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MARINA DEL REY, Calif.: Global input and ideas will be on the rise at the 35th 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 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 accessed by an independent selection committee, and priority is given to applicants who are current residents of developing and least developed nations 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 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 small 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. As always, registration for ICANN's meetings is free for anyone wanting to attend. The Sydney meeting will be held from 21-26 June 2009.
For the Sydney Meeting, there are 34 fellows from 29 countries, chosen from 97 applications received. 16 of the fellows are alumni from at least one of the past six programmes; 12 fellows are first-time attendees to any ICANN meeting and 6 have attended past meetings, but are first time fellows. To see the names of the selected fellowship participants, please go to http://www.icann.org/en/fellowships.
The 36th ICANN International Public Meeting will be held in Seoul, South Korea from 26-30 October 2009, Applications for will go online at on 21 May 2009 at http://www.icann.org/en/fellowships.
"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."
About ICANN:
ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers such as domain names (.org, .museum and country codes like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help computers reach each other over the Internet. Careful management of these resources is vital to the Internet's operation, so ICANN's global stakeholders meet regularly to develop policies that ensure the Internet's ongoing security, stability, and interoperability. ICANN is an internationally organized, public benefit non-profit company. For more information please visit: www.icann.org.
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