Yesterday, they were in New York; tomorrow, they’ll be in London. Then Hong Kong on 24 July and Abu-Dhabi on 4 August (see here for more details). The idea is to spread the word as well as gather more input on the process. And the biggest bone of contention at the moment is the issue of how to deal with trademarks with a whole new raft of Internet extensions.

The New York meeting was visible online using our new conferencing software that we also used at the Sydney meeting, which includes video, audio, presentations, a chatroom and a Q&A box. And you can see a full archive of the meeting in links below.

What was most interesting out of the discussions (from my perspective anyway) was a blog post produced by the New York Times on the day. It is a pretty good summary of events and also helps put it in context. It’s useful to get the outside view when you spend too long in the ICANN bubble.

The post, Brokering Peace Between Brand Owners and Domainers, pretty much hits the nail on the head when it comes to a lot of ICANN’s work – particularly from the staff perspective, where a huge amount of the work is trying to find a solution that people with strong and opposing views can live with.

Anyway, an interesting piece, have a read when you have a second.

The video archive of the New York meeting is available in four parts:

Part I: Run through of the Trademark Protection report produced by the Implementation Recommendation Team
Part II: Reports from WIPO and eNom on the trademark issue
Part III: Public feedback and questions from the floor
Part IV: Malicious conduct panel discussion

And the archive for the London meeting is also in four parts:

Part I: Intro and summary of the IRT report on trademark protection
Part II: WIPO recommendations on trademark protections; eNom reflections on IRT report. Other reflections on IRT report and other suggestions for solutions to trademark issue. Some questions from the floor
Part III: Public feedback and questions from the floor
Part IV: Malicious conduct panel discussion

It is being held 28 February through 5 March, at the Sheraton and also at the nearby Melia Mexio Reforma hotel.

All ICANN staff, board members, and community members are invited and encouraged to attend the sessions, all of which are open to everyone.

As proposed by At-Large Community, the Summit has the following objectives:

• Develop the Community’s capacity for engagement in ICANN by increasing its knowledge and understanding of the key issues confronting ICANN and ICANN’s roles and responsibilities;

• Provide an opportunity for the community to finalise and present its advice on some of the most important issues facing the ICANN community today, and last but not least,

• Highlight the successes of the community in recent years and build upon them to ensure that the interests of the world’s more than 1 billion individual Internet users are well represented in the development of Internet name and number policy.

Summit activities include:

• An opening and closing General Session of all participants (Saturday the 28th),

• Five working groups on key policy issues confronting ICANN,

• Thematic Sessions (workshops on topics submitted by community members for inclusion in the Summit programme)

and much more!

The structure, format, and content of the Summit have been developed through a completely bottom-up process. For example, the five policy working group topics were chosen by surveying the entire At-Large community. Members were asked to rank in order of preference their priorities for policy work during the Summit, and the top five choices were then automatically selected as the subjects for the five working groups to tackle. The subjects are:

• At-Large Community Engagement in ICANN

• The Future Structure and Governance of ICANN

• New gTLDs including IDN gTLDs

• ICANN Transparency and Accountability

• DNS Security Issues within ICANN’s Remit

The Thematic Session subjects are all community driven, too. Community members were asked to propose topics and the format for these sessions and the Summit working group is then taking the proposals and scheduling them. Details of these sessions will shortly be posted to the main meeting schedule at http://mex.icann.org/full-sched.

These sessions are designed to provide Summit delegates with a greater understanding of At-Large and ICANN mandates, structures, and processes and supply the tools needed by At-Large to better involve and engage their members in ICANN activities and policy development processes. Many of them delve into specific policy subjects in more detail and with an At-Large-specific viewpoint.

The opening General Session on Saturday will consist of a full schedule of briefings and panel discussions on current work in ICANN, many led by community members with expertise in the subjects concerned, such as DNSSec, IDNs, and the IPv4-IPv6 transition.

The Closing General Session on Thursday will provide a wrap up of key outcomes and deliverables and identify next steps for the At-Large Community. Expect the unexpected on Thursday morning – it will be a tour-de-force summary of the Summit using a very audiovisual format that should keep everyone engaged.

Last but not least, the public workshop on Wednesday entitled “eCrime and Abuse of the DNS Forum” which is sure to be one of the most popular workshops of the entire ICANN meeting is being organised in cooperation with the Summit and will have various experts from At-Large participating in it.

