The proposed agreement is the result of several months of negotiations, formal community feedback, and meetings with various stakeholders and communities. Based on the community feedback during the ICANN 46 meeting in Beijing, ICANN and the Registry Agreement Negotiating Team maintained a consistent and swift pace to finalize the negotiations and bring the proposed terms into a final draft form, ready for community review and comment.

We have come a long way since February 2013 when we posted a proposed Revised New gTLD Registry Agreement for public comment. A new and highly spirited sense of mutual trust has catapulted us into a fresh atmosphere of collaboration, which in turn has led to a consistently more productive environment. The spirit of teamwork, productive dialogue and partnership that has underpinned this negotiation process is tremendously heartwarming, as it has allowed us to bring to fruition a robust contractual framework for the New gTLD Program.

On behalf of ICANN, I would like to sincerely thank the registry community for acting in good faith and with tremendous goodwill, making this last key step possible.

Over the course of a day, we discussed the evolution of the DNS sector from a number of perspectives and explored the opportunities and risks that these changes pose. The group provided constructive ideas about creating a platform for growth, innovation, and greater consumer and investor awareness. Research analysis, the creation of an infographic depicting the DNS ecosystem, and mechanisms to educate the media and public about the DNS sector were also highlighted.

In short, we addressed common goals, shared responsibilities and the value of raising awareness among consumers worldwide of the DNS sector, affirming our commitment to the public interest. I also expressed my hope and vision for a strengthened and streamlined business contracting framework between ICANN and its contracted parties.

While the topic of the roundtable was not the new gTLD program, I was asked to clarify recent comments I made at the ICANN Registry and Registrar meeting in Amsterdam. I took the opportunity to reassure everyone that:

• ICANN remains focused on the new gTLD timeline, and I am confident that we can do so without comprising ICANN’s deep, immovable commitment to the stability of the DNS.

• We do not foresee any delays of the new gTLD program, we are working to assure that none occur, and the entire organization is pressing forward to comply with deadlines.

• We have assembled a team of qualified professionals, experienced in making complex programs fully operational, and they have my full confidence. Staff is working hard and it is important for the community to be aware of the intense demands placed upon them by the schedule.

• We will continue to increase the volume of communications pertaining to operational details of the new gTLD program, addressing both the technical and political risks encountered at various decision points.

• I will also endeavor to explain, to the extent possible, the trade-offs and various considerations being balanced during each implementation milestone of the new gTLD program.

I am grateful to the registry leaders for their candid, constructive feedback and look forward to continued dialogue as we host more CEO roundtables through the spring. Finally, I have asked past roundtable participants to consider participating in a DNS Summit meeting to serve as the culminating event for this series.

Roundtable participants (as pictured) include:

Top Row (from left to right): Fadi Chehadé, Edmon Chung, Raymond King, Paul Stahura, Adrian Kinderis, Khashayar Mahdavi, Thomas Embrescia, Santi Ribera and Cary Karp

Bottom Row (from left to right): D. James Bidzos, Antony Van Couvering, Stuart Lawley, Byron Henderson, Brian Cute and Frank Schilling

The agenda, with presentation materials and audio recordings can be found at http://meetings.icann.org/meetings/registry-registrar-jan13-en.

ICANN hosted the event at the Hotel Okura Amsterdam on 24-25 January 2013. For the first time the schedule included a half-day session dedicated to ICANN newcomers followed by an opening keynote address by ICANN Board Member Bertrand de La Chappelle. A number of speakers and panel discussions filled the agenda along with an evening cocktail event hosted by .pw the professional web.

The meeting wrapped up Friday afternoon with a roundtable hosted by ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé. Survey feedback by attendees was overwhelmingly positive with over 84% agreeing that the event met or exceeded expectations.

This was the fourteenth regional meeting of its kind since 2005. These events are distinguished from the regular international ICANN meetings in that they are not structured, for example, to influence policy development. If you are interested in the policy development and a broader interaction with ICANN stakeholders, please join the upcoming ICANN Meeting in Beijing in April this year.

With the high number of pre-registrations, we have reached full on-site capacity for this event. If you are unable to attend in person, you are welcome to join via remote participation. For the agenda and remote participation access details, please see: http://meetings.icann.org/meetings/registry-registrar-jan13-en. These meeting will be recorded, and the presentations will be posted on the site soon after the conclusion of the meeting.

