That’s the day ICANN’s Board of Directors votes on whether to finalize the Applicant Guidebook, a document that explains how any established institution (such as a government, business, or non-profit organization) can apply to operate a generic top-level domain (gTLD) of its own choosing. If the Board approves the Guidebook as final, the clock starts ticking on a process that could lead to hundreds of new gTLDs by 2013. In addition to familiar TLDs such as .com, .org, and .net, Internet users could potentially see new domain name extensions made of almost any word, in any language.

New gTLDs are expected to introduce innovation, choice, and competition to Internet services. World press is already following the issue of new gTLDs with great interest, generating coverage from Reuters, Associated Press, National Public Radio, ABC News, ZDNet Asia, and other outlets.

But the future of top-level domains is not the only substantive topic ICANN tackles this week.

Hot Topics at ICANN 41

ICANN’s vibrant volunteer community will consider many other important issues between 19 – 24 June. A partial list includes:

Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). IDNs enable people who use languages based on scripts other than ASCII (letters A – Z) to offer users domain names in non-ASCII characters. (Example languages include Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, and many others.) But some issues still need much more work. For example, if you type in Arabic, a character that looks the same from one keyboard to another may produce different technical code when typed, depending on whether your keyboard was made in Iran or Pakistan. When the character is used in a URL, the differing code can take you to a site you didn’t intend to visit. These “variants,” and associated issues, are being dealt with so that all users from all regions can reliably visit the sites they want. The discussion continues on Monday.

Inter-Registrar Transfers. Transfer-related issues are the number one area of complaint according to data from ICANN Compliance. Should there be a process or special provisions for the urgent return of a hijacked domain name? The GNSO Council votes on the issue Wednesday.

New gTLD Applicants from Developing Countries. If the Board approves the process for creating new gTLDs, developing countries may have a need for a new gTLD, but lack the financial means to apply for and operate it. A working group comprised of members from ICANN Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees has been considering how such groups might be funded if they apply for a TLD. The group offers a report on Thursday.

These are just a few examples of dozens of topics that the ICANN community will attempt to move forward during a week containing more than 120 panels, presentations, workshops and other sessions. If you’re not in Singapore, you can participate remotely for most sessions. For details, see the Remote Participation Page and the full meeting schedule.

当天，ICANN 理事会将投票决定《申请人指南》是否将最终定稿，该指南旨在解释说明现有机构（如政府、企业或非营利组织）如何自行申请运营通用顶级域名 (gTLD)。如果理事会届时批准通过《申请人指南》的最终稿，则将昭示一个新时代的到来——到 2013 年，会有多达数百个新通用顶级域名启用。除了我们熟悉的顶级域名如 .COM、
.ORG、.NET 以外，互联网用户还将可能看到以任意语言、任意名称构成的新域名后缀。

新通用顶级域名预计将为互联网服务带来更多创新、选择和竞争。世界各大媒体也极为关注新通用顶级域名的消息，其中包括路透社、美联社、全球公共广播电台、ABC 新闻台、ZDNet 亚洲等多家新闻媒体。

但是，本周 ICANN 会议的主要议题远不止未来顶级域名这一项。

第 41 届 ICANN 会议热门议题

6 月 19 日至 24 日，充满活力的 ICANN 志愿者社群也会商议其他重要问题。部分内容包括：

国际化域名 (IDN)。国际化域名支持非 ASCII（字母 A 到 Z）脚本语言，允许用户使用非 ASCII 字符命名域名。（这些语言包括阿拉伯文、中文、西里尔文等等。） 但目前还有些问题亟待解决。例如，当您输入阿拉伯文时，在伊朗或巴基斯坦生产的不同键盘上输入同一个字符可能会生成不同的技术代码。当 URL 中使用了这一字符时，不同代码可能将您带您不希望访问的网站。目前这些代码“变异”问题以及相关问题正在处理中，以便各地区所有用户都能稳定访问目标网站。该讨论将在周一继续进行。

注册商之间的域名转让。根据 ICANN 合规数据统计，域名转让相关问题的投诉在所有投诉中占据第一位。是否应当制定紧急收回被劫持域名的流程或特殊规定？ GNSO 委员会将在周三就这一问题举行投票。