For those who are interested in learning more, visit the Summit microsite at http://www.atlarge.icann.org/summit. We hope to see you in Mexico City!

The meeting will be held in two 90-minute sessions, separated by a 30-minute break, and with a 30-minute feedback period at the end. There will be two broad discussion topics of common interest, with specific sub-questions. They are:

14:00-15:30 — EXPANDING THE NAME SPACE
- What is the impact of the new gTLD and IDN Fast Track processes on the market structure of the Domain Name Space and ICANN’s processes?
- How should geographic names be handled and is there a blurring of “cc” and “g” spaces ?
- What should be the cost and the pricing structure for new TLDs (both application fee and ongoing fees)?

Sessions will be public and transcribed, but they are not a public forum. Opinion will however be sought during the discussion through the use of coloured cards to represent whether people agree or disagree with a particular comment or proposal put forward. A feedback period will follow at 17:30 where members of the community will be invited to comment on any of the topics discussed in the previous two sessions.

Please note that the session and its format remain experimental in an effort to improve discussion and interaction between Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees. As such, not only do we expect to learn from the session in Mexico but we will be seeking feedback from the SOs and ACs themselves after the meeting is over in order to identify improvements for ICANN’s next meeting in Sydney in June.

In order to provide some answers and perspective, ICANN’s most senior executives dealing with the process – the CEO Paul Twomey, the COO Doug Brent and the Senior Vice President for Services Kurt Pritz – have done a video update on where we are now and where the process is going.

You can see it on the right-hand-side of this post. A transcript is below. Enjoy.

* Applicant Guidebook Update – February 2009
* [computer keys tapping]
* Applicant Guidebook Update – February 2009 ICANN
* Hi, I’m Paul Twomey, the President and CEO of ICANN–
* Paul Twomey, President & CEO, ICANN
* –and I thought I’d take this opportunity to make a few overarching comments–
* –about the new generic top-level domain process presently being undertaken by ICANN.
* The process has had 2 parts.
* The first has been a long-term process of consultation and policy development from the community up through the Generic Names Supporting Organization
* –which has taken nearly 3 years.
* Since June last year, the board of ICANN has then asked the staff of ICANN to work through what is feasible in terms of implementation–
* –and that is where we are presently in the process.
* End of last year, we put out for comment a draft Applicant Guidebook for people who were thinking of applying and to get the feedback.
* I’m very pleased to say that we received over 1,000 responses to that document–
* –and I think that’s a great success.
* We are not yet complete by any means.
* Doug Brent – Chief Operating Officer, ICANN
* In a lot of ways, I think this new gTLD process that we’re running is exemplary of how the ICANN model really works.
* So the cycle is really pretty simple.
* Policy approval led to an implementation guidebook that was reviewed by the board and approved for posting.
* The community provided extensive feedback.
* That feedback is now being processed and the guidebook updated as we process these comments.
* The result will be an analysis of the comments so the community can see their comments were really heard–
* –and an updated draft guidebook that will be reviewed by the board and, as you can imagine, particularly on some key issues.
* That then updated guidebook will be posted in English and 5 other languages–
* –presented to the community in Mexico City–
* –and undoubtedly considered further after that time.
* I think we have already seen, through this response period, very clearly–
* –that there is a demand from a large number of people who are looking at potentially putting in applications.
* There has been another family of responses, many of them from industry associations–
* –focusing on some broader, overarching issues.
* First of all, and probably the most pressing, has been brand protection issues.
* Secondly has been concerns about whether the introduction of new gTLDs, DNSSEC, IDNs–
* –is imposing a form of challenge to scale in being able to implement.
* One of the third major issues is is the implementation of new gTLDs going to make it more difficult to manage–
* –some of the malware, phishing, pharming, and related type issues that already exist within the DNS system?
* I don’t think it’s anyone’s intention that brand holders should be held to any form of extortion in the operation of new gTLDs–
* –particularly at the second level, and that’s an issue which needs to be discussed.
* On the concerns about potential confusion and for the increase in malicious behavior that might emerge from having many more new gTLDs–
* –I think we really should think about this in a more creative way.
* I personally consider that we are facing now actually an opportunity for us to explore what the contractual frameworks could be for the new gTLDs–
* –both at the registry level and potentially flow through to the registrar level–
* –that might help us address some of the existing concerns that we already have.
* We have a body of legacy contracts and experience–
* –but potentially with these new gTLDs, we might be able to review and consider the contractual terms and frameworks–
* –which might help address some of the concerns of the people who are rightly concerned with these sort of malware and malicious behavior environments.
* One has to be conscious, however, that that can only be done in the context of national laws and what is feasible under those laws–
* –but nevertheless, I think we now also want to consider this an opportunity for an outreach and discussion with that community–
* –to think what would be feasible as well as with registries and registrars–
* –so that we can consider the new gTLD environment as a new way of considering–a new opportunity to consider–these contractual environments–
* –separate, if you like, from the legacy contracts that have been in place now for 10 years or more.
* Innovation is not something driven simply by demand in a marketplace.
* It is provided also by the opportunities in the structure of the marketplace and the technology available.
* We would not have a Skype, a Google, a Facebook simply because people said, “Would you like to have a Facebook?”
* These all come from entrepreneurs offering opportunities to a market and seeing what is feasible in an environment of innovation–
* –and that is an important part, I think, of the framework in which we need to consider the new gTLD round.
* Kurt Pritz – SVP of Services, ICANN
* The next version of the applicant guidebook will be published in anticipation of ICANN’s meeting in Mexico City in March.
* Some of the changes you’ll see in this new version of the guidebook will include changes to the evaluation criteria–
* –more detailed procedures, changes in fees paid by gTLD registry operators, more protections for others.
* You’ll also see areas where additional study will be undertaken or additional consultations will take place.
* So to summarize, I am very pleased and thankful to all the members of the global internet community–
* –who have responded to this first round process of consultation on the draft applicant guidebook for new generic top-level domains.
* It has been a very successful process of feedback.
* We will follow our usual ICANN process of consultation, putting things back out for discussion, try to summarize, get more consultation.
* That is the way we work.
* This can be a noisy and sometimes heated process–
* –and we will think through those issues and potentially put forward yet again another round of an Applicant Guidebook–
* –that people can look at and consider.
* So we are listening very carefully–
* –we are wanting to engage and discuss–
* –we are following the usual ICANN processes, and I’d like to thank you very much for being involved in that–
* –and being part of the community that’s actually making the future of the DNS.
* New gTLDs and the Internet
* Openness
* Change
* Innovation
* ICANN

