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Previewing the March Board Workshop and ICANN76

8 March 2023
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Before the ICANN76 Community Forum, which is taking place 11–16 March online and in Cancún, Mexico, the ICANN Board will gather for its next workshop.

Just last week, the Board passed resolutions directing the ICANN Organization (Org) to develop and launch the WHOIS Disclosure System, and establishing the President and CEO Search Committee, yet we still have much to do. Here are a few of the most pressing topics on the agenda for the Board Workshop, happening 10–12 March, and the sessions I'm most excited for at ICANN76:

March Board Workshop

  • WHOIS Disclosure System: ICANN Org will share its implementation plan for this new system to handle requests for access to nonpublic registration data on generic top-level domains (gTLDs). The Org will also be updating the Generic Names Supporting Organization's (GNSO) Expedited Policy Development Process Phase 2 Small Team in an ICANN76 session on Saturday, 11 March.

  • Future Round of New gTLDs: The Board will continue its discussion of the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures (SubPro) Policy Development Process Final Report recommendations, ahead of a planned vote on many of the recommendations at the public Board Meeting on Thursday, 16 March. Don't miss the public SubPro session on Sunday, 12 March, for a discussion of the next steps in the implementation of the recommendations. The Board will also hold a joint session with the GNSO Council on Tuesday, 14 March, to discuss SubPro and other matters.

  • Contracted Parties: The Board will receive an update on the Org's negotiations with the contracted parties to add obligations to both the Base gTLD Registry Agreement (RA) and 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) intended to mitigate or disrupt registrations engaged in DNS abuse. The Board also will review the progress of the contracted parties' vote on the proposed 2023 Global Amendments to the RA and RAA, which closes on 20 March. Visit this page to learn about the voting process and review the latest results.

ICANN76

  • Board Listening Session: The Board has begun the process to search for and select ICANN's next President and Chief Executive Officer. We established a Search Committee, which will develop a candidate profile and job description, with input from the ICANN Community and other parts of the Internet ecosystem. This listening session on Tuesday, 14 March, will allow Community members to share their thoughts on ICANN's future and the requirements for ICANN's next leader.

  • Joint Session With the GAC: The Board will hold nine bilateral sessions with ICANN Community groups, including a joint session with the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) on Tuesday, 14 March. Over the past three years, the GAC has welcomed more than 160 new participants, who represent the 181 Members (governments and distinct economies) and 38 Observer organizations that constitute the GAC today.

    A new GAC leadership team will take their seats at the end of ICANN76, and the Board will welcome a new GAC Liaison. Nico Caballero has served as Paraguay's representative to the GAC for many years, and his election as Chair makes him the first Latin American representative to hold that position. I look forward to working closely with Nico and getting to know him better.

  • Joint Session With ASO: The Board's joint session on Wednesday, 15 March, with the Address Supporting Organization (ASO) also stands out because ICANN76 marks the first ICANN Public Meeting in which the ASO has participated since 2019.

  • Looking Toward WSIS+20: For this Community Forum, ICANN Community members have organized a special plenary session on Wednesday, 15 March, to discuss how to encourage multistakeholder participation in the 2025 review of World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) implementation. The WSIS+20 review will be an opportunity to reaffirm support for multistakeholder Internet governance.

  • ICANN Public Forum: Since I was elected to lead the ICANN Board at the end of the ICANN75 Annual General Meeting, ICANN76 will be my first ICANN Public Meeting as Chair. I'm eager to engage directly with the ICANN Community, especially on Thursday, 16 March, at the Public Forum, which provides a platform for Community members to express their views on all things ICANN.

  • Updates on Geopolitical, Legislative, and Regulatory Developments: At this plenary session on Thursday, 16 March, ICANN Org staff will share updates on global legislative and regulatory developments and intergovernmental organization processes with the potential to impact ICANN's mission. They will also present an overview of geopolitical trends in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

Clearly, we have a busy week ahead. We on the Board are eager to engage with the ICANN Community to determine the next steps to take in progressing our collective work on initiatives in support of ICANN's mission.

Authors

Tripti Sinha

Tripti Sinha

ICANN Board Chair