EMEA Hub Highlights

By David Olive, VP Policy Development, GM Istanbul, Regional HQ Hub
 
It’s been another busy period at the EMEA hub in Istanbul, hosting a number of special ICANN consultations, meeting with Turkish stakeholders and celebrating the 22^nd year of the Internet in Turkey. 
 
ICANN cross community groups  (CWG-Stewardship)  (CCWG-Accountability) held face-to-face meetings in Istanbul, Turkey towards the end of March. A reception was held for ICANN Community members and the Turkish stakeholder community to raise awareness about these important issues.

Internet Week in Turkey, 6-19 April 2015
 
This was quite the informative week! One of the highlights was the Chairman of Turkey’s Internet Improvement Board and some of its members paying a visit to the ICANN offices and presenting to the staff the Board’s work and strategy on encouraging the use of the Internet across Turkey.
 
Another key event during this week was the ISOC Turkey conference where key topics were discussed, such as how globally, the digital economy is soaring past the offline economy; leading to countries assess how best to ensure their nation’s policies are capable of supporting the Internet growth in their countries to fully take advantage of the economic benefits.  Specific to Turkey, was how Internet users have grown substantially to nearly 40 million subscribers today with mobile Internet users leading the way. This is particularly noteworthy, when one considers the Turkish Presidency of the Group of 20 is also focusing on inclusive and robust growth strategies, and the digital economy can play an important role to support job creation and trade.  
 
Finally, Internet Week in Turkey reminded us that the Internet has prospered tremendously due to the multistakeholder model, were diverse stakeholder groups, such as governments, businesses, academics, private users and others can convene to determine what the future of the Internet will look like.   For it is only by working together, that we can ensure the Internet will continue to grow and provide tangible, positive effects for users in Turkey and those around the world. 
 
 
WSIS Project Prizes 2015 Nomination
 
Happy to announce two ICANN projects, the DNS Entrepreneurship Centre and Investigating DNS Abuse/Misuse for Public Safety Community were nominated for the Online Voting Phase of the WSIS Project Prizes 2015 contest.
 
Information on the nominated projects can be found here.

Europe

IANA Information Sessions

In late January on the back of the transition CWG Stewardship meeting in Frankfurt, we held information sessions in Brussels with business associations, American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmCham EU), Digital Europe and CCIA, as well as with the Permanent Representatives of Governments to the EU.
 
During the same period, with the participation of stakeholders involved in the transition, we also organised an in-person workshop in Brussels coupled with a webinar aimed at the civil society community.
 
After the ICANN Meeting in Singapore, we continued with a series of outreach events. Although some of them were around the transition of IANA functions, such as our joint session with AFNIC in Paris on 12 March, we also intervened on general Internet Governance and ICANN aspects, with for instance a keynote talk by Jean-Jacques Sahel at Dublin’s Institute of International and European Affairs on 24 February (an early occasion to promote ICANN54 to the local community!) and a panel at the annual Brussels Forum of the International Institute of Communications, together with the likes of ISOC and the European Commission.
 
We were also involved as co-organizers and speakers in a number of events covering more technical or economic matters, from a meeting on the DNS organized with the local community and Parliament in Bucharest to gTLD discussions in Portugal and Spain. 

BCG Updated Report launch in Barcelona

On the 3^rd March, ICANN and Boston Consulting Group launched the updated Report “Which Wheels to Grease? Reducing Friction in the Internet Economy” at a Breakfast event on the fringes of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, with attendees from the government, businesses and Internet Community.
The update furthers the objectives of the report commissioned by ICANN last year by looking at major causes of e-friction and how countries can learn from those that face similar challenges but have managed to move up the e-friction ladder by addressing the most significant impediments. The BCG Report helps to emphasize the opportunities for advancement that come from making the most of the ever expanding, globally interoperable Internet, which is good for individuals, business and national economies. As part of the our EMEA strategy, we work on holding roundtable discussions in individual countries of the EMEA, to enable dialogue between the various stakeholders to discuss the issues highlighted in the report.

Serbian Internet Domain Days – (DIDS)

Left to Right: Martin Boyle, Jean-Jacques Sahel, Leonod Todrov in the ‘Masters of the Internet’ panel

One of the most impressive events we have been involved with in this quarter was the Serbian Domain Days (DIDS). Now in its fifth year, DIDS is run by the Serbian ccTLD registry RNIDS for two days, covering a huge range of topics, from an overview of Internet Governance and the IANA functions transition, to IDNs and the growth of the local e-commerce sector, and many more.
 
RNIDS received over 500 requests for attendance, and so the room was packed on the day, and over 3000 people online watched our live stream!
 
