ICANN Meetings are held three times a year in various regions around the world in compliance with the ICANN Bylaws which mandates the ICANN Board to maintain transparency in managing the internet and to provide opportunity for international participation in discussions and policy developments that has impact in the Domain Name System (DNS) and the global internet community.

ICANN meetings is organized and coordinated by at least 100 volunteer staffs from the ICANN's Supporting Organizations (SOs) and Advisory Committees (ACs). A general meeting is held annually to give way to new members to their seats and start to serve in the Board of Directors. [1]

Participants edit

ICANN meetings are open to everyone who are interested and are openly affected by the activities and work of the organization. Individuals attending ICANN Meetings include:[2]

  • Government Representatives
  • Registries
  • Registrars
  • ISPs
  • Business Managers
  • IT Managers and Consultants
  • DNS Industry Managers and Experts
  • Intellectual Property Managers
  • Academia
  • ICANN Fellow

Activities edit

A wide range of topics regarding the many aspects of the internet are discussed during the ICANN Meetings including the stability and security of the DNS, intellectual property issues, procedures in creating policies affecting the growth and development of the internet, creation of new top level domains and many other issues. During ICANN Meetings, workshops, open forums and remote participation is also conducted using different tools such as live audio streaming, video, chat rooms and online question boxes.

The ICANN Meetings are free and are normally held for five days. An outline of the entire week's activities and agenda are provided in the morning of the first and opening day of every ICANN Meetings while in the afternoon, all the main specific issues are provided.

Subsequent are oftentimes dedicated for all the different constituencies hold their own meetings and sessions to discuss their concerns and issues. A day is dedicated for the internal review of the ICANN Structure and for the SOs and ACs Councils to make decisions on issues raised during the meetings. Workshops are also held to provide latest information and upcoming issues regarding the internet industry. A gala night is held for all the participants.

Annual elections of officers are also held during the meetings and reports from the different constituencies of working group are also submitted.

Meeting Location Criteria edit

Since ICANN Meetings are held annually in different countries across the globe, a criteria has been set to serve as guideline to evaluate if the locations identified by the internet governing body and/or recommended by the internet community is suitable to accommodate the activities, participants and technical requirements of the meetings. The primary factors considered in selecting the locations for the ICANN Meetings include: costs, accessibility, convenience, visa restrictions, availability and affordability of local transportation, proximity of hotel accommodations to the venue of the meetings, excellent space and meeting facilities, installation of networks infrastructures should be allowed in meeting venues, safety and security.[3]

Past and Future ICANN Meetings edit

The first ICANN Meetings was held in Singapore on March 2-4, 1999 to comply with Article III, Section 3(b)(iii) of the organization's Bylaws. The issues discussed during the meetings include:[4]

  • Proposals for the Domain Name Supporting Organization
  • Test bed guidelines for Shared Registration System
  • Policies regarding ICANN conflict of interest
  • The recommendation from the WIPO regarding Domain Name System and the report from Francis Gurry
  • ICANN actions about the policies and procedures for internal reconsideration set forth by Article III, Section 4(a) of the ICANN bylaws.
  • Reports and discussions from the different Advisory Committees such as the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), DNS Root Server System and from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

List of ICANN Meetings edit

Below is the list of past and future ICANN Meetings that was held in different countries worldwide:[5]

  • 1st ICANN Meeting - Singapore-March 2-4, 1999
  • 2nd ICANN Meeting - Berlin, Germany- May 25-27, 1999
  • 3rd ICANN Meeting - Santiago, Chile- August 23-26, 1999
  • 4th ICANN Meeting - Los Angeles, CA, USA- November 1-4, 1999
  • 5th ICANN Meeting - Cairo, Egypt- March 7-10, 2000
  • 6th ICANN Meeting - Yokohama Japan- July 13-17, 2000
  • 7th ICANN Meeting - Marina del Rey, CA, USA- November 13-16, 2000
  • 8th ICANN Meeting - Melbourne, Australia- March 9-13, 2001
  • 9th ICANN Meeting - Stockholm, Sweden- June 1-4, 2001
  • 10th ICANN Meeting - Montevideo, Uruguay- September 7-10, 2001
  • 11th ICANN Meeting - Marina del Rey, CA, USA- November 12-15, 2001
  • 12th ICANN Meeting - Accra, Ghana- March 10-14, 2002
  • 13th ICANN Meeting - Bucharest, Romania- June 24-28, 2002
  • 14th ICANN Meeting - Shanghai, China- October 27-31, 2002
  • 15th ICANN Meeting - Amsterdam, Netherlands- December 14-15, 2002
  • 16th ICANN Meeting - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil- March 23-27, 2003
  • 17th ICANN Meeting - Montreal, Canada- June 22-26, 2003
  • 18th ICANN Meeting - Carthage, Tunisia- October 27-31, 2003
  • 19th ICANN Meeting - Rome, Italy- March 2-6, 2003
  • 20th ICANN Meeting - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia- July 19-23, 2003
  • 21st ICANN Meeting - Cape Town, South Africa- December 1-5, 2004
  • 22nd ICANN Meeting - Mar del Plata, Argentina- April 4-8, 2005
  • 23rd ICANN Meeting - Luxembourg City, Luxembourg- July 11-15, 2005
  • 24th ICANN Meeting - Vancouver, Canada- November 20-December 4, 2005
  • 25th ICANN Meeting - Wellington, New Zealand- March 25-31, 2006
  • 26th ICANN Meeting - Marrakesh, Morocco- June 26-30, 2006
  • 27th ICANN Meeting - Sao Paulo, Brazil- December 2-8, 2006
  • 28th ICANN Meeting - Lisbon, Potugal- March 26-30, 2007
  • 29th ICANN Meeting - San Juan, Puerto Rico- June 25-29, 2007
  • 30th ICANN Meeting - Los Angeles, CA, USA- October 29-November 2, 2007
  • 31st ICANN Meeting - New Delhi, India- February 10-15, 2008
  • 32nd ICANN Meeting - Dubai, UAE- June 22-26, 2008
  • 33rd ICANN Meeting - Cairo, Egypt- November 2-7, 2008
  • 34th ICANN Meeting - Mexico City, Mexico- March 1-6, 2009
  • 35th ICANN Meeting - Sydney, Australia- June 21-26, 2009
  • 36th ICANN Meeting - Seoul, Korea- October 25-30, 2009
  • 37th ICANN Meeting - Nairobi, Kenya- March 7-12, 2010
  • 38th ICANN Meeting - Brussels, Belgium- June 20-25, 2010
  • 39th ICANN Meeting - Cartagena de Indias, Colombia- December 5-10, 2010
  • 40th ICANN Meeting - San Francisco, CA, USA- March 13-18, 2011
  • 41st ICANN Meeting - Singapore, Singapore- June 19-24, 2011
  • 42nd ICANN Meeting - Dakar, Senegal- October 23-28, 2011
  • 43rd ICANN Meeting - San Jose, Costa Rica- March 11-16, 2012
  • 44th ICANN Meeting - Prague, Czech Republic June 24-29, 2012
  • 45th ICANN Meeting - Toronto, Canada- October 14-19, 2012

References edit