The first public comment period on the Draft Applicant Guidebook for new gTLDs has closed. The period opened on 24 October 2008, and was 76 days long after it closed 7 January to account for later publication of the Guidebook in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish. ICANN continued to receive and accept English comments received until the January 7 deadline considering the end of year holidays.

The comment period received over 300 comments from participants from 24 different countries. Among the many participants were individuals and organizations representing intellectual property interests, brand owners, business owners, ICANN supporting organizations, domain name industry players, and governments.

“This level of interest and feedback to the Draft Guidebook shows that the comment process is working. All the comments and concerns will be considered and a response will be provided,” said Paul Levins, Executive Officer and Vice President Corporate Affairs.

Some of the key concerns raised by the community that are immediately obvious are:

* Brand protection issues and the impact on brands and trademark owners
* Financial considerations, including evaluation fees, ongoing registry fees, and refund procedures
* Various issues surrounding the proposed registry agreement, particularly, price controls, registry/registrar separation, the management of future agreement amendments, equitable treatment, and others
* General comments and concerns related to expanding the top level and its impact on the global marketplace, specific industries and Domain Name System stability.

“There is no doubt that we need to address these and other legitimate concerns before proceeding to open the application process” said Mr Levins.

Respondents had the option to comment on the Guidebook as a whole or on one of its six modules. Just over half (55 percent), chose to comment on the Guidebook; the rest commented on specific modules or topics. The fifth module, covering the base agreement between new registries and ICANN, received the most comments (around 30 percent).

The responses are now being summarized and evaluated. A comprehensive analysis of the comments will be released in early February.

“We will also be holding conferences in different global locations to further explain the Guidebook, the changes envisaged and to have further dialogue. Alongside the feedback received from these and other outreach events, the summary and analysis will inform ICANN staff through the next program development phase, which will mean amending the current guidebook” Mr Levins said.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those that contributed their responses to the first public comment period. ICANN looks forward to continuing a productive dialogue on this that will result in amendments to the application process” Levins said.

