ICANN54 is finally here, and ICANNers will have an opportunity to meet Dubliners and embrace this historic city. This Public Meeting is packed with plenty of hot topics. There will be crucial discussions around the IANA Stewardship Transition, especially regarding accountability. There will also be sessions about new gTLDs, including program reviews that cover topics such as rights protection, program implementation, security and stability, and consumer trust and choice, and competition. Universal Acceptance is another hot topic, and you'll have the opportunity to learn about the progress being made with Internationalized Domain Names, which help enable a multilingual Internet. There are sessions for everyone, whether your interests are business, civil society or technology. For those interested in Internet issues specific to Europe, Wednesday (21 October) is packed with events, including the EURALO General Assembly at 1545, the European Coordination Session at 1730 and the European/EURALO Joint Networking Event on Wednesday 1830 (a little bit of self-promotion won't hurt anyone).
If you're new to ICANN, ICANN54 may seem overwhelming, but I promise you that there are plenty of people and sessions to help you guide your journey. There are daily open and interactive sessions to introduce ICANN Fellows, NextGeners and interested newcomers to the work of ICANN through discussions held with ICANN community leaders. Please check the schedule to join.
And did I mention the Gala? This meeting, the theme is That Night in Dublin. We promise that you will want to be there after a long day of sessions!
Brace yourself for a lively week at ICANN54, and enjoy our Opening Ceremony, which will be held on 19 October at 0830 in the Auditorium.
Welcome to Dublin and ICANN54!