The regional Registry Registrar meetings were originally intended to give these two stakeholder groups an opportunity to interface with each other and with ICANN staff to discuss issues that are specific for these groups, such as compliance and registrar accreditation. As the industry grows, so do the needs and expectations of the stakeholder groups evolve. On Thursday at 15:15 UTC, we are hosting a session to begin discussing the future of the regional Registry Registrar meetings to best meet our stakeholder needs and expectations.

These regional meetings are a chance for ICANN staff and representatives from gTLD registries and ICANN-accredited registrars to meet informally to discuss topics important to our industry and business relationships. They happen regularly in different locations (regions) around the world. Previous meetings, for example, took place in Shanghai, Prague, New Orleans, and Rome.

Although the meeting is tailored to regional ICANN-accredited registrars and gTLD registries, other registrars and registries located around the globe that may have a regional or business interest also attend.

At this regional meeting staff is planning to introduce a new feature dedicated to newcomers to the ICANN process on the morning of the first day.

The agenda is not final yet, however some of the anticipated agenda items are:

• Registrar/Registry Onboarding with new gTLDs
• RAA Amendments
• Developments in Contractual Compliance
• Policy updates
• ICANN restructuring update
• Internet Security Developments

The joint registrar and registry regional meeting model was introduced in 2006 as an educational opportunity for ICANN and its contracted parties to share information about registry and registrar operations within the domain name industry. The model has evolved over time based on feedback received and changes in the domain registration environment. The meetings largely focused on the policies and procedures registration service providers are obligated to implement and enforce as a result of either their contract with ICANN or with one another.

These regional meetings are distinguished from the regular international ICANN meetings in that they are not structured, for example, to influence policy development. If you are interested in the policy development and a broader interaction with ICANN stakeholders, please join the upcoming ICANN Meetings in person or through remote participation. The next international ICANN Meeting is scheduled for Beijing in April 2013.

All presentation materials will be published on the ICANN website after the meeting.

The space to attend this meeting is limited and interested registrars and registries are asked to pre-register. Other parties who may be interested in becoming an ICANN-accredited registrar or gTLD registry and wish to attend as observers should contact regionalevents@icann.org for further details.

We look forward to seeing you in Amsterdam!

Top row (from left to right): Julián Dunayevich – Argentina, Wardner Maia – Brasil, Alejandro Guzmán – Colombia, Oscar Robles-Garay – México, Rafael Ibarra – El Salvador, Raúl Echeberría – Uruguay, José Luiz Ribeiro Filho – Brasil, Germán Valdez – México, and Carlos Neira – Colombia

Bottom row (from left to right): Fábio Marinho – Brasil, Hartmut Glaser – Brasil, Oscar Messano – Argentina, Jesús Martínez – Cuba, and Raimundo Beca – Chile

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LACNIC –the Regional Internet Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean- celebrates its first ten years of service, featuring its solidity and honoring regional Internet pioneers.

The success of the Internet is always said to result from the aggregate efforts of all those on the network periphery who develop and use information on interconnected networks. No doubt, this is a genuine virtue of this great net. However, there is a crucial technical coordination effort underlying all this and making it happen. This work is, unfortunately, seldom recognized.

Recent celebrations at LACNIC on the occasion of their tenth anniversary serve as a reminder that, without the effort – which is sometimes even heroic – of these people and organizations, the Internet as we know it today would have never been possible. We invite you to take a quick look at LACNIC’s accomplishments over the past decade on a video available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjeubrMtu_E&list=PLU6Q4ZhHN2Q5fr9CBkOUkqC0HjRvYrN8n&index=3&feature=plpp_video

Specifically, within the context of Latin America and the Caribbean, those who built – and continue to build – the Internet registry for the region were recognized during LACNIC’s 18th Meeting. Also, this was the second time that a group of distinguished members of the Latin America and the Caribbean community achieved recognition for the making their mark on the development of the Internet.

A stately building of Montevideo’s Old Town was the chosen venue for paying tribute to both groups of awardees. First off, founding members, current and former Board members and LACNIC’s Committee leaders received an ovation. Clearly, each of them had plenty to share and many a story for the audience, and they really went to great lengths to stick to their allowed 60-second time frame, at the risk of having a hatch open underneath their feet and falling into the net… not the Internet, but rather Montevideo’s sanitation “net”, as the MC said in jest.