The enthusiasm of the audience was palpable –a testimony both to RNIDS’ excellent organization, and to this region’s dynamism and taste for the Internet. We will be witnessing more of this heartening passion for our Internet early June in Sofia at EuroDIG and the first South Eastern Europe [SEE] Roundtable on Internet Governance, one of the first major initiations by the new ‘ICANN SEE’. The group was created over the summer of 2014, and continues to grow almost daily bringing together various players in the Internet community from across the SEE region.
 
You will read more below about DIDS in a guest blog by one of ICANN-SEE’s most active members, and chair of RNDIS, Dusan Stojicevic.
 
By Jean-Jacques Sahel, VP Europe
 

International Communications Data and Digital Forensics (ICDDF) March 17-21

ICANN’s Dave Piscitello and John Crain participated in the International Communications Data and Digital Forensics (ICDDF) in London (16-20 March 2015), an annual event attended by ~3000 UK Home Office, police, secret services, IT and ICT suppliers. Both provided four days of capability training programs on investigating DNS abuse, Dave gave an invited talk on DNS and Identifier Systems Security, Stability and Resiliency, and both John and Dave attended side meetings with UK ministry and services to discuss opportunities for future engagement and capability building.

 “Very animated crew. These folks are among the most appreciative students I’ve had the pleasure of training.”  - Dave Piscitello

A European week in the life of the ICANN CEO spreading the awareness: 13-17 April 15

By Jean-Jacques Sahel, VP Europe
 
Fadi left LAX to reach Rome on the evening of April 13^th. He woke up to interviews with Wired and others, before heading off to meet with Mr Giacomelli, Italian Minister in charge of digital affairs. Together they opened a special event hosted at the Italian Parliament on Internet Governance and the IANA stewardship transition.
 
Immediately after, Fadi was off to Paris. After a short night’s sleep, he started again with some strong coffee, more interviews, and some stakeholder meetings. All this before giving a keynote lecture at IFRI, the French Institute of International Affairs, to discuss in particular the multi-stakeholder model of governance – and how it could possibly be a useful concept to implement in other spheres of international relations, beyond the Internet.
 
Then we dashed off on the Paris Metro to catch the last fast train to the Netherlands for the annual Global Conference on Cyber Space in the Hague. The kick off panel for the conference had Fadi share the stage with Vint Cerf, Nnenna Nwakanma of WWW Foundation, the Dutch Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, amongst others. Over 1000 people from across continents and governments, business, the technical community, academia and civil society discussed the ‘cyber’ issues of the day, including Internet Governance and its evolution. After another panel and a dozen or more bilateral meetings with stakeholders, it was off to the airport again for Fadi.
 
Another normal ‘week in the office’ for ICANN’s CEO.   

Middle East

Two years later: The Domain Industry in the Middle East
https://www.icann.org/news/blog/two-years-later-the-domain-industry-in-the-middle-east
Left to Right: Baher Esmat, Giovanni Sepia, Fadi Chehade, Marc Van Wesemael, Pierre Dandjinou, Tarek Kamel

ICANN Signs MOU with EURid to Develop Local Expertise in the Domain Names System (DNS) Sector in Africa and the Middle East. MOU Signed During the ICANN 52 Meeting. Announcement can be read here.

The Second Middle East DNS Forum, 9-10 March, Amman, Jordan

The two-day event covered topics on ccTLDs, new gTLDs, IDNs, the Domain Name Industry in underserved regions, as well as provided a brief and update on the IANA Stewardship Transition. More on the details of the event http://amman2015.mednsf.org/en/

ICANN in Pakistan

  Our outreach efforts this year began in Islamabad, Pakistan where we joined APNIC and ISOC and participated in a workshop organized by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication on Internet Governance and roles of stakeholders. This was our first trip and we conducted a successful initial series of meetings and roundtables with government officials, industry leaders, academic and technical community.
By Baher Esmat, VP Middle East

DNS Entrepreneurship Center Workshops Kick Off

 
The DNS Entrepreneurship Center launched its activities on March 29^th with two successful workshops on DNS Business Development and Registry Best Practices. The two workshops were held in Cairo, Egypt, in partnership with the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, the Information Technology Institute, EnCirca and EURid. The two workshops were designed to help participants better understand the fundamentals of how to run registries and registrars, as well as the potential business opportunities in this industry. 

Africa

Successful Africa Sessions #ICANN 52

First and foremost, we would like to start by congratulating you all, colleagues and community, for a very successful meeting in Singapore. It was your strong support and resilience that enabled us put up two very successful sessions during ICANN 52, a meeting that had over 300 meetings scheduled! The attendance and level of participation witnessed was very impressive. Indeed, day one was a full house (Fig 1) and we still managed to attract over 35 participants on day two during the “The Road to Marrakesh” Session. Whether you joined us in-situ or remotely, please receive our sincere appreciation.

