Tomorrow, March 2, the 79th ICANN meeting will open in San Jose, Puerto Rico. The six-day conference aims to bring together participants from around the world to advance joint efforts to ensure the stability, security and unity of the global Internet.
During the Conference, the ICANN community will discuss the most pressing issues of network development: preparations for the launch of the second round of the New gTLD program, the increasing danger of Internet fragmentation, internationalized domain names. A discussion is also planned on what the modern Internet Governance landscape should look like.
“The stability, security and resiliency of the Internet's unique identifier systems are a direct reflection of the diligence and dedication of ICANN's multi-stakeholder community,” ICANN Board Chair Tripti Sinha said. “The Internet is a resource that should be accessible to everyone, and so we must continue to work together to ensure it is resilient and accessible to users around the world.”
Participation in ICANN79 of the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) will be very intense. Thus, on March 2, the ccNSO Universal Acceptance Committee (UAC), which includes experts from the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ, will hold an internal working meeting to discuss the work plan for the coming year. And on March 6, UAC management will update the ccTLD community on progress made and next steps.
On March 3, the ccNSO Internet Governance Liaison Committee will host a working meeting to discuss the UN's review in advance of the 2025 World Summit on the Information Society and discuss why it is important for country code domains. The Internet Governance Committee will meet on March 5 to examine Internet fragmentation and how it affects country code domains around the globe.
The seminar of the Standing Committee on Strategic and Operational Planning (SOPC) will take place on March 3, the deputy chairman of which is Irina Danelia, Deputy Director of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ. The session will discuss the work plan and budget for the next financial year.
On March 4, as part of ICANN79, the ccNSO will host its traditional Tech Day, which is open to all members of the ICANN community. Also at the Conference there will be working meetings between the management and members of the ccNSO, where further steps in the development of the Country Code Name Supporting Organization and the role and place of the organization in the ICANN structure will be discussed. Detailed information about the ccNSO's ICANN 79 activities can be found here.
Another highlight of ICANN79 will be the presentation of the ICANN Community Outstanding Service Award. It is awarded to a community member who has made significant contributions to consensus decision-making and ICANN's multi-stakeholder model.
“The technical functions of the Internet are performed by a global community that collectively works to solve technical and policy problems for the benefit of the community. This unique, democratic, multi-stakeholder approach allows every stakeholder to have a voice in a bottom-up, consensus-driven process,” Sally Costerton, ICANN Interim President and CEO said. “The ICANN79 is an opportunity to participate in this global collective effort.”
ICANN79 will be held in a hybrid format - registered participants will be able to join sessions via ZOOM, and some sessions will also be broadcast on YouTube.
We will be covering the progress of ICANN79 in detail - stay tuned for our posts!
