Counting Down to ICANN58 in Copenhagen
ICANN58 is less than four weeks away - it takes place from 11-16 March 2017 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Come and network with your peers in the community, engage in face-to-face discussions, ask questions and help develop and implement Internet policies.
If you need to obtain a visa to enter Denmark, you needed to submit your application by 10 February 2017. But if you don't need a visa, there's still time to register for ICANN58. Before booking your travel, review the visa requirements on the ICANN58 home page.
A draft of the ICANN58 block schedule is now available. To help you manage your meeting experience, you can use the online ICANN58 meeting app or download the mobile app, available in app stores.
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ICANN Holds the First Capacity Building-Workshop for African GAC Members
On 23-24 January 2017, the ICANN organization, in cooperation with the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) Underserved Regions Working Group, conducted the first capacity-building workshop for African GAC members in Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop was called "Harnessing the Potential of the Africa GAC Members for Better Participation in ICANN."
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Members of the Internet Improvement Board; Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communications of Turkey; and ICANN's David Olive come together at a meeting in Ankara, Turkey.
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David Olive Meets with the Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communications of Turkey
David Olive, Senior VP of Policy Development Support and General Manager of ICANN's regional hub in Istanbul, joined the Internet Improvement Board in a visit with Ahmet Arslan, the Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communications of Turkey.
Tayfun Acarer, President of the Internet Improvement Board, spoke about ICANN: "Four years ago, when ICANN decided to launch new hubs around the world, there was a debate among countries about where to host the ICANN hub to be launched in our region. We worked hard to have this new hub in Istanbul. It is invaluable to our reputation and contributes to progress in information and communications technologies."
David Olive added to Tayfun Acarer's remarks: "Four years ago with the help of then-minister Yildirim and Mr. Acarer, we were happy to launch the ICANN regional hub in Istanbul, and I was employee number one. Today 20 staff members are working out of the Istanbul hub and I am glad to tell you, 17 are from the talented young Turkish workforce. I believe Turkey DNS Forums, which bring Turkish stakeholders together, and the .istanbul and .ist top-level domain agreements with the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, have been good examples of the positive outcomes of our presence here."
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I* Organizations Meet in Lebanon to Collaborate on Shared Priorities
On 27 January 2017, the I* organizations operating in the Middle East, organizations that share responsibilities for coordinating the Internet's technical infrastructure, met in Beirut, Lebanon, for a one-day workshop. The organizations attending were ICANN's Global Stakeholder Engagement team in the Middle East, the Internet Society (ISOC) Middle East Bureau and the Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC) Middle East team. Attendees discussed their priorities for 2017 for the region, identified common interests and looked for ways to collaborate. The meeting helped to develop synergies, and we look forward to such collaborations in the future.
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ICANN Participates in TheName.SHOW in Madrid
On 13 January, Andrea Beccalli, Senior Stakeholder Engagement Manager for Europe, presented at the TheName.SHOW in Madrid. He spoke about the Internet's evolution and the New Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Program. TheName.SHOW is a roadshow that is visiting major cities in Spain to raise awareness about the Internet domain space and opportunities for internet industries. Watch the full event.
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Join the Next Quarterly Stakeholder Call on 15 February
In the second call in our new format, you'll hear how ICANN has implemented community policy and recent news from the ICANN Board. The regional focus for this call will be on Africa and the Middle East. Everyone is welcome. If you haven't already done so, register here.
15 February 2017 at 15:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
Live interpretation is offered in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. The call will be recorded and posted in all languages on the Quarterly Reports page. Read the full announcement.
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February 2017 Executive Team Report to the ICANN Board Is Now Available!
Click here to download your copy. |
Contractual Compliance 2016 Annual Report Now Available
The Contractual Compliance team just published its 2016 annual report as part of ICANN's commitment to transparency. The narrative provides summaries on registrar and registry compliance, the audit program, a financial overview and the initiatives and performance measurements for the year.
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ATRT3 Call for Volunteers Announced
Apply to be considered for the third Review of ICANN Accountability and Transparency (ATRT3). This review team will analyze and make recommendations to help ensure that ICANN is a transparent and accountable organization. To learn more about the ATRT3 Review and how to apply, click here.
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Request for Proposal: NomCom Review
ICANN is seeking a provider to conduct an independent assessment of its Nominating Committee (NomCom). The NomCom is an independent committee tasked with selecting members of the Board of Directors and other key positions within ICANN's structure. This review will focus on the NomCom's purpose, operations, structures and accountability. Click here to learn more. The deadline to apply is 17 February 2017.
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At-Large Community Needs Your Input
The independent examiner ITEMS has published the initial report of the At-Large Review and seeks broad community input on its findings and recommendations. The report covers many areas, including the mandate and purpose of the At-Large community, its structure and effectiveness, regional and global meetings, funding issues and support staff. It proposes several recommendations that are based on quantitative and qualitative data collected through a global online survey, community interviews and secondary research. The At-Large Review Working Party played a critical role in the process by providing input, checking the accuracy of data and helping ITEMS develop targeted, concrete and implementable recommendations.