Regardless of this, I do believe that, in a nutshell, the message that comes up in unison is that of focus, tenacity, collaboration, coordination and team work. On behalf of ICANN, and in my own capacity, I would like to express my admiration and respect.

Two people that are very close to our organization were also part of this group and were recognized for their job as drivers and enablers of LACNIC’s originating process. Ray Plzak, member of our Board, and formerly CEO of ARIN, North America’s Internet Registry, was instrumental in advancing the creation of a new regional registry.

Andrew McLaughlin, ICANN staff member at the time, provided guidance in overcoming obstacles that stood in the way of LACNIC’s creation.

The second group of awardees received LACNIC’s Achievement Award, granted to those people contributing to the development of the Information Society within the region.

• Valeria Betancourt (Ecuador). Information and Communication Policy Program of the Association for the Advancement of Communication.
• Luis Furlán (Guatemala). Internet pioneer in Guatemala. Former Chairman of the Board at RedCLARA, Latin American Cooperation of Advanced Networks.
• Marcos Galperín (Argentina). Founder and CEO of Mercado Libre.com, one of the most successful private initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Demi Getschko (Brazil). Internet pioneer in Brazil. Director of NIC.BR, the organization in charge of domain name management in Brazil.
• Anthony Harris (Argentina). Managing Director of the Argentine Internet Chamber (CABASE) and of the Latin American and Caribbean Internet and Electronic Commerce Federation.
• Bernadette Lewis (Trinidad and Tobago). Secretary General of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), agency in charge of regional intergovernmental cooperation in the Caribbean.
• Ben Petrazzini (Argentina). Coordinator of the Inclusive Development Program for Canada’s International Development Research Centre.
• Loretta Simon (Grenada). ICT Director for the Government of Grenada. She plays a significant role in ICT, Information Society and Education issues in the Caribbean.
• José Soriano (Peru). Internet pioneer in Peru. A driving force behind the Peruvian Scientific Network, which spread the use of the Internet within the country.
• Edmundo Vitale (Venezuela). General Manager of the Latin American Networks Foundation and General Coordinator of the Workshops on Network Technologies for Latin America and the Caribbean.

ICANN expresses its deepest appreciation of their efforts to develop the Internet.

As usual, LACNIC’s meeting was a success in itself. LACNIC 18 kicked off with the presence of many an Internet celebrity and the celebration of this tenth anniversary.

The agenda included Steve Crocker, Internet pioneer and Chairman of our Board, who delivered a truly inspirational master class on his involvement in the design of Internet fundamentals and underscored LACNIC’s solidity. Here is a link to his presentation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRoS-u-4-8E&list=PLU6Q4ZhHN2Q5fr9CBkOUkqC0HjRvYrN8n&index=10&feature=plpp_video

Though unable to join us in this celebration, Vint Cerf sent us a message, available at:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04yLgz4NhXU&feature=BFa&list=PLU6Q4ZhHN2Q5fr9CBkOUkqC0HjRvYrN8n

It would be quite ambitious to post an account of all the events taking place at ACNIC 18 and LACNOG 2012 on this blog, but I guess you know where to look up this info.

Friends from LACNIC, our most sincere congratulations on this first decade, from all of us working at ICANN. May you celebrate these ten years and many more!

Top row (from left to right): Julián Dunayevich – Argentina, Wardner Maia – Brasil, Alejandro Guzmán – Colombia, Oscar Robles-Garay – México, Rafael Ibarra – El Salvador, Raúl Echeberría – Uruguay, José Luiz Ribeiro Filho – Brasil, Germán Valdez – México, and Carlos Neira – Colombia

Bottom row (from left to right): Fábio Marinho – Brasil, Hartmut Glaser – Brasil, Oscar Messano – Argentina, Jesús Martínez – Cuba, and Raimundo Beca – Chile

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LACNIC -el Registro Regional de Internet para América Latina y el Caribe- llega a sus primeros 10 años, exhibiendo su solidez y develando a los próceres de Internet en la región.

Siempre se habla de que el éxito del Internet es resultado de la suma de esfuerzos de todos los que en los extremos de la red, desarrollan y explotan la información de las redes interconectadas entre sí. Esto es, sin duda, verdad y virtud de esta gran red. Sin embargo, detrás de esto existe una labor de coordinación técnica crucial para lograr que todo esto suceda. Desafortunadamente, pocas veces se reconoce esta importante labor.

