Dates: 19-24 June, 2011
Location: Singapore
Host: iDA
Venue: Raffles City Convention Centre
Website: ICANN 41
Total Registrants: 948
Registration: List of Registered Attendees
Key Appointments
Steve Crocker, Chairman of ICANN Board
Bruce Tonkin, Vice Chair of ICANN Board
Historical Significance
NPOC Founded,
New gTLD Program Approved,
Chairman Thrush Leaves

ICANN 41 was held in Singapore between 19 and 24 June, 2011. It was hosted by iDA at the Raffles City Convention Centre.

During the opening ceremony of ICANN 41, Peter Dengate Thrush, then Chairman of the Board, reminded the audience of how much the Internet community and ICANN has come since its humble beginnings as a largely American cultural phenomenon originally overseen by the United States Federal Government.[1]

Currently, Singapore is one of only four cities to host more than one ICANN conference; Marina Del Rey, California, which is ICANN's headquarters, Los Angeles, California, and Cairo, Egypt have hosted two conferences as well.

The conference involved approximately 1,341 total participants.[2]

Historical Significance[edit | edit source]

Departure of Peter Dengate Thrush[edit | edit source]

This meeting marks the departure of Peter Dengate Thrush from ICANN. He was influential in establishing what would become the ccNSO through his work with national and international Internet policy development with New Zealand; he became a board member of that body in December, 2004. The ccNSO subsequently appointed him to the ICANN Board in 2005, then in 2007 he was elected as the Chairman, and has gone on to be re-elected three times.[3]

Following the departure of Peter Dengate Thrush at ICANN Singapore, Steve Crocker was unanimously appointed to act as Chairman of the Board. His current term is still set to expire at ICANN Senegal. Bruce Tonkin was elected vice-chair.[4]

Foundation of NPOC[edit | edit source]

On June 24, 2011 NPOC was approved by the ICANN Board. The purpose of the NPOC is to represent, specifically, the operational concerns related to service delivery of not-for-profit and non-governmental organizations who are domain registrants in the DNS.[5] Efforts to form NPOC were started in January 2010, with Debra Hughes contributing a lot of effort in presenting the idea to the community.[6]

Approval of New gTLD Program[edit | edit source]

At ICANN 41, the ICANN Board approved a plan to increase the number gTLDs. The new policy states that new gTLDs may be any word, in any language. The decision to proceed with the gTLD program follows many years of discussion, debate, and deliberation with the Internet community, business groups, and governments. Applications for new gTLDs will be accepted between January and April 2012.[7]

Sessions[edit | edit source]

Several sessions were in progress consecutively in different rooms of the hotel. The prominent ones included:

  • DNSSEC for Everybody - A Beginner's Guide, held on June 20, led by Julie Hedlund
This session was aimed at demystifying DNSSEC and guiding people in using it for their business.
Presentation: DNSSEC for Everybody - A Beginner's Guide.[10]
  • Internet Service Provider & Connectivity Provider Constituency (ISPC) Meeting, held on June 21, led by Glen de Saint Géry
The meeting was focused at discussing all the issues that impact ISPs and Connectivity providers including the introduction of New gTLDs, GNSO policy issues, Security and Stability issues and Global Address Policy.[11]
Different topics related to ICANN Registrars were discussed in this session. Topics included GNSO working group updates, ICANN Staff updates and other issues of interest to registrars.[12]
Transcripts:
Registrar Stakeholder Group Part 1
Registrar Stakeholder Group Part 2
Registrar Stakeholder Group Part 3
The ccNSO Council and members gathered at this meeting to discuss various issues regarding a cross-section of the world's country codes. There were also updates on developments and best practice from different ccTLD Managers.[13]
  • ASO AC Workshop on IP Addressing Activities, held on June 22, led by Olof Nordling
Presentations:
Number Resource Policy Development Activities presented by Louie Lee
Whats going on in the world of IANA by Elise Gerich[14]
This session was a public discussion for those who are actively engaged in the deployment of DNSSEC. Several presentations regarding DNSSEC, its development, and its current state were made in this session.
Transcript: DNSSEC Workshop[15]
This meeting was a continual to the ccNSO Members Meeting Day 1 held on June 21.
Transcript: ccNSO Members Meeting Day 2[17]
  • Preparatory Meeting on the ICANN Summit on Developing Countries, held on 22 June, led by Katim Touray
This preparatory meeting was held as a prequel to the ICANN Summit on Developing Countries (ISDC) to be held at ICANN 42. At this meeting, stakeholders from the ICANN Community were brought together to discuss details about ISDC.[18]
ICANN Public Forum is an opportunity for the community to make comments and ask questions on main topics at the meeting directly to the board. The public forum is divided into main topic areas with a time alloted to each subject. Main topics at ICANN 41 included:
  • Report from the Chair of the Nominating Committee
  • FY12 Operating Plan and Budget
  • IANA contract and the recent FNOI
  • New generic Top‐Level Domain Program Applicant Support
  • ICANN 42 in Dakar
  • ATRT Recommendations
  • Issue of volunteer burnout
  • Recognizing the AoC, ATRT, and ICANN's core mission, what does it mean for ICANN to "act in the public interest"?
  • Farewell and thanks to Board Member Rita Rodin Johnston
Transcript: ICANN Public Forum[19]
  • SSR Review Team: Face-to-Face Meeting, held on June 23, led by Alice Jansen
This was a working session on the SSR RT.
Transcript: SSR Review Team – Face-to-Face Meeting
This session included discussion about IGF improvements. The main agenda in this session surrounded the Working Group on improvement to the IGF. The meeting served as a platform for preparations about the Annual IGF meeting, which would take place in Nairobi in September 2011.
Speakers:
This was a public meeting of the ICANN Board. The main agenda of this meeting included ATRT Recommendations & Budget, Renewal of .net Agreement, FY12 Operating Plan & Budget, Report from Board-GAC Joint Working Group, Internet Number Certification (RPKI) Program, From the IANA Committee – Local Community Support Guidance and Issues Arising from the Singapore Meeting.
Transcript: Board Meeting Part 1[21]
The ALAC Executive Committee is a meeting of the ALAC Executives that is held on every ICANN Meeting. This meeting allows the ALAC executives to incorporate the latest ICANN Meeting into their future work.
Transcript: ALAC Executive Committee[22]

Sponsors[edit | edit source]

Videos[edit | edit source]

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Raymond King being interviewed by Gray Chynoweth about ICANNWiki.

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Michele Neylon interviewed by Gray about the possibility of new TLDs.

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Phillip Corwin interviewed by Gray about IP/trademark protection and the new TLD program.

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Adrian Kindris interviewed by Gray about the potential of new TLDs.

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Mike Rodenbaugh interviewed by Gray about the legal issues related to new TLDs.

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JC Vinges interviewed by Gray about the new TLD announcement made by the Board.

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Alan Greenberg interviewed by Gray about new TLDs.

External Links[edit | edit source]

Complete Schedule of ICANN 41

References[edit | edit source]