Global input and ideas will be on the rise at the 38th International Public Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers thanks to ICANN's on-going Fellowship program.
"The Fellowship program is a real testament to the importance ICANN places on global engagement through increased participation from the developing and least developed world," said Theresa Swinehart , ICANN's Vice President, Global and Strategic Partnerships. "Reaching out to the global community, we saw a desire to be a part of the key discussions that take place at our meetings, but some countries and Internet users just didn't have the resources to attend. The Fellowship program helps bridge that gap."
As a reminder about the process, applications for each meeting are assessed by an independent selection committee, and priority is given to applicants who are current residents of developing and least developed nations in the region in which the meeting is to be held, who are interested in participating in ICANN and its supporting organizations, such as the Governmental Advisory Committee, the Country Code Names Supporting Organization, and the Generic Names Supporting Organization. Additionally, all confirmed fellowship participants must comply with the terms and conditions of the Fellowship program, as outlined at http://www.icann.org/en/fellowships/terms-and-conditions.htm. As stated within these terms and conditions, ICANN is a California non-profit public benefit corporation incorporated in the United States and must therefore comply with all the laws and regulations of California and the United States. Fellows are responsible for obtaining all travel visas once accepted into the program. ICANN will only purchase tickets for Fellows after all necessary documentation has been obtained and Fellows demonstrate that they have obtained all necessary travel visas.
Once all of the requirements for travel are met, the Fellowship program arranges airfare and hotel, as well as provides a stipend to assist with some meeting costs incurred, following successful completion of the Fellowship program. Recipients will be expected to actively participate in and contribute to ICANN processes during and after the meeting. As always, registration for ICANN's meetings is free for anyone wanting to attend. The Brussels meeting will be held from 20-25 June 2010.
For this 10th round of the Fellowship Program, 27 Fellows have been selected from 24 countries, chosen amongst the 159 applications received. 11 of the Fellows are alumni from at least one of the past nine programmes; 13 Fellows are first-time attendees to any ICANN meeting and 3 have attended past meetings, but are first time Fellows. There is representation from all sectors including civil, government, academia, and from business or user groups. Included in these sectors are representatives of country code supporting groups. You will find the current list of participants at http://www.icann.org/en/fellowships/.
The 39th ICANN International Public Meeting will be held in a TBD location in Latin America from 5-10 December 2010. Applications for the Latin America Fellowship class will be available online in late July 2010, on the ICANN Fellowship webpage.
"We have seen the fellowship recipients in action since our first meeting in San Juan in June 2007 — and they have grown in their level of understanding and participation in the ICANN process and community."Swinehart added. "ICANN is in the middle of major initiatives around new top-level domains, the introduction of internationalized domain names, to name just two, and the Fellowship program has a key role in making sure we get the broadest possible input on these matters."