发展中国家的新通用顶级域名申请人。在理事会批准新通用顶级域名的创建流程之后，发展中国家可能也需要拥有新通用顶级域名，但缺少申请和运营的必要资金。ICANN 支持组织和咨询委员会成员已组成一个工作组，持续探讨如何为申请新通用顶级域名的发展中国家提供资助的问题。该工作组将在周四发表工作报告。

在这一个礼拜的时间里，除了上述内容以外，ICANN 社群还将通过 120 多个专家小组会议、主题演讲、研讨会和其他会议探讨其他几十个议题。如果您不能亲临新加坡，您也可以远程参加其中的大多数会议。要进一步了解相关信息，请参阅远程参会页面以及完成会议日程的内容。

Il s’agit du jour où le Conseil d’administration de l’ICANN votera sur la question de la finalisation du guide de candidature, un document expliquant comment toute institution établie (telle qu’un gouvernement, une entreprise ou une organisation à but non lucratif) peut déposer sa candidature pour exploiter un domaine de premier niveau générique (gTLD) de son choix. Si le Conseil accepte le guide de candidature en tant que version finale, le compte à rebours d’un processus pouvant mener à des centaines de nouveaux gTLD d’ici 2013 se met en route. En plus de TLD connus tels que .com, .org et .net, les utilisateurs Internet pourront potentiellement observer l’apparition de nouvelles extensions de nom de domaine composées de n’importe quel mot dans n’importe quelle langue.

Les nouveaux gTLD devraient présenter de l’innovation, du choix et de la compétition auprès de services Internet. La presse internationale suit déjà la question de nouveaux gTLD de très près, générant une couverture médiatique depuis Reuters, Associated Press, National Public Radio, ABC News, ZDNet Asia et d’autres points de presse.

Mais l’avenir des futurs domaines de premier niveau n’est pas le seul thème de fond abordé par l’ICANN cette semaine.

Sujets brûlants à l’ICANN 41

La communauté active de bénévoles de l’ICANN prendra en considération beaucoup d’autres questions importantes entre le 19 et le 24 juin. Une liste partielle comprend :

Noms de domaines internationalisés (IDN). Les IDN permettent aux utilisateurs dont la langue est basée sur des écritures autres qu’ASCII (les lettres de A à Z) afin de proposer des noms de domaines d’utilisateurs dans des caractères non-ASCII. (Exemples : Arabe, Chinois, Cyrillique etc…). Certaines de ces questions exigent toutefois encore beaucoup de travail. Par exemple, si vous tapez en Arabe, un caractère dont l’apparence est similaire d’un clavier à un autre peut produire un code technique différent lors de la frappe, selon qu’il s’agisse d’un clavier fait en Iran ou au Pakistan. Lorsqu’un caractère est utilisé dans une adresse URL, le code différent peut vous mener à un site que vous ne comptiez pas accéder. Ces « variantes » et tous les problèmes similaires sont actuellement en cours de traitement afin que les utilisateurs de toutes les régions du monde puissent accéder aux sites souhaités de manière fiable. Cette discussion continuera lundi.

Transferts entre les bureaux d’enregistrement. Les problèmes relatifs aux transferts sont la première cause de plainte selon les données provenant d’ICANN Conformité. Devrait-il y avoir une procédure ou des provisions spéciales concernant le retour urgent d’un nom de domaine détourné ? Le Conseil GNSO votera sur cette question mercredi.

Nouveaux candidats gTLD des pays en voix de développement. Si le Conseil approuve le processus de création de nouveaux gTLD, les pays en voix de développement auront peut être besoin d’un nouveau gTLD mais manqueront de ressources financières pour effectuer la candidature et opérer le gTLD. Un groupe de travail composé de membres d’organisations de soutien de l’ICANN et de comités consultatifs ont été chargés de prendre en considération comment ce type de groupes peuvent être financées s’ils font la demande d’un TLD. Le groupe avancera un rapport jeudi.

Ce ne sont là que quelques exemples des dizaines de questions que la communauté de l’ICANN tentera d’aborder et de faire avancer lors d’une semaine comprenant plus de 120 panneaux, présentations, ateliers et autres sessions. Si vous ne vous trouvez pas à Singapour, vous pouvez participer à la plupart des sessions à distance. Pour en savoir plus, veuillez consulter la Page de participation à distance et le calendrier complet des réunions.