Las recientes celebraciones de LACNIC, con motivo de su aniversario número diez, nos recuerdan que sin el esfuerzo (en algunas ocasiones incluso heroico) de personas y organizaciones, el Internet como lo entendemos hoy nunca hubiera sido posible.  Para un vistazo a los logros de LACNIC en esta década un link a este video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjeubrMtu_E&list=PLU6Q4ZhHN2Q5fr9CBkOUkqC0HjRvYrN8n&index=3&feature=plpp_video

Particularmente, en el contexto de América Latina y el Caribe, durante la reunión 18 de LACNIC se reconoció la labor de los que construyeron (y construyen) el registro de Internet para la región, así como, por segunda ocasión, de un grupo de destacados latinoamericanos y caribeños que han marcado la diferencia en el desarrollo de Internet.

En el marco de un majestuoso edificio en la Ciudad Vieja de Montevideo, se dieron cita estos dos grupos de homenajeados. En primer lugar, los fundadores, miembros del directorio (pasado y presente) y líderes de las comisiones de LACNIC, fueron uno a uno ovacionados. Se podía ver que cada uno de ellos tenía tantas cosas que compartir y anécdotas que contar con la audiencia, que en verdad hicieron un esfuerzo extraordinario para ceñirse a los 60 segundos que tenían asignados, a riesgo que de no hacerlo, se abriría una escotilla en el suelo y se irían por la red… pero no por la Internet, sino por la red sanitaria de la Ciudad de Montevideo, como apuntaba en tono de broma el maestro de ceremonias.

No obstante, creo que el mensaje unísono se puede resumir en enfoque, tesón, colaboración, coordinación y trabajo en equipo. En nombre de ICANN y del mío propio,  mis respetos y admiración.

Dentro de este grupo también figuraron dos personalidades, muy cercanas a nuestra organización, y que fueron también destacadas por su labor como impulsores y facilitadores del proceso de gestación de LACNIC. En primer lugar, miembro del nuestro directorio, Ray Plzak, quien fuera el Director Ejecutivo de ARIN, el Registro de Internet de Norte América, y que fue instrumental en avanzar en la creación de un nuevo registro regional.

En segundo lugar, Andrew McLaughlin quien en aquel entonces fuera parte del staff de ICANN y sirviera de guía para sortear obstáculos para concretar el surgimiento de LACNIC.

El segundo grupo de festejados fueron aquellos merecedores del Premio Trayectoria que otorga LACNIC a aquellas personalidades por su contribución al desarrollo de la Sociedad de la Información en la región.

• Valeria Betancourt (Ecuador). Programa de Políticas de Información y Comunicación de la Asociación para el Progreso de las Comunicaciones.
• Luis Furlán (Guatemala). Pionero de Internet de Guatemala. ExPresidente del Directorio de RedCLARA, Cooperación Latino Americana de Redes Avanzadas.
• Marcos Galperín (Argentina). Fundador y CEO de Mercado Libre.com, uno de los emprendimientos privados más exitosos de América Latina y el Caribe.
• Demi Getschko (Brasil). Pionero de Internet en Brasil. Director de NIC.BR, la organización responsable de la administración de los nombres de dominio de Brasil.
• Anthony Harris (Argentina). Director Ejecutivo de Cámara Argentina de Internet (CABASE) y de la Federación Latinoamericana y del Caribe para Internet y el Comercio Electrónico.
• Bernadette Lewis (Trinidad y Tobago). Secretaria General de la Caribbean Telecomunications Union (CTU), organismo de cooperación regional intergubernamental del Caribe.
• Ben Petrazzini (Argentina). Coordinador del Programa de Crecimiento Inclusivo del Centro de Internacional de Investigaciones para el Desarrollo (IDRC) de Canadá.
• Loretta Simon (Grenada). Directora de ICT del Gobierno de Grenada. Desempeña un rol importante en temas de Sociedad de la Información y TICs y Educación en el Caribe.
• José Soriano (Perú). Pionero de Internet en Perú. Impulsor de la Red Científica Peruana,  que masificó el uso de Internet en ese país.
• Edmundo Vitale (Venezuela). Gerente General de la Fundación Escuela Latinoamericana de Redes y coordinador General de los Talleres sobre Tecnologías de Redes Internet para América Latina y el Caribe.

