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ICANN82 Newsletter
6 March 2025
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March Board Workshop and ICANN82 Preview | |
By Tripti Sinha, ICANN Board Chair
The ICANN Board will hold its next three-day workshop before the ICANN82 Community Forum in Seattle. This workshop will include a public informational session on the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC):
ALAC Informational Session
Friday, 7 March 2025 | 13:45–15:15 PST (21:45–23:15 UTC)
The Board also will discuss the future of ICANN reviews, survey the progress of the community-led project to optimize ICANN Public Meetings, and prepare to engage with the community at ICANN82.
Read my blog for an overview of the workshop agenda and a preview of the Board’s activities next week.
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By Naela Sarras, Vice President, Stakeholder Engagement - North America
Welcome to ICANN82, the first public meeting of the year taking place in beautiful Seattle, Washington! We’re thrilled to have you join us in this vibrant city and remotely.
The first meeting of the year is known as the Community Forum and will feature several internal sessions for supporting organizations and advisory committees, cross-community meetings, and plenty of networking opportunities.
There will be a session devoted to the ICANN Grant Program that will recognize the milestone achieved with the Board resolution to fund successful applications in the first grant cycle. We hope to see you in attendance.
Whether you’re a newcomer, a seasoned ICANN meeting attendee, or here to collaborate with like-minded professionals, there’s something for everyone. From the iconic Space Needle to the bustling Pike Place Market, we encourage you to explore the city during your downtime. Thank you for being here—let’s make this meeting an unforgettable experience!
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A Preview of the ICANN82 Community Forum | |
By Russ Weinstein, Senior Vice President, Policy Development Support
We will soon convene for the ICANN82 Community Forum in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. This will be my first ICANN Public Meeting as Senior Vice President, Policy Development Support, leading the global team of subject-matter experts and operations professionals who support the ICANN community. I look forward to working with the ICANN community in this new role and learning about your priorities.
As we approach the start of this Community Forum, I encourage you to visit the ICANN82 website to register, review the schedule, and find important information about travel, hotels, transportation, health, and safety. To help you prepare, I encourage everybody to review the materials from Prep Week and the ICANN82 Policy Outlook Report.
Thank you for making the considerable commitment of time and effort to participate in ICANN82. Whether you are an ICANN regular, an occasional participant, or a newcomer, please actively engage in this Community Forum!
To learn more, read my blog.
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Reminder: Daylight saving time begins on Sunday, 9 March 2025, so be sure to adjust your clocks accordingly. Remote participants in ICANN82 should take note to confirm session timing. | | |
Reminder: ICANN82 Registration Deadlines
In-person registration closes 7 March, while virtual registration closes 13 March. Onsite registration will not be available.
Register now!
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ICANN82 NEWS AND RESOURCES | | |
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The North American Regional At-Large Organization (NARALO) will host two events during ICANN82 in Seattle, both taking place on Monday, 10 March.
First, the NARALO Town Hall will bring together NARALO members and the wider ICANN community to discuss key policy, operational, and engagement issues affecting the region. NARALO will welcome members and Newcomers (fellows and NextGens) and review the implementation of FY25 outreach activities and planning of FY26 outreach activities. The group will discuss participation in policy, operational, and governance issues, and hear updates from ICANN org on the North American Regional Engagement Plan FY 2026-2030.
Second, the NARALO Roundtable on “DNS Abuse and AI: Combating and Enabling Threats” will explore how AI impacts DNS abuse. The technology is being used to safeguard our digital environment while at the same time AI could potentially be exploited for malicious purposes. We will also discuss the future of AI in DNS security and ways we can collaborate for a safer internet.
For more details, visit the ICANN82 schedule. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Schedule Your RDRS User Experience Interview with ICANN | |
ICANN's Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) team manages the day-to-day operations of RDRS, including gathering user feedback to improve the user experience for requestors and registrars participating in the two-year pilot.
The team is available for one-on-one interviews with registrar and requestor organizations (including governments, law enforcement, threat intelligence, incident response communities, and intellectual property organizations) or individuals currently using RDRS. We will discuss experiences with RDRS in the following areas:
- How you/your organization use(s) RDRS.
- General feedback, including what works and what does not work.
- Suggestions for new features and user experience improvements.
If you are a requestor or registrar currently submitting or processing registration data requests through RDRS and have not scheduled an interview with ICANN staff, but would like to provide feedback, you may schedule an interview by sending an email to rdrsfeedback@icann.org with the subject line “RDRS Interview.” Please indicate whether you will be in Seattle, Washington, for an in-person discussion or if you prefer a remote Zoom interview.