Engagement Mission in Rabat, Morocco

Fadi Chehade and Pierre Dandjanou visited Rabat in early March, as part of the ongoing engagement enhancement in Africa aimed at strengthening African engagement in preparation for the Marrakech meeting, ICANN 55, next year. Fadi was invited to speak to students of the Moroccan Academy of Diplomatic Studies on "the future of Internet governance in the world"; as well as to the National Institute of Post and Telecommunications on "ICANN and the Internet Governance". 

Outreach Dakar, Senegal

On March 5th, Pierre Dandjinou, VP Africa, gave a public conference, with over 50 participants, on the transition of the IANA functions in Dakar, Senegal. Mouhamet Diop, a former ICANN Board member and Fatimata Sylla Seye, former chair of AFRALO and currently a member of the NomCom, chaired the conference. Mamadou Lo, one of our Senegalese ICANN fellows took care of communication and overall organization. The conference was a success with two main outcomes; the formation of a steering group to organize a national forum on the transition of the IANA functions and ICANN's accountability and Senegal’s commitment to increase outreach amongst local stakeholders on the issue and hopefully contribute to the ICG Proposal on the transition before June 2015.

DNSSEC Roadshow events in Cote d’Ivoire and Congo

Three days workshops were organized respectively in Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire from February 24-26, 2015) and Brazzaville (Congo from March 11-13, 2015). Our lead consultant, Alain Aina, conducted both workshops with the following format:

• Day 1:  General awareness on DNSSEC
• Day 2:  Technical workshop with hands- on sessions
• Day 3:  Working session and assessment with the ccTLD

APRIL: AFRICA’s Month on the IANA Stewardship Transition & Enhancing ICANN Accountability

By Pierre Dandjinou, VP Africa
 
It has been one year since the National Telecommunications & Information Administration’s (NTIA) announcement that tasked ICANN to convene an inclusive and global discussion to determine a process for transitioning the stewardship of IANA functions to the global multistakeholder community. Indeed since then, the global community has worked tirelessly and with great resilience and determination to ensure a successful and sustainable transition. As a neutral convener of the dialogue, ICANN has an important responsibility of raising awareness about the processes as they evolve and to support the community's engagement, working hard to ensure the Internet’s diverse stakeholders have a voice shaping the new oversight structure.
 
That said there is concern in the low level of meaningful participation witnessed so far from Africa. In 2014, ICANN participated in 11 events and five webinars/ teleconferences to raise awareness on this issue in Africa.  From the response we have garnered so far, we find that a lot of groundwork still needs to be done to further stimulate the African community to participate more effectively in the process.
 
It is based on this background and analysis that the ICANN Africa team resolved to launch an IANA Stewardship Transition & Enhancing ICANN Accountability revival month in April 2015.  To achieve this, we are aiming to organize 1-2 hour webinars and teleconferences or face-to-face meetings in various countries in Africa at different times and dates led by local community leaders and stakeholders in the Internet ecosystem at the National level. ICANN staff will be available to support and reinforce the meetings either by contributing on presentations or online meeting resources as appropriate.  We look forward to your involvement and working together in this crucial junction.
 
Interested in the IANA Stewardship Transition? 
LEARN MORE. STAY UPDATED. FOLLOW. ENGAGE. 

Eastern Europe, Russia And Central Asia

Update by Michael Yakushev, VP
 
Two main events on the Internet Governance were held in the Eastern Europe/Central Asian region at the beginning of this year, with the participation and support of ICANN and its experts.

Kiev, Ukraine -Round Table on ‘Reforming ICANN and changing Internet Governance ecosystem: what it means for Ukraine’ - January 28th

 
The event was organized by the local TLD community and government agency on Innovation and E-government. Among 60+ participants present were heads of the government agencies on E-government, Special Communications and Information, and on Intellectual Property. The Ukrainian GAC member Alexander Tsaruk moderated the Round table. Participants discussed the hottest topics of the global Internet Governance, including IANA stewardship transition, NETmundial Initiative, WSIS process, global IGFs and the role if ICANN, as well as the role of the local stakeholders in each of the developing processes. Big interest was also expressed on ICANN’s interaction with UN agencies, ITU and WIPO, and to the UDRP experience that can be used for Ukrainian domains. Overall the Roundtable discussions confirmed the adherence of all Ukrainian participants to the multi-stakeholders model, and their interest to the EU/CoE position on the Internet Governance.