Read the report in full here [pdf]

The report includes information on the three major initiatives ICANN undertook last year (and which continue this year): the process for introducing new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) to the Internet; the introduction for the first time of internationalized domain names (IDNs); and an extensive Improving Institutional Confidence consultation, to enable the conclusion of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) with the United States government in September 2009.

Reports from the chairs of ICANN’s Supporting Organization and Advisory Organizations are included alongside detailed rundowns of each department by the organization’s staff.

Additionally, since it is 10 years since ICANN’s inception a brief history of the organization, split into its 33 international public meetings, is included, alongside a special memorial note to Jon Postel, one of the Internet’s pioneers, from former ICANN chairman Vinton Cerf.

Further contents include:

• Biographical details on each of the Board of Directors
• Highlights of the organization’s Strategic and Operating Plans
• An in-depth look at the New Delhi, Paris and Cairo meetings
• Messages from the CEO and Chairman
• The audit report for ICANN, 2007-2008
• ICANN’s compensation practices and salary structures for the corporate officers

Here’s what the chairman had to say in the official announcement: “I am delighted to announce the release of our third annual report,” said Peter Dengate Thrush, ICANN’s Chairman of the Board of Directors. “In this our tenth year ICANN and its community either accomplished or made significant progress toward many goals for the Domain Name System.”

“The Internet is growing and evolving at an accelerating pace,” Dengate Thrush continued. “The next billion users will demand more innovative products and services, will access the Internet largely through mobile devices, and will expect to be able to do so in their own languages and language scripts. ICANN’s efforts are geared towards developing policies and technologies that will satisfy this next-generation Internet.”

The complete annual report is available at: http://www.icann.org/en/annualreport/annual-report-2008-en.pdf.

You can find all of those videos posted on the Cairo site at http://cai.icann.org/video, and we also post ICANN videos on the main site under the main tab “Videos”.

This video features two of ICANN’s project managers – Tina Dam and IDNs, and Karla Valente and new gTLDs – talking about the sessions they were due to run on the first day of the conference where introductions were given to their two topic areas.

Below is a transcript of the video and off to the right is the video itself.

* Domaine.info and ICANN Present
* ICANN CAIRO Egypt November 2008
* Introduction to New gTLDs & IDNs (Sunday 2 November 2008)
* Hi. My name is Tina Dam. I am the IDN Program Director at ICANN.
* Hi. I’m Karla Valente and I am the Director of the New gTLDs Program.
* So we are in Cairo and its Sunday and there is a lot of IDN stuff going on. We have actually had IDN gTLDs in the room for a year
* and look at all of the activities that are going on.
* We just recently posted New gTLDs Applicant guidebook, so if you go to the ICANN website,
* you will be able to find the guidebook, download, and learn everything about new gTLDs if you want to be an applicant.
* And you can have IDNs as gTLDs as Karla talked about or you can have IDNs as ccTLDs, and there is a ccTLD program available as well.
* And that’s online also.
* And right now the guidebook is open for public comments, and this is a very important step in the ICANN process.
* We are going to be looking at the feedback and continue developing until we reach the final version.
* The final version should be published sometime in Q2 next year and we expect all the applications for gTLDs to be ready Q3 next year.
* So we encourage you to participate. We want to hear from you.
* You can take a look at all of the sessions today and tomorrow. There’s going to be multiple sessions on IDNs and ccTLDs.
* Different sessions that we have today and tomorrow are going to be in English and in Arabic.
* The session today is an introductory session for someone who has never heard of new gTLDs.
* Tomorrow we are going to cover the applicant guidebook, talk about the structure, what to do with it, how to read it and so on.
* A lot of this is about policies, but there’s a lot of technical stuff to.
* One thing that Karla and I worked together on is making sure that IDN gTLDs and IDN ccTLDs technically are working
* and are validated in the same way. So if you want to apply for an IDN string, it has work in the same way.
* First of all, thank you for all the work you have done to help us make these implementations and all this work available.
* And we’ll see you next time. Karla is going to say this in Arabic…[laughs]
* We are looking forward to hearing from you, either through the public comments or maybe the next ICANN meeting.
* Copyrights Domaine.info 2008 Tous droits reserves
* Your comments and reactions are welcome Vos commentaires et reactions sont les bienvenues participate@icann.org

The responses sent in will now be carefully compiled and summarized. In the New Year, this summary will be published and soon thereafter, suggested alterations to the Guidebook based on that feedback will be put back out to the community.

