Building Momentum on the Path Toward New gTLD | | | |
The year 2025 has been full of momentum as ICANN approaches the opening of the application window for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). ICANN will have successfully laid the groundwork for the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round by publishing the Applicant Guidebook (AGB) this month, attracting numerous entities to apply to the Applicant Support Program, and beginning pre-evaluations of Registry Service Providers.
The AGB – the road map for the gTLD application and evaluation processes – will also be available in HTML this month, and translated versions in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish are expected to be published no later than 28 February 2026. ICANN is also making available plain English Topic Overviews that provide clarity around complex topics in the AGB, such as contention resolution, string similarity, and application types. Other types of support materials, including FAQs and webinar recordings, can also be found on the Applicant Guidebook Resources page.
Stay up to date with all the news about the 2026 Round on the New gTLD Program website.
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ICANN Community Excellence Award: Now Accepting Nominations | | | |
ICANN officially opened the nomination period for the ICANN Community Excellence Award today. The nomination period will close on 8 January 2026 at 23:59 UTC.
Launched in 2014, the Community Excellence Award recognizes ICANN community members who have deeply invested in consensus-based solutions and contributed substantively to the ICANN multistakeholder model.
The ideal recipient(s) will have:
- Participated in the ICANN community for at least five years.
- Served in multiple ICANN working groups or committees.
- Collaborated with more than one Supporting Organization (SO) and/or Advisory Committee (AC) in a significant capacity.
Candidates will be evaluated by a panel of ICANN community members appointed by the SO/AC chairs.
Read the announcement to learn more, including how to submit a nomination.
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Registration is open for the ICANN85 Community Forum, which takes place 7–12 March 2026 in Mumbai, India, and online.
To attend in person, you must register by 6 March 2026. Onsite registration will not be available. Registration is free and open to all.
| | | ICANN Welcomes Newly Appointed Trusted Community Representatives | | | |
ICANN is pleased to announce the appointment of eight new Trusted Community Representatives, TCRs. These individuals will support the integrity and transparency of the Domain Name System (DNS) by participating in operations associated with the DNS Root Zone Key Signing Key (KSK).
The KSK serves an essential role in enabling DNS Security Extensions, as the "trust anchor" that underpins security for the entire DNS. It is a component of the DNS root zone, managed as part of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions overseen by ICANN.
To learn more, read the announcement.
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ICANN would love your feedback!
If you have any questions or ideas for how we can improve the monthly newsletters in your region, please send all related feedback to newsletterfeedback@icann.org.
| | | APAC ACTIVITIES AND HIGHLIGHTS | | | FY26–30 Regional Plan Published with Inputs from the Community | | | |
The Asia Pacific (APAC) Regional Plan for Fiscal Years (FY) 2026–2030 has been published. It adopts focus areas from the ICANN Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2026–2030, specifically ICANN’s strategic objectives one, three, and four. In alignment with these objectives, the plan includes 18 engagement activities that the APAC regional office will undertake.
The ICANN organization thanks all APAC community members for the input shared during the APAC Space at ICANN84, as well as through the mailing list. All comments have been invaluable in charting the path forward for the region.
| | | Engaging Discussions at ICANN84 Readouts | | | |
China and Japan held ICANN84 readout sessions in November and December, and recorded a total of over 60 in-person and remote attendees. These sessions were held in Beijing and Tokyo, respectively.
Conversations revolved around key topics like the outcomes of the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society, Domain Name System Abuse, Generic Names Supporting Organization hot topics, Governmental Advisory Committee key advice, International Domain Names and Universal Acceptance, the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round, and Domain Name Registration Data accuracy.
The readout in China was co-hosted by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology while the readout in Japan was organized by the Japan Network Information Center.
| | | ICANN Supports Hackathon for University Students in India | | | |
The Advanced Internet Operations Research in India (AIORI) Hackathon for university students, was held on 12–13 November with support from ICANN. AIORI’s goal is strengthening the technical community at the grassroots level in India to ensure meaningful contributions to Internet standards research.
As part of the event, ICANN’s Vice President for Stakeholder Engagement and Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Samiran Gupta, introduced the participants to ICANN, highlighting its mission.
Twenty-three teams participated in the finals held at Chandigarh University. The teams worked on problem statements encompassing different aspects of Security, Stability and Resiliency challenges. The top three teams qualified to participate in IETF 125, the Internet Engineering Task Force’s upcoming meeting in Shenzhen, China, in March 2026.
| | | The RDRS Standing Committee: An Overview | |
The Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) Standing Committee (SC) is a committee of volunteers charged with reviewing RDRS metrics and making recommendations to the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Council. Following its completed draft Findings Report and subsequent Public Comment period, the RDRS SC met at ICANN84 in Dublin to integrate input from the Public Comment proceeding into its Findings Report.
