ICANN is considering having in-person attendance for its upcoming ICANN 72 meeting as well as online participation. According to Domain Name Wire, the organization has already sent a survey to past meeting attendees to gauge interest in a hybrid model. The hybrid format is not new: ICANN introduced an online option several years ago. What’s more important is that if the model is approved, ICANN 72 would be the first conference with an in-person component in two years. The last time this happened was at ICANN 66 in April 2019 in Montreal, Canada. Since then, all ICANN events have been held online only, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions.
According to ICANN’s schedule, the conference will take place on October 23-28 in Seattle, US. If the hybrid format is approved, the organizers are expected to take all safety measures. Participants will have to provide vaccine certificates, undergo pre-travel COVID-19 testing and onsite rapid testing, register in advance for sessions, wear masks and observe social distance during the meetings. Social distancing also means limiting attendance at the conference, including among certain committees. However, it would still be a big step forward: ICANN heads have discussed the importance of in-person meetings between domain community members many times over the last years. The Board is expected to make a determination about the ICANN 72 meeting in July.