Es el día en que la Junta directiva de ICANN vota para finalizar el Manual del postulante, un documento que explica cómo una institución establecida (como un organismo del gobierno, una empresa u una organización sin fines de lucro) se puede postular para operar un dominio genérico de primer nivel (gTLD) que ellos mismos elijan. Si la Junta directiva aprueba el Manual como definitivo, comienza a correr el tiempo de un proceso que podría conducir a cientos de gTLD nuevos para 2013. Además de los TLD conocidos como .com, .org y .net, los usuarios de Internet podrían ver nuevas extensiones de nombres de dominio con prácticamente cualquier palabra y en cualquier idioma.

Se espera que los nuevos gTLD aporten innovación, opciones y competencia para los servicios de Internet. La prensa mundial ya está siguiendo el hecho de los nuevos gTLD con gran interés, con coberturas realizadas por Reuters, Associated Press, National Public Radio, ABC News, ZDNet Asia y otras fuentes.

Pero el futuro de los dominios de primer nivel no es el único tema importante que aborda ICANN en estos días.

Temas candentes en ICANN 41

La vibrante comunidad de voluntarios de ICANN analizará muchos otros temas importantes entre el 19 y el 24 de junio. Una lista parcial comprende:

Nombres de dominio internacionalizados (IDN). Los IDN permiten que pueblos que utilizan idiomas basados en códigos que no sean ASCII (letras de la A a la Z) ofrezcan a los usuarios nombres de dominio con caracteres que no sean ASCII. (Por ejemplo, idiomas tales como Arábigo, Chino, Cirílico y muchos otros). Pero algunos asuntos todavía demandan mucho más trabajo. Por ejemplo, si escribe en arábigo, un carácter que luce igual en un teclado que en otro puede producir un código técnico distinto cuando se digita, en función de que el teclado se haya fabricado en Irán o Pakistán. Cuando el carácter se usa en una URL, la diferencia de código lo puede conducir a un sitio distinto del que deseaba acceder. Se están tratando estas “variantes” y problemas asociados de manera que los usuarios de todas las regiones puedan visitar con confianza los sitios que deseen. La discusión continúa el lunes.

Transferencias entre registradores. Los asuntos relacionados con las transferencias son la principal área de reclamos según los datos recopilados por el departamento de Cumplimiento de ICANN. ¿Debe haber un proceso o cláusulas especiales para la inmediata restitución de un nombre de dominio robado? El Consejo de la GNSO vota sobre este asunto el miércoles.

Postulantes para nuevos gTLD de los países en desarrollo. Si la Junta directiva aprueba el proceso para crear gTLD nuevos, es posible que los países en vías de desarrollo necesiten un gTLD nuevo, pero carezcan de los recursos financieros para solicitarlo y operarlo. Un grupo de trabajo compuesto por miembros de las Organizaciones de apoyo y de los Comités asesores de ICANN ha estado considerando cómo se podrían financiar esos grupos si se postulan para un TLD. El grupo ofrece un informe el jueves.

Se trata solo de unos pocos ejemplos de las docenas de temas que la comunidad de ICANN intenta llevar adelante durante una semana que incluye más de ciento veinte paneles, presentaciones, talleres y otras sesiones. Si no está en Singapur, puede participar en la mayoría de las sesiones a distancia. Si desea obtener más detalles, consulte la página Participación a distancia y el programa completo de la asamblea.

Именно в этот день Правление ICANN проведет голосование по вопросу окончательного утверждения Руководства кандидата — документа, в котором описывается процесс подачи любым существующим учреждением (государственной, коммерческой или некоммерческой организацией) заявки на управление самостоятельно выбранным родовым доменом верхнего уровня (рДВУ). Если Правление утвердит Руководство кандидата в окончательном виде, это станет точкой отсчета для процесса, который может привести к созданию до 2013 года сотен новых рДВУ. Помимо таких ставших уже привычными ДВУ как .com, .org и .net, пользователи Интернета могут вскоре увидеть доменные имена, составленные из практически любого слова любого языка.

Ожидается, что новые рДВУ принесут инновации, выбор для потребителей и конкуренцию в сфере предоставления интернет-услуг. Мировые СМИ уже с большим интересом следят за вопросом внедрения новых рДВУ, новости на эту тему регулярно освещают такие ведущие агентства как Reuters, Associated Press, National Public Radio, ABC News, ZDNet Asia и многие другие.

Однако будущее доменов верхнего уровня — это не единственный важный вопрос, который ICANN предстоит решить на этой неделе.

