–2033

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

· Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) Policy Alignment Analysis

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

· Name Collision IPv6 Research Study

Events

· These events occur in November 2025.

Information Sharing

NEW: GNSO Seeks Input on Process for the ICANN Board to Reverse Adoption of Policy

The GNSO Council is proposing a process for the ICANN community's consideration to enable the ICANN Board to reconsider a previously adopted policy recommendation from the GNSO.

Announcement [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Public Comment [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

NEW: RST Environments Brought Back Online

ICANN resolved the root cause of the technical issue and conducted rigorous system testing to ensure that both environments functioned properly before restoring service.

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

NEW: ICANN Welcomes Newly Appointed Trusted Community Representatives

These individuals will support the integrity and transparency of the Domain Name System (DNS) by participating in operations associated with the DNS Root Zone Key Signing Key (KSK).

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

NEW: ICANN’s Commitment to the Africa Community

ICANN has expanded its engagement in the region, invested in infrastructure, and developed local technical capacity to foster a more secure, resilient, and accessible Internet.

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

Webinars

NEXT WEEK: ICANN Webinar Series - Europe: Key Insights from the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) Two-Year Pilot and Next Steps

Wednesday 26 November 2025 (14:00 - 14:30 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

TOMORROW: Call for Expressions of Interest for the ICANN Director Nominated by At-Large

On behalf of the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) Board Candidate Evaluation Committee (BCEC), the At-Large Community is seeking Expressions of Interest (EoIs) from individuals who wish to serve as an ICANN Board Director. The nominated candidate will serve a three-year term starting at the end of ICANN87, which is currently scheduled for 17–22 October 2026.

DEADLINE: Friday, 21 November 2025 at 23:59 UTC

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

TOMORROW: Call for Nominations: 2026 ICANN Leadership Program

From 30 September – 21 November 2024, ICANN will issue a call for nominations for the 2026 Leadership Program, scheduled for 5 – 6 March in Mumbai, India, just before the ICANN85 Public Meeting.

Current and incoming community leaders interested in participating in the program need to be endorsed by their Supporting Organization, Advisory Committee, or stakeholder group chairs. The ICANN organization will reach out to the respective chairs for nominations and a registration link will be sent directly to individuals who are nominated.

The Leadership Program does not provide financial support for travel to Mumbai, but does cover accommodations and offer a stipend for the days a participant is involved in the program.

Questions may be sent to Fernanda Iunes at fernanda.iunes@icann.org.

Announcement [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

CLOSES MONDAY: Updated: ICANN Issues Call for UA Day 2026 Proposals

The deadline to submit a proposal has been extended from 9 November 2025 to 24 November 2025.

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

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]

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!