Moscow, Russia -Workshop on ‘Internet Governance in Year 2015’ - March 18th

 
The organizers of the Workshop (the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Center for Political Studies in Russia) invited 40+ experts from different federal institutions, think tanks, Internet business community, academia and mass media. The discussion was very open and frank, and allowed stakeholders to present their position on the current issues on Internet governance. The government bodies (Foreign Ministry and ICT Ministry) stressed the importance of BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as well as WSIS process, for discussing Internet Governance matters. The IANA Stewardship transition was cited as one of the most important projects that should be successfully implemented by the end of this year. All participants confirmed that the accountability and transparency of ICANN is of great importance for the success of the Transition process. Moreover, some experts confirmed, to understanding and acknowledging the fact that though ICANN is a technical and not a political organization, it has become a real opinion-leader on many items on the agenda of Internet Governance.

Moscow, Russia -Russian Internet Governance Forum– April 7th

 
The 6^th Russian IGF was held in Moscow, organized by the Coordination Center of .RU (ICANN supported this event as a Silver Partner). The Forum attracted 300+ registered participants, both from Russia and former Soviet states, as well as from .VN, .CN, .RS, BRICS countries gTLDs. There was also a visible presence of ISOC headed by Raul Echeberria and Jari Arkko (IETF).
 
The RIGF this year was an opportune meeting point where the main topics of discussion focused on the Internet of Things, Cyber security and Cyrillic IDNs (see agenda http://rigf.ru/en/prog/?p=prog). Some interesting side sessions organized by ISOC also took place, focusing on the recent Russian initiatives on localization of data with experts expressing deep concerns on this topic, and a follow-up working meeting of the Moscow-based telecom experts on Net Neutrality. Michael Yakushev made a short presentation on the current issues of the Internet Governance at the Opening Plenary, and participated in a panel discussion on interaction between governmental and business stakeholders.

IANA Stewardship Transition Discussions

IANA Stewardship Transition Discussions:

• Blog: https://www.icann.org/news/blog/volume-5-an-update-on-iana-stewardship-discussions-special-edition-on-the-icann-accountability-enhancements-draft
• Live page: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/iana-stewardship-discussion-2015-03-31-en

ICANN Globalization - Building Confidence in ICANN's Operations

You have heard us reiterate our commitment to our global, diverse and ever-expanding community. Our President and CEO Fadi Chehadé previewed our globalization plans at the ICANN 50 London meeting in June last year.
 
The objective of globalizing ICANN is to allow for broader, more inclusive participation and engagement by our community. Last month, we took a step forward with several operational improvements to the way we provide additional global services. These include: (1) additional global customer service capabilities, (2) new venues for arbitration in L-Root Hosting Agreements, and (3) options for payments in additional currencies.
 
Read Susanna's blog (https://www.icann.org/news/blog/building-confidence-in-icann-s-operations) for more details on these improvements and look out for more to come on this topic.  

ICANN Demonstrates High Standards in its Execution of the IANA Functions

ICANN successfully completed two independent Service Organization Control (SOC) audits of the systems and processes it uses to execute the IANA functions for 2014. SOC audits, using a methodology developed jointly by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, help ensure that ICANN has the appropriate internal controls in place to meet availability, processing integrity and security service levels for the IANA functions. 2014 marked the fifth consecutive year that ICANN received SOC 3 certification of its DNSSEC Root Key Signing Key systems. It also successfully completed the SOC 2 report, which evaluates key systems used to support IANA transaction processing functions. International accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted the SOC audits.
 
ICANN is dedicated to advancing operational excellence and audits are just one way it is demonstrating its commitment to high standards. Read more about achievements related to ICANN’s execution of the IANA functions: http://goo.gl/JEftIK

ICANN Community to Lead Universal Acceptance Initiative

Some applications and services that we use everyday may not fully understand domain names in non-ASCII scripts, such as Chinese, Korean or Neo-Brahmi, or new top-level domains, like .taobao, .世界 or संगठन. This is problematic because the Internet is a global resource, as well as a cultural and economic driver.
 
Universal Acceptance is the vision for how the Internet of the future should function. It means that top-level domains, internationalized domain names and internationalized emails work seamlessly in all applications and services.
 
During ICANN 52 in Singapore, members of the community representing various constituencies rallied around the Universal Acceptance Initiative and formed a Universal Acceptance Steering Group to guide the identification of top line issues and development of outreach strategies, as well as propose solutions to improve the situation. Read more and get involved.

Public Comment Opportunities

Public Comment is an opportunity for all stakeholders to provide input and feedback on all facets of ICANN’s work. Find and participate in Open community discussions, review past work and browse upcoming topics.
 
For participating, please go to: https://www.icann.org/public-comments