MARINA DEL REY, Calif.: Global input and ideas will be on the rise at the 40th International Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers thanks to ICANN's on-going Fellowship program.
Now in its fourth year of successful capacity building and participation in the ICANN community, the Program's mission is to identify members of the Internet community who have not previously been able to participate in ICANN processes and constituent organizations, or those who require further exposure to the Internet community and its work but cannot afford to travel and attend a meeting without financial support. Outreach is focused on the less developed regions of the world, in order to help create a broader base of knowledgeable constituents who will become the new voice of experience in their regions and beyond.
As a reminder about the process, applications for each meeting are assessed by an independent selection committee, and priority is given to applicants who: meet minimum program requirements; are current residents of developing and least developed nations in the five ICANN regions; and 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, following successful completion of the Fellowship program, to assist with some of the meeting costs incurred. 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 San Francisco meeting will be held from 13-18 March 2011.
For this 12th round of the Fellowship Program, 17 fellows were selected from amongst the 96 applications received. Additionally, 10 selected candidates from the Cartagena and Brussels meetings who were unable to attend due to travel constraints will be joining the San Francisco fellowship, for a total of 27 participants from 21 countries. Twelve of the fellows are alumni from at least one of the past eleven programmes; 13 are first-time attendees to any ICANN meeting and 2 individuals have attended past meetings, but are first time fellows. There is representation from all sectors including civil, government, academia, private, business, end user groups and representatives of country code supporting groups. You will find this current list of participants at http://www.icann.org/en/fellowships/.
The 41st ICANN International Meeting will be held in Amman, Jordan from 19-24 June 2011. Online applications will begin to be accepted for this class on 17 January 2011 by going to http://www.icann.org/en/fellowships/ and the application system will remain open until 18 February 2011.
About ICANN:
To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an address into your computer – a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn't have one global Internet.
ICANN was formed in 1998. It is a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet's unique identifiers.
ICANN doesn't control content on the Internet. It cannot stop spam and it doesn't deal with access to the Internet. But through its coordination role of the Internet's naming system, it does have an important impact on the expansion and evolution of the Internet.
Media Contacts:
Brad White
Director of Global Media Affairs
Washington, DC USA
Tel: +1 202 570 7118
Email: brad.white@icann.org
Samantha Oltman
Media and Marketing Coordinator
Marina del Rey, CA USA
Tel: +1 310 463 1660
Email: samantha.oltman@icann.org