Thank you to everyone who helped make the ICANN71 Virtual Policy Forum a success. More than 1,330 attendees participated from 147 countries and territories.
ICANN71 Statistics
Here is a preview of the regional breakdown of participants:
- Africa – 12%
- Asia, Australia, and Pacific Islands – 23%
- Europe – 25%
- Latin America and the Caribbean – 8%
- North America – 32%
The full ICANN71 By the Numbers Report, which will include more in-depth statistics, will be released within a few weeks.
Virtual Meeting Features
Since the move to virtual meetings, our ICANN organization Meetings Technical Services and Language Services teams integrated the remote simultaneous interpretation platform (RSI) into Zoom. Participants only needed one digital device operating Zoom to access the feature. Breakout rooms were added to working sessions for participants. For more information on all the participation tool improvements, read here.
Did you miss an ICANN71 session? The recordings and transcripts are available on the ICANN71 meeting site here.
Survey Results on Transition to In-Person ICANN Public Meetings
ICANN Public Meetings are central to our multistakeholder model and in advancing our policy development work. The more inclusive the meetings are the better the participation and the results. Recently, we asked community members to complete a survey to determine individual comfort and tolerance for gatherings amongst ICANN Public Meeting participants and investigate the possibility of organizing ICANN72 as a hybrid meeting with virtual and in-person attendance in Seattle. To read about the survey results, see here.
Also, on 17 June, we hosted a community discussion at ICANN71 about the future of ICANN Public Meetings. We invited participants to share their thoughts and ask questions. As always, we are grateful for your input, time, and efforts at all of our events. If you missed the session, you can access the recording here.
A formal decision on whether ICANN72 is to be held in person will be considered by the ICANN Board in July 2021. The Board is grateful for the community's participation in the survey, which will serve as an important part of its deliberations. As the COVID-19 pandemic has begun to ease in some parts of the world, we are also evaluating what we have learned from our virtual meetings and how we can apply these lessons moving forward. We remain focused on improving the accessibility of all our events.
Thank You
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our ICANN71 hosts and regional partners at the Hague as well as the host committee for their support and understanding. We look forward to returning to the region.