The revised Guidebook will then be put out to a second comment period in order to enable fine tuning.

As of Monday 22 December, this first public comment period has received 317 comments through its dedicated online forums. Respondents come from 24 different countries and each of the five global regions.

Respondents were given the option of responding to the Guidebook as a whole, or individually to one of the six modules that makes up the Guidebook. Just over half (55 percent) chose to comment on the Guidebook as a whole; the remainder (with a small overlap) made specific comments about the modules.

Of the modules, the fifth module, covering the legal agreement between new registries and ICANN received the most comments (43 of 141, or 30 percent). That was followed by Module 1, which covered, among other things, the costs of applications: it received 32 comments or 23 percent. Thereafter, evaluation procedures (17 percent); dispute resolution (13 percent); string contention (12 percent); and terms and conditions (5 percent).

We look forward to continuing the conversation and revision process in 2009.

ICANN Staff

During the Cairo meeting in general, ICANN together with Domaine.info produced a number of videos covering the main sessions and topics, with each video fronted by a member of either the staff or a chair of the relevant supporting organization or advisory committee.

You can find all of those videos posted on the Cairo site at http://cai.icann.org/video, and on the ICANN main site under the “Video” tab.

This video features consultant Patrick Sharry talking about the AC/SO session, which he helped moderate. This joint session will be repeated in Mexico City on the first day of the meeting with a slightly different format following feedback from the community on the first meeting.

Below is a transcript of the video and off to the right is the video itself.

# ICANN and Domaine.info
# ICANN, CAIRO Egypt- November 3, 2008
# Open Joint Session, GNSO,ccNSO, GAC, ALAC Domain.Name.Space
# Hello, my name is Patrick Sharry
# Today I facilitated a very important meeting.
# For the first time at an ICANN meeting,
# we had the chairs of the SOs and ACs.
# organize themselves together for a joint meeting of those groups.
# There were two topics discussed, we talked about the President’s Strategy Committee and
# the Improving Institutional Confidence work
# and we also talked about new gTLDs, IDN ccTLDs, and the issues around those things.
# It was a meeting that ran very well,
# and not least because people recognized how important it was,
# to bring these groups together to talk about issues of such importance.
# During the PSC session. we started with a presentation by the chairman, Peter Dengate Thrush.
# Peter outlined the recent work that the President’s Strategic Committee had been doing,
# and ran through a few slides that talked about the relevant areas that we needed to consider.
# We then got some views from the Supporting Organization and Advisory Committee chairs
# who were seated at the top table.
# And from there, we began a conversation with the community as a whole with an open mike session.
# There were a number of comments on many different aspects of that work.
# As the conversation proceeded, I tried to capture on the white board, some of the key topics of those conversations.
# That list of topics, will then be presented to staff and to other parts of the organization for further consideration,
# as we move into the next phase of the improving institutional confidence project.
# In the second half of our session, we concentrated on new gTLDs, IDN ccTLDs and the issues that surround that.
# We began with comments from each of the Supporting Organization and Advisory Committee chairs,
# They told us what was important in these areas from their own SO or AC perspective,
# And also why those things should be of importance to the community as a whole.
# We interspersed conversations from the SO and AC chairs, with comments from the floor,
# and in particular, we had a particularly productive session at the end where we looked at the issue of geographic names.
# This conversation produced interesting interplay between a number of people in the ICANN community,
# about the issue of what was a gTLD and was a ccTLD
# How should the process run and who should be involved.
# Again, as we had this conversation, I collected on the white board the main topics that people were covering.
# This list will be put into the process of one of a number of items that have been collected this week,
# to help the team who are working on IDN ccTLDs and new gTLDs to further their work,
# as part of the community consultation that they are doing in order to come up with the next phase of that for our next meeting in Mexico.
# Thank you for listening to all of this. It was a very important meeting for the ICANN community,
# as we work forward, I’m sure that we’ll find better ways of running these meetings,
# and that means by the time we get to Mexico and beyond, we’ll actually have even more productive ways
# of bringing these important parts of the ICANN community together. Thanks again for your time. Bye bye.
# Copyrights Domaine.info 2008 All Rights Reserved
# Your comments and reactions are welcome Vos commentaires et reactions sont les bienvenues participate@icann.org

What was it?

