Event Highlights

FROM THE COMMUNITY

Profiling ICANN Fellow – Chaitanya Ramachandran

Chaitanya is an Indian lawyer specialising in Internet law and policy. Based in New Delhi, India, Chaitanya is an attorney with the law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas. He helps Internet-oriented businesses from around the world navigate the complex world of Internet regulation in India.
 
Chaitanya was in Buenos Aires recently as a returning ICANN Fellow, attending his third ICANN public meeting; his previous Fellowship was at ICANN 51 in Los Angeles. He is also a member of the New Delhi chapter of ISOC. 
 
He said, “I support every effort to make the Internet widely and easily available in scripts other than Latin. Domain names are a great place to start, but content should follow closely as well. There are millions of potential users out there to whom the Internet is largely off-limits because of a lack of support for local scripts. Let’s take the Internet to them!”

FROM THE ICANN APAC HUB

ICANN 53 Highlights
The 53rd ICANN Public Meeting was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 21 - 25 June 2015. Here are some highlights we'd like to share with you, in case you missed them.  

Indian Government Declared Support for Multistakeholder Model of Internet Governance
Indian Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad created history when he announced India’s support for the multistakeholder model of Internet governance over a video message shared at the opening ceremony. View the video here. 
 
“The Internet must remain plural. It must be managed by a multistakeholder system,” he said. “Not only do we support multistakeholderism, but also we encourage multistakeholderism itself to embrace all geographies and all societies. We will partner with you all to make this a reality. We must work toward this new form of digital democracy.”

Collaborating on Japanese Translation

ICANN signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Japan Network Information Center (JPNIC) and Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd. (JPRS) at ICANN 53 to forge an alliance fostering greater cooperation on translation of ICANN materials into Japanese.

From left (seated): Hirofumi Hotta (JPRS), Fadi Chehadé (ICANN President & CEO) and Akinori Maemura (JPNIC)
at the signing ceremony in Buenos Aires. 

APAC Space
One of the topics discussed at APAC Space in Buenos Aires was the GNSO Review Draft Report by Westlake Governance Limited. Pam Little from Zodiac shares with us her thoughts on the report and the need for community participation.

 

Back in 2009 when I first joined ICANN, participation in the GNSO policy discussions from the APAC region was almost non-existent. Fast forward to 2015, nothing much has changed, despite the arrival of many new gTLDs and the number of registrars in China more than quadrupled over the years (from 16 then to 77 now). That was why, as representative of Zodiac (which operates a number of new gTLDs in China), I suggested a presentation on the GNSO Review Draft Report at the APAC Space session in Buenos Aires. The Draft Report confirms what many already know....read more here 

FROM THE ICANN APAC HUB

Developing IDN Awareness and Local Script Panels in South East Asia
Contributed by Sarmad Hussain, IDN Program Senior Manager

The use of complex local scripts is prevalent in South East Asia. However, there has not been active interaction in the context of IDNs at ICANN from some of these communities, notably from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. Therefore, to reach out to these communities, ICANN’s IDN Program in collaboration with the APAC Hub office recently organised two-day workshops in these countries. The workshops included.....read more here

NEWS IN BRIEF

Promoting Usage of Thai IDNs and EAI

In early May, Kuek Yu-Chuang (APAC Hub VP and MD) and Low Jia Rong (Strategies and Initiatives Director) supported Thai Network Information Centre (THNIC) and the Thai government’s Email Address Internationalisation (EAI) Deployment workshop in Bangkok. The workshop consisted of sharing by international community regarding their EAI/IDN experience; THNIC's work on EAI; and the Thailand Electronic and Transactions Development Agency’s (ETDA) plans to deploy EAI, promote and implement use of Thai language online. EAI is a subset of the overall Universal Acceptance issue and is a focus area by the Universal Acceptance Steering Group. We are very supportive of this initiative by the Thai government and community and look forward to more updates from them soon.
 
