ICANN 42

Event
Process	ICANN
Start	Oct. 23, 2011
City	Dakar
Venue	Pointe des Almadies
Organizer	MICOMTELTIC ARTP
Website	dakar42.icann.org
← ICANN 41 ICANN 43 →

ICANN 42 was held in Dakar, Senegal, between October 23rd and 28th, 2011. It was hosted by Senegal's Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications and Information Technology and Communication (MICOMTELTIC) and Agence de Regulation des Telecoms et Postes.

Key developments

AFRALO Capacity Building Sessions

An extension of a 2009 document outlining the capacity building needs of AFRALO to inform and educate its representatives on ICANN activities, AFRALO held a series of capacity building sessions in Dakar. More than 20 representatives from African At-Large Structures joined the meetings, which had about 300 people in attendance. The five-day program, conducted by ICANN officers and staff, aimed to provide ALS representatives with briefs on key policies, issues, and facets of ICANN.

Outcomes

IDN

A draft version of Guidelines for Implementation of Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) was modified and approved during ICANN 42 by the ICANN Board, and subsequently implemented in November 2011.

Batching

Popularized during ICANN 42 was "batching", the term for dividing new gTLD applications into manageable batches of 500. During a GNSO working session in Dakar, ICANN Senior Vice President Kurt Pritz announced that the date of submission during an application window will not be a factor in determining placement, meaning all applicants who filed between January 12th and April 12th would have an equal opportunity of being in any batch. ICANN did not detail how the batches would be processed, though a "charity auction" method had been ruled out and a random selection seemed preferred, if workable under proper laws. It was also stated that applicants may be able to "opt out" of the first batch if not concerned about time-to-market. Numerous develops ensued, see the full article on Batching.

Trademark Clearinghouse

In order to work through outstanding logistical issues related to the Trademark Clearinghouse, ICANN announced plans for an Implementation Advisory Group to be formed in November 2011. The group would consider details related to sunrise periods, infringement notices, receipt verification, database redundancy, and technical protocols by which trademark data will be exchanged.

Key sessions

October 22

• GNSO working session, open to all
• Possible Supporting Organisations (SO) and Advisory Committee (AC) Meetings

October 23

• Newcomer sessions, open to all
• GNSO working session, open to all
• ALAC and Regional Leadership Working Session
• GAC Working Group Sessions
• Welcome Cocktail Event

October 24 - Welcome Ceremony

• Formal opening of the meeting
• Public Workshops
• Joint SO Meetings

October 25 - Stakeholder Day / Constituency Day

• GNSO Stakeholder Group and Constituency Meetings
• ALAC Policy Discussions
• GAC Meetings
• Joint SO/AC Meeting
• ccNSO Meetings
• Music Night

October 26 - Workshop Day

• GNSO Council Meeting
• Various Workshops
• Reviews
• ccNSO Meetings
• Gala Event

October 27 - Public Forum

• Morning Workshops
• Reports
• Public Forum
• Board Wrap-up/Dakar Review

October 28 - ICANN Board Meeting

• ICANN Board meeting, open to all

ICANN Board

Elected Officials

• Chairman of the Board: Steve Crocker
• Vice-Chairman of the Board: Bruce Tonkin
• Board Committee Members
  • Audit: Erika Mann (Chair), Bill Graham, Gonzalo Navarro, Judith Vazquez
  • Compensation: R. Ramaraj (Chair), Steve Crocker, George Sadowsky, Bruce Tonkin
  • Executive: Steve Crocker (Chair), Rod Beckstrom, Cherine Chalaby, Bruce Tonkin
  • Finance: Cherine Chalaby (Chair), Sébastien Bachollet, Chris Disspain, George Sadowsky
  • Governance: Bruce Tonkin (Chair), Cherine Chalaby, Bill Graham, Ram Mohan (Liaison), Ray Plzak, R. Ramaraj, Mike Silber
  • Global Relationships: Gonzalo Navarro (Chair), Chris Disspain, Bertrand de La Chapelle, Erika Mann, George Sadowsky, Kuo-Wei Wu
  • IANA: Kuo-Wei Wu (Chair), Bill Graham, Bretrand de La Chapelle, Thomas Narten (Liaison), Suzanne Woolf (Liaison)
  • Public Participation: Sébastien Bachollet (Chair), Chris Disspain, Thomas Narten (Liaison), Gonzalo Navarro, Mike Silber, Kuo-Wei Wu
  • Risk: Mike Silber (Chair), Steve Crocker, Ray Plzak, R. Ramaraj, Thomas Roessler (Liaison), Bruce Tonkin, Judith Vazquez, Suzanne Woolf (Liaison)
  • Structural Improvements: Ray Plzak (Chair), Sébastien Bachollet, Bertrand de La Chapelle, Thomas Roessler (Liaison), Judith Vazquez

Confirmed

• President & Chief Executive Officer: Rod Beckstrom
• Chief Operating Officer: Akram Atallah
• General Counsel & Secretary: John Jeffrey
• Chief Strategy Officer: Kurt Pritz
• Chief Financial Officer: Xavier Calvez

External Links

• ICANN42 Website

Trivia

Following ICANN 42, ICANN's Head of Communications, Barbara Ann Clay, issued a formal complaint to the management of Hotel des Almadies, Senegal's Communications Minister, Moustapha Guirassy, and others. In the letter, she stated that, "The extremely poor quality of the Hotel and its services, noted in detail on the basis of our delegates' feedback, has damaged ICANN's reputation, as well as the reputation of the Hotel and Senegal." The letter called for compensation for the poor experience, and was initially posted on the ICANN website until it was ultimately pulled.

On November 2012, Clay wrote an apology letter to Guirassy, noting that the 20-page complaint was sent without appropriate clearance and was not an official statement from ICANN.

The African Regional At-Large Organization

Internationalized Domain Name

Generic Names Supporting Organization. Develops and recommends to the Board substantive policies relating to generic top-level domains and other responsibilities set forth in the Bylaws (ICANN Bylaws).

At-Large Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN related to the interests of individual Internet users (ICANN Bylaws). Not to be confused with the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group.

Governmental Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN as they relate to concerns of governments, particularly matters where there may be an interaction between ICANN's policies and various laws and international agreements or where they may affect public policy issues (ICANN Bylaws).

Country Code Names Supporting Organization. Develops and recommends to the Board global policies relating to country-code top-level domains (ICANN Bylaws).

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority