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A Preview of the ICANN85 Community Forum

23 February 2026
By
Russ Weinstein

Russ Weinstein

Senior Vice President, Policy Development Support

Russ Weinstein is the Senior Vice President, Policy Development Support. He leads a global team responsible for facilitating the development of policy recommendations and related advice by ICANN's multistakeholder community, as part of ICANN's mission to ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet's unique identifier systems. Russ brings to his role more than 20 years of experience and success in building relationships, engaging diverse stakeholders, leading programs and teams to implement policy and advice, and creating scalable operations.

Joining ICANN in October 2012 to support the New gTLD Program, Russ has since held management roles of increasing responsibility. Promoted to Vice President, GDD Accounts and Services in 2020, he managed ICANN’s relationships and contracts with gTLD Registries and ICANN-Accredited Registrars.

Before ICANN, Russ worked in the aerospace industry, gaining experience in business operations, finance, contract administration, and supply chain management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and an MBA from the University of Southern California.

Next month, ICANN will convene for the ICANN85 Community Forum. Please allow me to welcome you to Mumbai, India, which is hosting its first ICANN Public Meeting!

As we approach the start of the first ICANN Public Meeting of 2026, I encourage you to visit the ICANN85 website. Here, you can register and find important information about the schedule, travel, hotel, transportation, health, and safety. As you prepare for ICANN85, I highly recommend you read two complementary reports: the ICANN85 Policy Outlook Report, which the Policy Development Support team develops to help all participants prepare for work sessions, and the briefing from our colleagues in the Global Domains and Strategy function for the latest information about policy implementation and reviews. We have evolved our approach to these publications with the intent of providing greater visibility and clarity on the status of policy and governance work, and we hope they continue to be relevant and timely resources for you. Materials such as the presentations and recordings from Prep Week, which is being held 23–25 February 2026, will also be available.

It is an exciting time at ICANN! Over the past year, we have seen tremendous progress on several initiatives aligned with our Strategic Plan. As we strive to improve multistakeholder Internet governance, examples of progress include:

  • A positive outcome from the 20-year review of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20).
  • The ICANN community and ICANN Board coming together to scope, launch, and advance an effort to quickly assess and reform ICANN reviews.
  • A report on evolving the governance of the Root Server System (RSS).
  • Progress in developing updated governance for the Regional Internet Registries.
  • Vibrant and sustained feedback from the ICANN community.

On the policy development front, the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) initiated two Policy Development Processes, one focused on combating Domain Name System (DNS) Abuse, and one on defining rules for confusingly similar Latin characters and diacritics in generic top-level domains (gTLDs) and the ICANN Board approved a Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) policy to implement a review mechanism for certain Internet Assigned Numbers Authority decisions.

ICANN has also made significant progress on the road to accepting applications for new gTLDs later this year, including: the successful launch of the Applicant Support Program for the 2026 Round of the New gTLD Program, ICANN Board approval of the Applicant Guidebook, and the first set of results for the Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program!

The ICANN community has taken the lead in organizing the six-day schedule for ICANN85:

  • The Address Supporting Organization (ASO) continues its work to update Internet Coordination Policy 2 (ICP-2), aiming to finish in the coming months. The ASO will also hold joint sessions with interested ICANN community groups.
  • The ccNSO will hold sessions on topics ranging from DNS Abuse to Internet governance. The ccNSO will also host Tech Day.
  • The two GNSO Policy Development Process working groups will hold sessions. The GNSO Council will also discuss how to proceed with the recommendations for the System for Standardized Access and Disclosure.
  • At-Large community sessions will focus on increasing member knowledge and understanding of policy development topics, particularly DNS Abuse mitigation. The Regional At-Large Organizations will also convene a coordination meeting.
  • The Governmental Advisory Committee will discuss the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round, DNS Abuse mitigation, issues relating to gTLD registration data, and Universal Acceptance.
  • The Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC) has one active work party: revising a past advisory on service expectations of Root Server Operators. RSSAC is also developing the charter for a work party on interpreting RSS measurements.
  • The Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) will host work party sessions and conduct a joint open microphone session with RSSAC. SSAC will also host the Domain Name System Security Extensions and Security Workshop and two lightning talk sessions.

Other schedule highlights include:

  • The annual presentation of the ICANN Community Excellence Award.
  • A plenary session led by the ICANN community, "From Stability to Survivability: ICANN's Role in the Future of Internet Resilience."
  • Sessions about reforming ICANN's approach to reviews and on lessons learned from WSIS+20.
  • The presentation of the final report from the RSS Governance Working Group.
  • Joint sessions between the ICANN Board and ICANN community groups to discuss issues of mutual interest.
  • Daily sessions designed to prepare applicants and the ICANN community for different aspects of the 2026 Round of New gTLD Program set to kick off at the end of April.

Thank you for making the considerable commitment of time and effort to attend ICANN85, either in person or remotely. Whether you are a longtime ICANN community member, an occasional contributor, or joining us for the first time, I encourage you to take an active role.

Authors

Russ Weinstein

Russ Weinstein

Senior Vice President, Policy Development Support
Russ Weinstein

Russ Weinstein

Senior Vice President, Policy Development Support

Russ Weinstein is the Senior Vice President, Policy Development Support. He leads a global team responsible for facilitating the development of policy recommendations and related advice by ICANN's multistakeholder community, as part of ICANN's mission to ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet's unique identifier systems. Russ brings to his role more than 20 years of experience and success in building relationships, engaging diverse stakeholders, leading programs and teams to implement policy and advice, and creating scalable operations.

Joining ICANN in October 2012 to support the New gTLD Program, Russ has since held management roles of increasing responsibility. Promoted to Vice President, GDD Accounts and Services in 2020, he managed ICANN’s relationships and contracts with gTLD Registries and ICANN-Accredited Registrars.

Before ICANN, Russ worked in the aerospace industry, gaining experience in business operations, finance, contract administration, and supply chain management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and an MBA from the University of Southern California.

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