Важные вопросы, которые будут рассмотрены на 41 конференции ICANN

С 19 по 24 июня динамичное добровольное сообщество ICANN рассмотрит множество других важных вопросов. Вот лишь неполный список тем для рассмотрения.

Интернационализированные доменные имена (ИДИ). Благодаря ИДИ пользователи в странах, использующих алфавиты, отличные от ASCII (A – Z), смогут получить доменные имена, состоящие из привычных им символов. (Среди примеров можно назвать арабский и китайский языки, языки с алфавитами на основе кириллицы и многие другие.) Однако некоторые проблемы еще только предстоит решить. К примеру, при наборе текста на арабском языке клавиша с символом, который выглядит одинаково на разных клавиатурах, генерирует при нажатии разные коды, в зависимости от того, предназначена ли клавиатура для Ирана или Пакистана. Если этот символ будет использован в URL-адресе, такая разница в кодах символов может привести к тому, что пользователь попадет на совершенно другой сайт. В настоящее время ведется работа по решению проблем, связанных с подобными вариантами написания, с тем чтобы все пользователи во всех регионах могли с уверенностью посетить сайты, которые они хотят. Обсуждение будет продолжено в понедельник.

Изменение регистраторов. По данным отдела соблюдения договорных обязательств ICANN, большая часть жалоб поступает в связи с проблемами, связанными с переводом доменных имен от одного регистратора к другому. Существует ли необходимость в некой процедуре или специальных условиях для срочного возврата перехваченных доменных имен? Голосование Совета ОПРИ по данному вопросу назначено на среду.

Кандидаты на новые рДВУ из развивающихся стран. Если Правление утвердит процедуру создания новых рДВУ, в развивающихся странах может возникнуть потребность в рДВУ при отсутствии средств на подачу заявки и эксплуатацию рДВУ. Рабочая группа, составленная из представителей организаций поддержки и консультативных комитетов ICANN, рассматривала вопросы финансирования подобных групп в случае их обращения с заявкой на ДВУ. Отчет рабочей группы будет представлен в четверг.

Это всего лишь несколько примеров из десятков вопросов, которые сообщество ICANN попытается решить в течение одной недели, проведя для этого более 120 заседаний, презентаций, семинаров и прочих собраний. Если вы находитесь не в Сингапуре, вы сможете принять участие в работе большинства собраний удаленно. Подробнее см. на странице, посвященной вопросам удаленного участия в работе конференции, а также в полном расписании всех собраний.

Rodrigo is already well versed in ICANN’s multi-stakeholder model, having served as the Mexican representative to the Governmental Advisory Committee.

He has been an active participant in international organizations such as the Latin America Regulation Agencies Forum (REGULATEL), the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (OAS-CITEL), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Rodrigo has a Masters Degree in Political Economy and international affairs and lecturer of International Organizations and Economic Negotiations and Consultant to the Latin American Cooperation for Advanced Networks (CLARA).

He begins his new position with ICANN on January 10, 2011.

It turned out they needed less than three hours to reach to the 100,000 domain names! Such a gold rush was not expected, and numbers continued to grow – 200,000 within 6 hours from the beginning of the registration period. And more than 460,000 by today.

The registration process, which clearly exceeded (and continues to exceed) all expectation, includes some interesting details, for example there is a list of 4023 words, which are not allowed for registration. The so-called “black list” contains variations of all different vulgar words, known in the Russian language. However, users have already found ways to bypass it, with simply adding another word in front, or after the blacklisted words.

We’ll be waiting to hear more on the history and the development of the Russian IDN ccTLD during the ICANN meeting in Cartagena, where several of the Russian ccTLD top management people will be present.
And we’ll prepare a posting on that topic, with more details for the general public. We hope that these details might be helpful in the launch of other new TLDs.

There are hundred of publications in the Russian central media, and even more all over the web, with people sharing opinions about who might be these registrants, why there are so many domains registered, and what does the fact of so many domains mean for the Russian Internet. It will be also interesting to see in exactly one year how many of these domains will be renewed. But certainly the Russian IDN ccTLD has made history.

More on the Russian ccTLD Coordination Center here (in Russian).

More on the ICANN IDN program here.

