Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We hope this message finds you well.

We are pleased to share with you the comprehensive report of our recent Middle East Space informal gathering at ICANN 79 in San Juan. A detailed report along with photos has been attached to this email. Kindly take a look.

Additionally, we are preparing for our upcoming webinar scheduled for May - the exact date and time will be announced shortly. We invite you to propose topics for discussion that you believe would be of interest to our community. These can be related to recent developments, emerging trends, or other pertinent subjects within our domain. Your insights are invaluable to us. Please submit your topic proposals by Thursday, 4 April 2024.

Furthermore, if the topic requires a formal statement, we will convene a writing committee after the proposal deadline.

Should you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. We greatly appreciate your support and engagement as we strive to foster a dynamic and enriching environment within our community.

Thank you for your attention, and we look forward to your valuable contributions.

Best regards,

Amin and Layal

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Middle East Space Informal gathering report ( San Juan, March 7, 2024):

Participants at ICANN 79 in San Juan from the Middle East responded to an invitation by Mr. Baher Esmat (ICANN Regional Vice President for stakeholder engagement in the Middle East) and the Co-Chairs of the Middle East Space to an informal gathering on Thursday, March 7th at noon at the Centro de Convenciones de Puerto Rico.

Attendances were: Tijani BEN JEMAA, Aziz Hilali, wafa Dahmani, Nabil Benamar, Manal Ismail, Christine Arida, Zeina Bouharb, Sami Ali, Hadia El-Meniawi, Hazem Hezzah, Farzaneh badii, Houda Chihi, Khaled Fattal, Baher Esmat and Amin Hacha.

The co-chair of the Middle East, Amin Hacha, facilitated the informal meeting. Participants shared their perspectives and posed questions. After listening to all participants and engaging in several interactions, the following points were identified for the next steps:

1- A follow-up email will be sent to all participants to ensure they are registered on the Middle East mailing list, which also contains the charter form of the Middle East Space.

2- Regarding the universal acceptance, a proposal from Mr. Nabil, it is suggested that we make more use of the Arabic language in our discussions. This is because it is the majority language in the Middle East. Additionally, efforts should be made to promote the active use of this language, where a lot of ICANN work has been done concerning domains in the Arabic language. However, the acceptance and utilization of these efforts in the Arab communities is currently limited.

3- Exchanging ideas among members in the Middle East is crucial, which highlights the uniqueness of our regional space.

4- To maintain that any upcoming drafts must be carefully chosen and thoroughly prepared, which will reflect a good image of our community.

5- To focus on involving a greater number of stakeholders from the Middle Eastern communities and involve the new fellowers in the Middle-east space.

6- Ongoing efforts to develop the Middle East Space.

In conclusion, the Middle East Space co-chair emphasized the primary goal of working together in crafting statements and addressing subjects to propel the Middle East Space forward, particularly with the target of ICANN81 in Istanbul, which will be organized in our region, a significant opportunity to showcase the region's contributions and challenges.