Asia Domain Name Dispute Resolution Center (ADNDRC) 2015 Conference

On 5 June, Song Zheng (Head of China) attended the ADNDRC conference in Beijing. The annual ADNDRC conference is well recognised as a major forum in Asia for domain name industry, IP lawyers, brand owners, in-house counsel, and legal scholars to exchange views on salient topics pertaining to domain name dispute resolution and online brand protection.
 
Freedom Online Coalition 2015 Conference, Ulaanbaatar

In early May, Kelvin Wong (Head of Outreach and Public Responsibility) participated in the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) 2015 Conference with the theme of “Internet Policy Making – Best Practices for Promoting Online Freedom”. FOC is an intergovernmental coalition made up of 27 governments including Estonia, Germany, Mongolia and the United States. The members work together to advance online freedom and gain better alignment within members when voting on related issues in multilateral platforms. Kelvin presented and shared ICANN’s multistakeholder model, globalisation program and updates to the IANA Stewardship Transition. 
 
Korean Stakeholder Meeting on CWG-Stewardship Proposal
ICANN Seoul team attended a Korean community multistakeholder meeting to discuss the CWG-Stewardship proposal on 7 May. This face-to-face meeting was organised by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) Internet governance team, who has been working hard to facilitate such discussions between the various stakeholders. Representatives from Korea Internet Governance Alliance (KIGA) and ISOC Korea Chapter attended the discussion, which included perspectives on the post transition outlook. To facilitate the dialogue, the Seoul team shared updates on the CWG-Stewardship proposal in the local language and encouraged greater participation in the relevant webinars. This was an important meeting that led to further discussions over email, involving an even wider spectrum of Korean stakeholders. The Korean community eventually submitted their comments on the CWG-Stewardship proposal on 20 May.
 
Removing e-Friction in the Internet Economy

  

Left: Low Jia Rong (Strategies & Initiatives Director) with ITU, GSMA & ISOC speakers

Right: Kuek Yu-Chuang (APAC Hub Vice President & Managing Director) presenting BCG report

The Internet economy was the focus in two events – ASEAN Regional Roundtable on Rethinking the Digital Economy in Jakarta on 21 May; and GSMA-ITU Digital Societies Policy Forum in Bangkok on 25 June.
 
In both events, we introduced the Boston Consulting Group eFriction report “Greasing the wheels of Internet economy” and provided recommended actions to what local policy makers and businesses should look out for in order to reduce friction in their digital economy. We were encouraged by the positive responses to the findings, the subsequent discussions generated and the overall eagerness amongst the audience to help local businesses and small and medium enterprises to punch above their weight through adoption of ICT and greater online presence.
 
Bangladesh Network Operators Group (bdNOG) Conference – May 2015

John Crain (Chief Security, Stability & Resiliency Officer) joined Champika Wijayatunga (Regional Security, Stability & Resiliency Engagement Manager, APAC) In Dhaka in May to support a series of engagements and capacity building activities with the Bangladeshi community. John delivered the keynote address to over 150 participants at the bdNOG Conference, focusing on the Security, Stability and Resiliency of the Internet.

In the Spotlight

IANA Stewardship Transition

As expected, there were numerous discussions on the IANA Stewardship Transition at the recently concluded ICANN 53 meeting in Buenos Aires. For an update on these discussions and outcomes, please refer to this blog by Samantha Dickinson dated 9 July 2015.
 
Timeline for IANA Stewardship Transition
During the Opening Ceremony, Fadi Chehadé, President and CEO of ICANN identified 3 phases in terms of the transition timeline.

In ICG’s reply to NTIA, ICG has noted that they hope to deliver the final proposal by October (phase 1). NTIA has indicated that the review process (phase 2) will likely take 4-5 months. As such ICG has suggested that the earliest date at which the transition of stewardship is likely to be completed is July 2016.
 
However Co-chairs of CCWG-Accountability have noted that the implementation of Work Stream 1 accountability mechanisms is likely only to be completed by September 2016. Read their reply to NTIA here. 

ICANN Security Infographic

ICANN facilitates the security, stability and resiliency of the Internet's unique identifier systems through coordination and collaboration. ICANN Security works across the organisation and community, providing global reach and expertise in technical and policy issues impacting the Internet's unique identifiers. Click here to download this infographic. 
                        