Interesting background information
The Cyrillic IDN ccTLD started as an idea, discussed during the meeting of the Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov with his Russian colleague President Vladimir Putin on January 18, 2008 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Bulgarian President’s office published last week the transcript from that meeting. Asked by President Putin, the Russian foreign minister responds, “As for the usage of Cyrillic in the Internet, our experts have already reviewed these issues, we have contacts with the international structures [ICANN], now we are solving the technical questions and the contacts between our specialists on that issue, of course, will confirm our commitment that Cyrillic should be used in the domain names. As for the consultations, as a whole, we are very happy from our cooperation [between Russia, Bulgaria, and ICANN].”

UPDATE FROM November 18, 2010:
As of today, November 18, the number of domains in .рф (.rf IDN ccTLD) passed half a million. As the Coordination Center announced, the 500000th domain registered was металлоконструкции74.рф (xn--74-6kctqamahahrlb5apjiu5d.xn--p1ai – in puny-code). This number brings .рф on 17th place among all European domains. Domains, which were delegated, or a working, account to more than 162,000. Most of them are already used in advertising, not only as single words, but as whole phrases, which are easy for the Russian speaker to understand.

At last week’s workshop at the ICANN meeting in Brussels, we witnessed a large number of attendees who actively engaged in discussions with panelists. Panelists who represent various stakeholders provided short introductory remarks on the history of the IGF, its mandate, and the process underway on continuing the IGF past its first 5-year mandate. Key to the IGF renewal process is the fact that while the IGF as well as the consultations on its continuation are a multistakeholder process, the decision as to whether or not the IGF will continue will be taken solely by Members States at the General Assembly in New York later this year. It is therefore important that stakeholders involved reach out to their respective governments to explain to them the role the IGF plays, and make sure they are well informed to make the right decision in New York.
Panelists also recognized how the IGF has evolved over the past five years leveraging its open, non-decision making nature in attracting many parties to engage freely in the dialogue and become effective in the process. As one panelist noted, the multistakeholder governance model of the Internet is a precedent that could be replicated in other industries. One example of the impact the IGF has made so far is the emergence of national and regional IGFs, which have been created by the respective communities in a bottom-up manner. Another example is the engagement of the business community in the IGF process as they have realized how significant the issues at stake are for the continuity of their business. One panelist talked about a survey conducted by the Internet Society (ISOC) for its members on the subject of continuation of the IGF. In that survey, respondents pronounced themselves generally satisfied, but identified a number of areas where the IGF could make some improvements. Such areas include: more weight to national and regional IGFs; more focused discussions; increasing participation particularly from developing countries; greater transparency of the multistakeholder advisory group (MAG); maintaining a role for the Internet technical community; and having a mechanism for sustainable funding.

Interventions made by participants underscored the multistakeholder, non-decision making character of the IGF, and stressed that it should maintain this core feature. Several participants emphasized the importance of the national and regional IGFs. While the majority thought that such initiatives should continue to be driven by a multistakeholder bottom-up effort, one participant was of the opinion that having national and regional IGFs coordinated through, and supported by a UN top-down mechanism would also be helpful. Some experiences were shared as to how national and regional IGFs were key in addressing community based needs, in raising awareness and in capacity building, and also in reaching out to parties that have never been involved in Internet governance issues.
Participants and panelists engaged in an interesting discussion about the cooperation and coordination between ICANN and IGF. There was a consensus that despite the fundamental difference between ICANN and IGF, building bridges across the two bodies was imperative. Some noted that the cross pollination between ICANN and IGF was already taking place, yet a lot more could be done. Some were of the opinion that ICANN issues should be addressed openly and extensively at IGF, to help those who never come to ICANN meetings know about ICANN, what it does and what it does not do. Some expressed the concern that using new comers to the IGF to sort of put pressure on ICANN may cause disturbance to the ICANN process. Some examples were shared as to how ICANN can better leverage the IGF space to inform the IGF community of what is going on at ICANN. It was mentioned that the ICANN open forum that has been on the IGF agenda for the past couple of years can be used this year to provide an update on progress made with respect to work done at ICANN and in particular on the Affirmation of Commitments (AoC), and work carried out by the Accountability and Transparency Review Team.

Finally, it was stressed again that the various stakeholders in the process are encouraged to speak to their respective governments and make sure they are well informed prior to voting on the continuation of the IGF at the UN General Assembly later this year.

The full audiocast of the workshop can be found here.

A delegation from ICANN, headed by President and CEO Rod Beckstrom and including Barbara Clay, Tina Dam and Veni Markovski, was in Moscow on a 3-day visit, and participated actively in a number of events (in time order):

- A meeting at the Institute for Information Security Issues (IISI) – the organization that has signed an MoU with ICANN and that is organizing the Garmisch Meeting on Security*. Col.-Gen. Sherstyuk** discussed with ICANN opportunities for further cooperation in the field of internet security.