ITEMS will present its findings and recommendations during a webinar in early February and in an open session at ICANN58 - more details to follow. View the report findings and recommendations and give your feedback.
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ASO Address Council Elects New Chair
Filiz Yilmaz, community representative of the Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC), has been elected by the Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC) members as the new chair for 2017. Her appointment was confirmed during the ASO AC teleconference on 11 January 2017. ASO AC chair elections are held annually in January, and the term is for one year. The ASO AC also accepted the appointment of Louie Lee, from the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) region, and Ricardo Patara, from the Latin American and Caribbean Network Information Centre (LACNIC) region, as vice chairs of the ASO AC. The ASO AC also recognized Louie Lee for his nine years of service and leadership as ASO AC chair.
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Initial Report on the IGO-INGO Access to Curative Rights Protection Mechanisms Published for Public Comment
In the domain name space, international governmental organizations (IGOs) and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) may encounter difficulties to protect their names and acronyms against abuse. While the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and the Uniform Rapid Suspension procedure (URS) are mechanisms to protect the marks of rights holders, not all IGOs and INGOs can use them due to the lack of trademarks or issues of jurisdictional immunity. Since June 2014, a policy development process working group in the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) has been tasked with developing policy recommendations that enable IGOs and INGOs to effectively access curative rights protection mechanisms. The working group has published an initial report with a set of preliminary recommendations and conclusions. Read more and participate in the public comment proceeding by 1 March 2017.
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GAC Prepares for ICANN58
The leadership of the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) has been working to create an agenda in line with the topics raised by GAC members and with meeting requests from the ICANN community.In Copenhagen, the GAC plans to meet with the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), the At-Large Advisory Council (ALAC) and the ICANN Board. Additionally, the GAC will also dedicate considerable time to discussing its implementation of the new ICANN Bylaws and to ongoing discussions on new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) and intergovernmental organization protections.
GAC internal matters will be tackled throughout the week as well. All GAC working groups will meet and update the GAC on their work in plenary sessions. Lastly, the GAC will lead two cross-community discussions: a session on domain name system (DNS) abuse mitigation, proposed by the GAC Public Safety Working Group, and a session on how to better engage in ICANN, proposed by the GAC Underserved Regions Working Group.
Within the next month, you will find the final GAC schedule on the ICANN58 website.
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GNSO Nominates Candidates for the Second Security, Stability and Resiliency Review Team
On 19 January 2017, the Council of the GNSO unanimously passed a motion to nominate James Gannon, Denise Michel and Emily Taylor as its primary three candidates for the second Security, Stability and Resiliency Review Team (SSR2-RT). Furthermore, the GNSO nominated Howard Eland, Scott McCormick, Rao Naveed bin Rais and Norm Ritchie as alternates. As part of the selection processes for the SSR2-RT, these seven candidates requested GNSO endorsement for their participation in the review team. The GNSO Council formed a small team to review the candidacies. Noting the lack of gender and geographic diversity of the applicants, the GNSO Council also encouraged ICANN staff to explore ways to promote diversity in applications for future review teams.
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ccNSO Drafting Team Begins Work
The Council of the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) appointed volunteers to draft the charters for two working groups in the ccNSO policy development process (PDP) on the development of a review mechanism for the decisions on delegation, revocation and retirement of country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). The focus will be on delineating and scoping the issues that need to be addressed through PDPs and on working methods. The drafting team's results will be included in an issue report. The report will be presented to the broader community at ICANN58, and then to the ccNSO Council for decision-making. The first meeting of the drafting team took place on 11 January 2017.
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GNSO Council Mailing List Migrated to Mailman
In January 2017, the public mailing list of the GNSO Council was migrated to Mailman. This transition will allow anyone interested in GNSO Council activities to subscribe to the mailing list as an observer to receive emails, access the archives and follow GNSO Council discussions in real time. To join the mailing list as an observer (without posting rights), send your request directly or email gnso-sec@icann.org. Meanwhile, you may access the archive of the mailing list, which contains all emails predating the migration.
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Results of IANA Functions Customer Survey Now Available
In January 2017, ICANN published the results of an annual survey that measures the perception of satisfaction among IANA functions customers regarding the services they receive. In the survey, which accounts for transactions completed between September 2015 and August 2016, 94 percent of respondents reported being "satisfied" or "very satisfied." Notably, 99 percent of respondents reported being satisfied with the accuracy of their transactions. Customers also identified accuracy as the most important measure of performance for the fourth consecutive year. View the survey findings.
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No New gTLDs Were Delegated in January
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Join us at these upcoming EMEA events:
- 15-16 February, Turkey DNS Forum, Istanbul, Turkey
- 19 February, DNSSEC Roundtable, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- 22 February, Middle East Webinar on Updates from the ICANN Accountability Track
- 1 March, YouthCom Workshop, Tunis, Tunisia
- 6-10 March, Internet Freedom Festival, Valencia, Spain
- 11-16 March, ICANN58, Copenhagen, Denmark
- 29-31 March, RightsCon Brussels, Brussels, Belgium
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