ICANN’s 33nd international public meeting was the third held this year to conduct policy development and outreach. It was hosted by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and the Government of Egypt.

The meeting was opened by Dr. Tarek Mohamed Kamel, Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology. There were 1,702 attendees from 144 different countries. The participants engaged in a wide range of discussions about the Internet’s domain name system and related issues.

Further information about the meeting, including presentations and transcripts, is available at http://cai.icann.org/. A number of videos summarizing the key parts of the meeting can be found at: http://cai.icann.org/en/video.

ICANN’s next international public meeting will take place in Mexico City, Mexico, beginning on 1st March, 2009.

What happened and what are the next steps?

Many meetings, workshops, public forums and informal discussions were held over eight days by the different stakeholders of the ICANN model:

• Business interests
• Civil society
• Governments and government agencies
• Internet service providers
• Registrants
• Registrars
• Registries
• The technical community

• New gTLDs
• IDNs and IDN Fast Track
• Improving Institutional Confidence
• Independent Reviews
• DNSSEC and Security
• Business Access Agenda
• Special guests: Dr Hamadoun Touré and Meredith Atwell Baker
• Other matters

A draft Applicant Guidebook was released a week before the meeting for those wishing to apply for a new generic top-level domain. A number of meetings and workshops were dedicated to explaining the guidebook and receiving input and feedback from the community on its contents.

The first were two introductory sessions on the Sunday before the meeting’s official opening, held in English and Arabic. That was followed by a dedicated hour-and-forty-five minute workshop in the main room on the opening day, Monday (http://cai.icann.org/en/video#tue). Further discussion on the subject took place at a joint session of the chairs of the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees in the afternoon.

Discussion and updates were then presented to different parts of the community, including the GNSO and its constituencies, ccNSO and GAC over the course of the following two days. A community-led discussion on “Additional Solutions for a Successful gTLD Launch” took place on the Wednesday afternoon.

Much of the two-part public forum on Thursday was taken up with comments and questions on the guidebook specifically and the new gTLD process generally, and an update on the process was given to the Board during its public meeting on Friday morning. Transcripts from most of these sessions are available on the Cairo meeting site (http://cai.icann.org/en/transcripts).

More information is available on ICANN’s new gTLDs page (http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm), including the draft Applicant Guidebook and accompanying explanatory memoranda, as well as an FAQ, and additional resources.

The new gTLD update provided to the Board can be found at: http://cai.icann.org/files/meetings/cairo2008/new-gtlds-06nov08.pdf

Next steps:

The draft Guidebook will be published in five additional languages. A public comment period on the guidebook will run until 8 December (http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new‐gtld‐comments‐
en.htm), after which public comment will be analysed and used to revise the implementation model.

In 2009, ICANN will procure evaluation services for certain aspects of the process, embark on a global communications plan to make as many people as possible aware of the new process and then launch the introduction of new gTLDs.

More information:

See the new gTLD webpage at http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm
An overview video of the Monday session can be found online at http://cai.icann.org/en/video#tue

Just prior to the meeting, the draft implementation plan for the IDN Fast Track was published. The Fast Track would allow a limited number of IDN ccTLDs to be introduced before the formal policy development process is finalized (IDN ccTLDs are country code, as opposed to generic, internationalized domain names at the top level of the Internet).

Public comments on the draft document are being received until 8 December (see http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-200812.html#plan-idn-cctlds).

In Cairo, the Fast Track document was the focus of much of the discussion related to IDNs. The issue of internationalized domain names that may be applied for through the new gTLD process (as opposed to the Fast Track or the subsequent ccTLD policy development process) was also a main topic of conversation. There was also some discussion about the timing and possible overlap of the two different tracks for IDN top-level domain applications.

There were also two introductory sessions (one in English and one in Arabic) on the subject of IDNs.

The Fast Track and the introduction of IDNs was also discussed in two joint sessions of the chairs of the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees on Monday afternoon and Thursday morning. Updates on both, as well as progress being made by the IETF on the IDNA protocol revision (an important step for the process) were provided to ICANN’s different bodies and constituencies over the course of the week.