- Visit to former Soviet President M.S. Gorbachev – the conversation covered a number of issues, not only related to the Internet, and gave us the opportunity to explain the development of the IDN ccTLD, and the gTLD policies. Mr. Gorbachev was particularly impressed by his guests’ remarks about his role in changing the history of Eastern Europe, and the freedom and opportunities this brought to the whole world.

- Rod gave five exclusive interviews, including Reuters and four major Russian media. The Reuters interview was published in many media in countries all over the world, and in Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, French, etc. Some of the Russian language pieces could be found here: Rossiiskaya gazeta, Chastnii korrespondent, and Computerra, and some of the English langauge ones are at Radio Free Europe, and at RT (watch the video there).

Russian Internet Governance Forum and official Launch of the Russian .рф IDN ccTLD
The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications and the Russian ccTLD Coordination Center organized a great Internet Governance Forum – IGF. The Coordination Center arranged an amazing list of speakers, proving that they are indeed a professional registry, with great staff and leadership.

At the opening of the Forum, the Russian Minister of Communications, Igor Schegolev, praised ICANN for the work it has done, and Rod delivered a special plaque to Andrei Kolesnikov (attached), CEO of the Coordination Center for .ru ccTLD, to confirm the Center was approved as the operator of the new .рф Cyrillic IDN ccTLD.
The opening session included Rod’s keynote address and speeches by Larry Strickling, Col.-Gen. Sherstyuk, Chuck Gomes (GNSO), Chris Disspain (ccNSO), Wolfgang Kleinwachter (NomCom) as well as Russian politicians and businessmen. A full recording (MP3) could be downloaded from the site of the organizers (110 Mb)
here was a VIP lunch, given by the Minister for the top Russian and US officials*** and the ICANN delegation. With lots of greetings, and in a cheerful atmosphere, the lunch allowed informal communication to take place.
Later that day Rod participated in a panel discussion on security, sharing the stage with cyber experts from CISCO, Kaspersky, Lille University, the Russian Parliament, and others.

ICANN’s press activities for these two days produced stories in more than 100 publications, all of them positive about ICANN and the IDN ccTLD program.

But that was not all – IDN “guru” Tina Dam participated in a panel on IDNs, and special attention was paid to her for her achievements, and Veni Markovski was a panelist talking about the governance of the Internet critical infrastructure.

The first day of the Russian IGF ended on a high note, with a cruise for all participants on the Moscow River.

In conclusion, the visit was a big success. ICANN is today more respected, has more friends, and is better known in Russia, than it was before.

Having said that, the work is not done. There are a number of items on the agenda in Russia and the region which require constant attention, cross-cultural knowledge, and good communication. ICANN top executives were able to see and understand this with their own eyes. The investment in improving relations with Russia paid off – less than two years ago nobody believed that ICANN would be welcome in Russia, that Russia would join the GAC, and that such good and positive relations were possible.

The launch of the Cyrillic IDN ccTLD was the focus of this visit, and it was well navigated on two continents, with a 9 hour time zone difference, and included dedicated work between IANA, Tina Dam, regional liaisons, top management, to make sure that not only it will be successful, but it will be a great celebration for the Russian Internet. ICANN performed at its best, and so did the Russians.

Congratulations, Russia! And good luck to the new IDN ccTLD .рф! And thank you, everyone, for the great time, wonderful launch, and being such good hosts!

Notes:
- Pictures from the Russian IGF could be seen here, and from the other meetings – here.
- We are deliberately not putting the names of all the people from Russia, who organized the Russian IGF, and who helped for the success of the ICANN’s visit. We don’t want to omit anyone, but we are thankful to everyone. Спасибо!
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* – The Garmisch meeting takes place every year in April, and ICANN is an active participant and supporter; last April George Sadowsky, Greg Rattray, Yurie Ito and Veni Markovski spoke there.
** – Col.-Gen. Sherstyuk is head of the IISI, and undersecretary of the Russian National Security Council to President Medvedev
*** – Besides Assistant Secretary Strickling, the US delegation included Ambassador Philip Verveer, Fiona Alexander, as well as representatives from State Department, Department of Commerce, the US Embassy in Moscow, and others.