Policy Updates

Leadership Training Program Applications Now Open
The application for this year's Leadership Training Program (LTP) is now open. The LTP is designed for current and incoming community leaders, helping them to better understand the complexity of ICANN and grow their leadership and facilitation skills. The third annual course will take place 14 to 16 October 2016 ahead of ICANN 54. For more information, click here. 

ASO Address Council Selects Ron da Silva to Serve on Board Seat 9
The ASO Address Council has selected Ron da Silva to replace Ray Plzak on seat 9 of the Board of Directors. Mr. da Silva will serve a three-year term beginning after the Annual General Meeting at ICANN 54. Learn more here.

SSAC Publishes SAC070 
The SSAC published SAC070: SSAC Advisory on the Use of Static TLD/Suffix Lists. This advisory investigates the security and stability needs surrounding the growing use of Public Suffix Lists (PSLs) on the Internet. Read the advisory here. 

GNSO Council Adopts Translation and Transliteration of Contact Information Final Report 
On 24 June 2015, the GNSO Council adopted the Translation and Transliteration of Contact Information Policy Development Process Working Group’s Final Report, containing seven recommendations. Among others, the report recommends that it is not desirable to make transformation of contact information mandatory due to the costs outweighing the benefits. The full list of recommendations can be found in the Final Report. 

GNSO Council Adopts All Consensus Recommendations from the Policy & Implementation Working Group
At ICANN 53, the GNSO Council adopted the Policy & Implementation Working Group’s Final Report, which contains a set of recommendations on principles, requirements, and processes to guide GNSO policy development and related implementation discussions. The recommendations include three new policy-related processes that will complement the GNSO’s existing Policy Development Process. The complete list of recommendations may be accessed in the Final Report. 

Issues Currently Open for Public Comment

Several public comment proceedings are currently open on issues of interest to the ICANN community.

Draft Report: Review of the Generic Names Supporting Organisation
The purpose of this public comment proceeding is to request community feedback on the Draft Report issued by Westlake Governance Limited (Westlake) on the Review of Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO).
Public Comment Period Closes: 24 July 2015, 23:59 UTC

Release of Country and Territory Names within the .GLOBAL, .BNPPARIBAS, .BRIDGESTONE, and .FIRESTONE TLDs 
This public comment period aims to gather community input on proposed amendments to the .GLOBAL, .BNPPARIBAS, .BRIDGESTONE and .FIRESTONE Registry Agreements to allow the registration of country and territory names currently reserved under Section 4 of Specification 5 of the Registry Agreement. These amendments are intended to implement the requests from the registry operators to offer a new registry service, which were submitted through the Registry Services Evaluation Policy (RSEP) process. 
Public Comment Period Closes: 3 August 2015, 23:59 UTC

GNSO Translation and Transliteration of Contact Information Policy Development Process (PDP) Recommendations
This public comment proceeding seeks to obtain community input on the seven recommendations of the Generic Names Supporting Organization’s Policy Development Process on Translation and Transliteration of Contact Information.
Public Comment Period Closes: 10 August 2015, 23:59 UTC

Next-Generation gTLD Registration Directory Services to Replace WHOIS Preliminary Issue Report
This public comment proceeding seeks to obtain community input on the new Preliminary Issue Report concerning Next-Generation gTLD Registration Directory Services (RDS) to Replace WHOIS. 
Public Comment Period Closes: 6 September 2015, 23:59 UTC

At any time, the full list of issues open for public comment, plus recently closed and archived public comment proceedings can be found on the Public Comment web page.

The staff also populates a web page to help preview potential “upcoming” public comment opportunities. The Upcoming Public Comment page provides information about potential future public comment opportunities. The page is updated after every ICANN Public Meeting to help individuals and the community set priorities and plan future workloads.

Addition to the APAC Team

APAC Hub Webinar

Mark your calendars. The next APAC Hub Webinar has been scheduled for 20 August, 0300-0400 UTC. Look out for more details in your emails soon. 

For details on events, please refer to this calendar our website.