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RSP Evaluation Program and Registry System Testing | |
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ICANN will present updates on the Registry Service Provider (RSP) Evaluation Program and Registry System Testing (RST) 2.0, which together ensure that RSPs can operate a generic top-level domain (gTLD) in a stable and secure manner. As part of ICANN's New gTLD Program: Next Round, the RSP Evaluation Program is intended to reduce the cost and time involved in evaluating new gTLDs by separating the evaluation of the technical aspects of operating a gTLD from the application for the gTLD name.
RSPs that would like to be evaluated through the program are invited to join this interactive session to ask questions about the process. This will include a discussion of the benefits of being assessed during the “early” or “pre-evaluation” period taking place now versus the evaluation period that will take place concurrent with the application submission period for new gTLDs.
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Stop by the New gTLD Program
Engagement Table
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Interested in learning more about the New gTLD Program: Next Round? Curious about how to use the outreach materials in the Champions Toolkit?
The Next Round engagement team will host a booth at ICANN82 to help answer any of your questions. Stop by the table on the third floor next to the ICANN engagement space during morning (09:00-09:45 PDT) and afternoon (13:30-14:00 PDT) coffee breaks Monday, 10 March, through Wednesday, 12 March.
For more information, email engagement.newgTLDprogram@icann.org.
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12 Things You Didn’t Know About Seattle: A Preview for ICANN82 | |
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As we gear up for ICANN82, taking place in Seattle, Washington, from 8–13 March 2025, it's the perfect time to explore some lesser-known facts about this vibrant city. While you're here for ICANN's Community Forum, the first in the annual three-meeting cycle, consider these surprising aspects of the city:
- Home of the First Starbucks: The original Starbucks opened in 1971 at Pike Place Market, a must-visit for coffee enthusiasts.
- Birthplace of Grunge: In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Seattle became the epicenter of the grunge music movement, producing iconic bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
- Culinary Capital: From fresh seafood to international cuisine, Seattle's food scene is influenced by its coastal location and diverse population.
- Seattle's Indigenous Heritage: The names of surrounding cities and bodies of water are often rooted in local indigenous languages. This includes the name Seattle, which comes from Chief Si'ahl (which makes Seattle the only major city named after a Native chief.) Artwork can be seen at the Burke Museum and Seattle Art Museum, and public displays around the city.
You can learn more facts about Seattle in our blog.
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Next Round To Be Highlighted in Seattle | |
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The New gTLD Program will be a key focus of ICANN82, with more than a dozen sessions devoted to the implementation of the next application round. The Community Forum will include five meetings of the Implementation Review Team, updates on the Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program and Registry System Testing, a session on string similarity evaluation, and several meetings of the Governmental Advisory Committee. View the ICANN82 schedule for more details.
To get ready for ICANN82, you can view the New gTLD Program: Next Round Status Update for ICANN82 here.
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Review the Prep Week Materials | |
ICANN82 Prep Week took place Monday, 24 February, through Wednesday, 26 February 2025. If you missed any sessions or would like a recap, you can find the session materials on the Prep Week schedule.
Click on a session; the available resources are listed under "Files."
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Read the Policy Outlook Report and the GNSO
Policy Briefing
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ICANN org's Policy Development Support team has published the ICANN82 Policy Outlook Report. The report provides an overview of the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees’ planned activities.
The Generic Names Supporting Organization Policy Support team has published the ICANN82 Policy Briefing to help the community prepare for ICANN82.
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Check Out the ICANN82 PRSP Briefing | |
Prepare for discussions at ICANN82 by perusing the latest news and progress reporting on community-facing projects supported by the Policy Research and Stakeholder Programs team. This briefing includes an overview of GNSO policy development process (PDP) working groups, team updates, and information on GNSO policy-related activities including PDP Implementation Review Teams.
Read the PRSP Briefing here.
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707.1 ICANN Community Anti-Harassment Training
ICANN Community Anti-Harassment Training enables ICANN’s global community to understand how to identify and address harassment, including the different forms harassment can take (from disrespect to bullying), and is particularly recommended for all participants at ICANN82.
Enroll today!
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Review the ICANN Public Meeting Participation Guides | |
Is ICANN82 your first ICANN Public Meeting? Are you unsure of how to use Zoom, interpretation services, or transcription services?
The ICANN82 Participation Tools page has all the information you need, including virtual and in-person participation guides, which are available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
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Explore the ICANN Acronyms and Terms Tool | |
ICANN uses hundreds of acronyms and terms, which can be confusing. We created a multilingual tool to help explain what these terms mean and to support your work within the ICANN community.
Use the ICANN Acronyms and Terms tool to find the definitions you need.
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ICANN's Office of the Chief Technology Officer creates and publishes research papers and technical briefings for ICANN's diverse technical community. | |  |
ICANN's Government Engagement publications summarize the discussions taking place within governments and intergovernmental organizations. | | |
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