The Findings Report provides six recommendations to the GNSO Council on how to potentially proceed with the RDRS and the EPDP Phase 2/System for Standardized Access/Disclosure recommendations based on almost two years of data. The recommendations of the report were presented to the GNSO Council at its 13 November 2025 meeting and will be voted on during the 11 December GNSO Council meeting.
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Team Will Work to Bring More Predictability to 2026 New gTLD Program | |
The Standing Predictability Implementation Review Team (SPIRT) has commenced its work. Convened and overseen by the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Council in accordance with the SPIRT Charter, the team provides input to the GNSO Council, ICANN Board, ICANN org, and the ICANN community on issues that may arise in the New Generic Top-Level Domain Program: 2026 Round, following the adoption of the Applicant Guidebook.
In coordination with the GNSO Council, the SPIRT will collaborate with ICANN org to address all non-minor changes during the program using the Predictability Framework.
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From Dialogue to Action: ccNSO Explores Continuous Improvement at ICANN84 | |
The Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) Governance Working Group Guidelines Review Committee (GRC) hosted a two-part, invitation-only “World Café” to explore how the ccNSO should implement the Continuous Improvement Program (CIP). Participants discussed expectations and practical approaches to how the CIP framework could support ongoing evaluation of ccNSO work. The GRC is now consolidating community input and preparing recommendations on next steps, including how the ccNSO might pilot elements of the CIP.
Learn more about the CIP framework.
| | | GLOBAL DOMAINS AND STRATEGY UPDATE | | | Review of Reviews: Continuing the Conversation | | | |
The Review of Reviews Cross Community Group (Reviews CCG) continues its work to evaluate ICANN’s system of reviews and identify ways to improve how reviews support accountability, transparency, and effectiveness. Community participation remains essential as the group continues to gather information, advances its chartered responsibilities, and prepares for additional dialogue.
If you were not able to join the recent discussions at ICANN84 or participate in the 18 November interactive webinars, you can still follow every step of the work. The Reviews CCG community workspace wiki is the central hub for meeting materials, draft documents, background resources, and upcoming engagement opportunities. Community members may also share input, provide feedback, or join as observers.
Your continued involvement will help ensure future reviews reflect the needs, priorities, and experiences of the ICANN community.
Visit the Reviews CCG community wiki to stay up to date and contribute to shaping the ICANN reviews program.
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Registration Data Request Service Update:
Extended Another Two Years
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Eleeza Agopian, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, offers an update on the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) outlining the continuation of RDRS and how the community can contribute.
RDRS provides a centralized way to request nonpublic registration data related to generic top-level domains.Thanks to community support, more than 13,000 requestor accounts were created and over 3,600 requests were submitted since RDRS launched in November 2023.
During the next phase of work, ICANN org will begin to address system enhancements that have been requested. These do not require policy development but may help to improve the user experience for registrars and requestors.
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Registration Data Request Service Monthly Metrics | |
Each month for the past two years, the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) usage metrics reports have been published, highlighting trends in request volumes, system activity, and global participation from registrars and requestors. These insights help support community discussions about the future of RDRS, a centralized way to request the disclosure of generic top-level (gTLD) nonpublic registration data.
View the latest report and explore the data.
| | | GETTING TO KNOW THE ICANN COMMUNITY | | | |
Yi Teng Au, a Business and Computer Science student at Nanyang Technological University, first became involved in ICANN in 2024 as a Global Stakeholder Engagement intern where he was exposed to the Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy (APIGA) program. He joined APIGA as a youth leader one year later. Now an alumnus of the program, Au is passionate about empowering others through meaningful engagement in Internet governance.
He participates in the Asian, Australasian, and Pacific Islands Regional At-Large Organization through NetMission.Asia where he moderated a Universal Acceptance Day event for young people in the Asia Pacific region. Au has also contributed to the Internet Governance Forum, organizing and speaking on issues related to deepfakes that are particularly relevant for teens. His current interest lies in ICANN’s work on the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society outcomes.
Au encourages other young people to invite their friends into the ICANN community. He shares that while there may be a steep learning curve initially, learning and growing together makes the journey meaningful and rewarding.
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ICANN Around the World
Regional Offices:
Los Angeles, U.S.A. (Headquarters)
Brussels, Belgium
Istanbul, Türkiye
Montevideo, Uruguay
Singapore
Engagement Centers:
Beijing, China
Geneva, Switzerland
Nairobi, Kenya
Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
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