An update on the process was provided to the ICANN Board at its public meeting on the Friday, complete with some discussion of the issues surrounding IDN implementation issues necessary for the Fast Track process to be implemented. Transcripts from most of these sessions are available on the Cairo meeting site (http://cai.icann.org/en/transcripts). See also: http://cai.icann.org/files/meetings/cairo2008/idn-pf-cairo-06nov08_0.pdf

A meeting of interested parties on the introduction of Arabic script at the top level of the Internet took place on the Saturday after the meeting.

Next steps:

The draft implementation plan for the Fast Track process is out for public comment until 8 December, when it will be evaluated with respect to the comments. At the same time, an IETF working group is finalizing an IDN protocol that ICANN hopes to see completed before the introduction of IDN top-level domains.

Outstanding issues remain including: the relationship between an IDN ccTLD operator and ICANN, both in the type of agreement or framework entered into and the provision of funds; the issue of contention between existing top-level domains and ones applied for through the new gTLD process; and a few technical requirements. Some of these issues will be addressed or resolved at the next ICANN meeting in Mexico in March 2009.

Staff will provide an updated version of the draft Fast Track implementation plan prior to the Mexico meeting, with a specific focus on these issues:

More information:
IDN index page: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/
The Fast Track draft implementation plan: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/fast-track/idn-cctld-implementation-plan-23oct08-en.pdf
An overview video of IDNs and new gTLDs can found online at: http://cai.icann.org/en/video#mon

The IIC consultation was formally launched at ICANN’s Paris meeting in June and has since been the subject of two public comment periods and a global outreach campaign. In Cairo, the meeting was used to give the community an update on the process and also to gather more feedback on the issues it has raised.

The IIC consultation is based on successive drafts of a set of three documents – an Improving Institutional Confidence in ICANN document; a Transition Action Plan; and a Frequently Asked Questions document. These documents have been updated to reflect community input from a special session in Paris,, the two public comment periods and a series of five public meetings in Montevideo, Christchurch, Geneva, Washington DC and Dakar between August and October 2008.

A special joint session of the chairs of the different Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees considered the IIC documents on Monday afternoon. A session dedicated to the consultation was also held on Thursday afternoon. Transcripts from these sessions are available on the Cairo meeting site (http://cai.icann.org/en/transcripts). The consultation was also one of the main topics discussed by the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) over the course of the week.

The consultation’s aim is for the community to discuss possible changes to ICANN in the lead-up to the completion of the JPA in September 2009. This work has been led by the President’s Advisory Committee (PSC) whose role is to provide advice to the Board.

Next Steps:

Work will soon begin on an implementation plan with details about the issues identified by the community as needing attention. That plan will be published in early 2009 in time for review prior to the next ICANN meeting in Mexico City in March.

In the meantime, two further outreach meetings, at Afrinic in Mauritius later this month (November 2008) and at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Hyderabad, India in December will take place to build more awareness and gather feedback.

More information:

Full information about the documents, the public comment periods, the regional meetings and the consultation itself can be found on dedicated IIC webpages in ten languages at: http://www.icann.org/en/jpa/iic/
The update on the process, as given at the special IIC session on Thursday can be found online at: http://cai.icann.org/files/meetings/cairo2008/iic-workshop-06nov08.pdf

The independent review process requires each of ICANN’s Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees to undergo review every few years to make sure that the organization as a whole continues to serves the needs of the global Internet community.

There are several independent reviews currently underway or soon to be launched. The Board of Directors is also undergoing an independent review. The Cairo meeting saw a number of updates and workshops on the current reviews, and an update on the various reviews was also provided to the Board at its public meeting on Friday. A new staff member dedicated to overseeing the reviews process was also publicly introduced.

GNSO
The review effort to improve the structure, operations, communications and outreach of the GNSO has now moved into the implementation stage, but there are two outstanding issues still being considered by the ICANN Board: how the GNSO Council elects members of the Board; and the role of individual users within the GNSO.

Staff is actively soliciting input on the first issue, and the second has been put out to public comment until 28 November (see http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-200811.html#gnso-users).
In the meantime, charters and work plans are being developed for steering committees and operations work teams to enable the GNSO to move into its new two-house structure by June 2009, and to develop implementation proposals for a new policy development process as well as a new working group methodology for addressing policy issues.

Nominating Committee
Currently in “improvement stage”. The Board Governance Committee (BGC) is reviewing a report from a special BGC working group formed to review the independent report produced earlier in the year.