Desde ICANN nuestro más profundo reconocimiento a su labor en el desarrollo de Internet.

La reunión de LACNIC en si misma, fue todo un éxito, como ya es costumbre. Dando cita a grandes personalidades del mundo de Internet inicia LACNIC 18 y la celebración de esta primera década.

La agenda incluyó a Steve Crocker, pionero de Internet y Presidente de nuestra Junta de Directores, quien dirigió una plática magistral, realmente inspiradora sobre su participación en el diseño de los fundamentos de Internet y destacó la solidez con la que cuenta LACNIC. Aquí un link para revivir la charla. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRoS-u-4-8E&list=PLU6Q4ZhHN2Q5fr9CBkOUkqC0HjRvYrN8n&index=10&feature=plpp_video

El propio Vint Cerf, aún cuando no pudo acompañarnos para la celebración, envió un mensaje que puedes ver aquí:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04yLgz4NhXU&feature=BFa&list=PLU6Q4ZhHN2Q5fr9CBkOUkqC0HjRvYrN8n

Sería bastante ambicioso incorporar en este blog una descripción de todo lo acontecido en LACNIC 18 y LACNOG 2012, pero me imagino que ya sabrán dónde buscarlo.

Amigos de LACNIC, en nombre de todos los que trabajamos en ICANN nuestras más sinceras felicitaciones por estos primeros diez años. ¡Que sean muchos más!

These regional events are a chance for ICANN staff and representatives from gTLD registries and ICANN-accredited registrars to meet informally to discuss topics important to our industry and business relationships. These events happen regularly and in different locations around the world. Previous events, for example, took place in Tokyo, Munich, Toronto, and Rome. It is a great opportunity to exchange ideas, learn and network.

The regional event model was introduced in 2006 as an educational opportunity for ICANN and its contracted parties to share information about registry and registrar operations within the domain name industry. The events have been largely focused on the policies and procedures registration service providers are obligated to implement and enforce as a result of either their contract with ICANN or with one another.

These regional events are distinguished from the regular international ICANN meetings in that they are not structured, for example, to influence policy development. If you are interested in the policy development and a broader interaction with ICANN stakeholders, please join the upcoming ICANN Meeting in Prague in June this year.

Agenda 17 May 2012 Sessions

Schedule Thursday [PDF, 1.09 MB]

Presentations 17 May 2012 Sessions

Agenda 18 May 2012 Sessions

Schedule Friday [PDF, 1.09 MB]

Presentations May 18 Sessions

We thank all attendees and remote participants for a productive event. We value your feedback. The next regional meeting has not yet been scheduled. Information about future sessions will be made available in the future.

Registry and Registrar ICANN teams

这些区域性会议使 ICANN 工作人员、来自 gTLD 注册管理机构和 ICANN 委任注册服务商的代表有机会进行非正式会面，讨论对本行业及业务关系至关重要的议题。这些会议定期在全球不同地方举行。例如，此前曾分别在东京、慕尼黑、多伦多和罗马举行。这些会议是交流想法、了解信息和相互联络的绝佳机会。

区域性会议模式于 2006 年作为 ICANN 及其合同签约方的教育机会而引入，双方可借此机会分享与注册管理机构和注册服务商在域名行业内运营有关的信息。这些会议主要关注注册服务提供商根据其与 ICANN 签订的合同或彼此之间签订的合同而有义务履行和强制执行的政策与程序。

这些区域性会议与 ICANN 定期国际会议之间的区别之一在于，这些会议的目的不在于影响政策制定。如果您对政策制定和更广泛地与 ICANN 利益主体互动感兴趣，请参加我们即将于今年六月举行的 ICANN 布拉格会议。

2012 年 5 月 17 日会议议程

星期四日程 [PDF, 1.09 MB]

2012 年 5 月 17 日会议演示文档

2012 年 5 月 18 日会议议程

星期五日程 [PDF, 1.09 MB]

2012 年 5 月 18 日会议演示文档

我们对所有现场出席和远程参与本次富有成效的会议的人员表示感谢。我们非常重视大家提出的反馈意见！下次区域性会议的时间待定。关于未来会议的信息将随后提供。

注册服务管理机构和注册服务商 ICANN 团队