The period for public input on proposed modifications to ICANN’s conference hosting policy has concluded on the organization’s official website. As is widely known, ICANN conducts three annual meetings involving participants from the domain name community. According to its internal regulations, the venues for these conferences must rotate to ensure extensive participation from all five global regions: Europe, North and South America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.
However, the regulations do not require that each conference be held in a different country. Although ICANN has aimed to maximize geographic diversity in its meetings, this practice may soon change. As reported by Domain Incite, none of the domain community representatives who provided feedback on ICANN’s website opposed the concept of hosting meetings in the same cities within various regions. This approach is particularly sensible given that numerous regions already feature cities with an established ICANN presence – such as Los Angeles in North America, Buenos Aires in South America, and Singapore in the Asia-Pacific region. Conducting conferences in these locations would be considerably simpler from both logistical and organizational standpoints.
That being said, the primary impetus for the proposed changes remains financial. ICANN is experiencing a budget shortfall and is exploring ways to curtail expenses, with conference hosting being one of its largest outlays. The domain community has responded with empathy. Michele Neylon, CEO of the registrar Blacknight Solutions, highlighted in his comment: “ICANN meetings are work, so returning to well equipped facilities in accessible locations shouldn’t be a problem.” Meanwhile, the registrar Tucows proposed that to preserve regional inclusivity, one of the three annual conferences could still be held in a unique locale, while the other two could occur at established venues.