ALAC
Following discussion of the independent reviewer’s report at the Paris meeting in July, a working group on the ALAC review has produced a mid-point report on its findings so far and held several sessions in Cairo seeking input from the community. A final report is expected for the Mexico City meeting in March 2009.

Board of Directors
The independent reviewer’s report was published at the Cairo meeting and a special session held on the Monday evening. A special working group will seek input from the community and produce an initial report for the Mexico City meeting.

RSSAC
The independent reviewers started gathering information at a special session on the Wednesday morning. A draft report is expected for the Mexico City meeting in March 2009.

SSAC
The independent reviewers started gathering information at a special session on the Wednesday morning. A draft report is expected for the Mexico City meeting in March 2009.

Others
The ccNSO and ASO reviews are in their preparatory stages, with the terms of reference for the ccNSO to be published for public comment before the end of the year, and the terms of reference for the ASO expected in early 2009.

Next Steps:
The progress of each review can be followed online, with further details on each given in the staff update provided to the Board on Friday.

More information:
The independent reviews webpage can be found at: http://www.icann.org/en/reviews/
The presentation provided to the Board can be found online at: https://cai.icann.org/files/meetings/cairo2008/organizational-reviews-06nov08.pdf
Transcripts from most of these sessions are available on the Cairo meeting site at http://cai.icann.org/en/transcripts.

Following the issue of an exploit in the domain name system discovered by security researcher Dan Kaminsky, a number of security briefings on this issue and other related issues were given to ICANN’s various supporting organizations and advisory committees.

In particular, the DNSSEC protocol – long promoted by ICANN’s Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) – was explained and its use in closing down the Kaminsky hole outlined, alongside other short-term measures.

A special workshop on DNSSEC was held on the Wednesday, and an open meeting of the SSAC on Monday also covered the issue.

The SSAC meeting was also used for an experiment in improving remote participation. Through Adobe’s Connect software, participants were able to see and hear the meeting in progress (as well as view the live scribe feed), see the presentation slides as the presenters went through them, and ask questions in a dedicated chatroom.

More information:
DNSSEC Workshop full details and presentations: http://cai.icann.org/en/5nov08/dnssec-workshop

For the second time, a specific agenda and series of targeted meetings and discussions were held for business leaders in an effort to engage business more effectively within ICANN’s processes.

The agenda included briefings on the most significant topics facing ICANN at the moment, including new gTLDs and IDNs, and a meeting with board directors, including the Chair.

Two special guests visited the Cairo meeting on the Thursday.

Dr. Hamadoun Touré is Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and Meredith Atwell Baker is Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the US Department of Commerce and responsible for the relationship ICANN shares with the US government.

Both gave speeches and Dr. Touré answered questions from the audience. Dr Touré stressed the importance of collaboration between the ITU and ICANN and Acting Assistant Secretary Attwell Baker acknowledged ICANN’s institutional progress in the 10 years since its creation and stressed that proactive contribution from the community is vital to the organization as the Internet continues to evolve.

Both Touré and Atwell Baker then held a number of separate sessions with various members of the ICANN community.

More information:
Transcripts of both speeches can be found online at:
https://cai.icann.org/files/meetings/cairo2008/toure-speech-06nov08.txt and https://cai.icann.org/files/meetings/cairo2008/baker-speech-06nov08.txt respectively.

• ICANN signed an Exchange of Letters with the managers of .eg, Egypt’s country-code top-level domain (see a video of the occasion at http://cai.icann.org/en/video#sun.
• The .mobi and .coop registries were authorized to make single-letter domains available e.g. www.c.mobi.
• A new working group will study and review the issues related to the definition of the ICANN Geographic Regions, and submit proposals for community and Board consideration. The Board asked all interested Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees to nominate two individuals to serve on the working group.
• Sydney was chosen as the location for the June 2009 meeting and the Board asked Staff to review the possibility of Seoul as the host for the October 2009 meeting, with the European meeting deferred until a later date.
• Since it was ICANN’s annual meeting, the Board was reformed with new members Katim Touray (NomCom appointee), Thomas Roessler (TLG liaison) and Ram Mohan (SSAC liaison). Previous SSAC chair Steve Crocker became a voting member of the Board following his selection by the Nominating Committee.
• Peter Dengate Thrush was re-elected as chairman; Roberto Gaetano was re-elected as vice-chairman.