In a move that surprised absolutely nobody ICANN has formally extended their "travel ban" until the end of June 2021. Realistically I suspect that the suspension of travel and face to face events is going to be extended beyond June.In a blog post ICANN CEO Göran Marby outlined briefly the current state of play with respect to events, meetings and the ICANN offices. … [Read more...] about No ICANN Face to Face Events Until After June
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ICANN 70 “Prep Week” Schedule Live
ICANN 70 is following a similar format to recent ICANN meetings, with the event being spread out over a couple of weeks instead of being concentrated in 4 or 5 days.The schedule for "prep week" which runs from March 8-11 is now online BUT you will need to be registered and logged in to view it.Full details here. … [Read more...] about ICANN 70 “Prep Week” Schedule Live
ICANN Brussels to Host EU Briefing
ICANN's Brussels office is hosting a webinar briefing for European stakeholders towards the end of the month.The event, which is being held at 1530 UTC on February 26th, will focus on some recent EU initiatives on digital services and cybersecurity. While it's an ICANN hosted event the bulk of the speakers will be from the European Commission.At the moment there are … [Read more...] about ICANN Brussels to Host EU Briefing
ICANN Seeking Applicants for Multiple Roles via NomCom
Every year a number of positions with ICANN's various committees, councils and boards become available, as people's terms end.This year is no different with the following posts being up for grabs:Three members of the ICANN Board of Directors.Three regional representatives to the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) – one each representing the Africa region, Asia, … [Read more...] about ICANN Seeking Applicants for Multiple Roles via NomCom
ICANN 70 Confirmed as Virtual
It's looking less and less likely that there will be any big "in person"" events in 2021 with more and more event organisers announcing their plans to hold their events online.ICANN has announced that ICANN 70 which was meant to be held in Cancún, Mexico is being held online, though it will be scheduled on the Mexican city's timezone.You can register for the event … [Read more...] about ICANN 70 Confirmed as Virtual
What is .art Playing at?
When new TLDs were being introduced one of the arguments in their favour is that they'd offer more choices to registrants.Earlier today the .art registry made a rather odd announcement:https://twitter.com/Art_Domains/status/1346502397644972039Apparently they're now offering "3rd level domains"What now?According to the blog post:ART’s third-level domains … [Read more...] about What is .art Playing at?
European ICANN 69 “Read-out”
ICANN, EURALO and ISOC UK are hosting a European based "read-out" for ICANN 69. Essentially it'll be a webinar where various stakeholders will brief the broader internet community on the key takeaways from the ICANN 69 meeting.Speakers will include ICANN's head honcho for Europe as well as representatives from the GNSO Council, ccNSO Council and others.As it's 2020 … [Read more...] about European ICANN 69 “Read-out”
ICANN Appoints New Chief to Istanbul Office
Earlier today ICANN announced that they had appointed Baher Esmat as the new Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) office in Istanbul. He'll be replacing Nick Tomasso who was in the role since 2017. Tomasso took on the role in addition to being in charge of ICANN's meetings team.The appointment of Baher Esmat is quite logical. He's been with ICANN for … [Read more...] about ICANN Appoints New Chief to Istanbul Office
Olivier Crépin-Leblond Awarded by ICANN
The ICANN meeting taking place this week is "virtual" so several of the more formal ceremonies which would normally be part of the event are not taking place, or at least not in their normal format. While if the meeting was being held face to face there would have been a short ceremony to announce the awarding of the "Community Excellence Award" that couldn't happen this time … [Read more...] about Olivier Crépin-Leblond Awarded by ICANN
No ICANN Meeting in Person This Year
ICANN normally holds in person meetings three times a year, with the locations rotating between the global regions, as defined by ICANN.In 2020 the organisation was meant to be meeting in Cancun, Kuala Lumpur and Hamburg. However due to COVID-19 the meeting in Cancun was cancelled a few weeks before it was meant to take place and a cutdown version of the meeting took place … [Read more...] about No ICANN Meeting in Person This Year