The numbers have yet to be announced, but the 35th ICANN Meeting now being held in Sydney, Australia has got to be one of the most well-attended meetings in the history of ICANN. This may be attributed to the recent developments in and the imminent release of the final Request for Proposal for the new round of application for new TLDs, as well as the soon-to-be completed tenure of ICANN President and CEO Dr. Paul Twomey, who himself hails from Australia.
ICANN Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush officially opened the meeting after a very interesting cultural dance performance by an Australian indigenous group. Thrush mentioned that ICANN is somehow a "Sydneysider," as Sydney represents the multicultural awareness and population in the ICANN community. In fact, more than 30 languages are spoken in Australia.
Meanwhile, NSW Premier Nathan Rees spoke about Sydney's interest in having a .sydney as a new gTLD. He said that the Sydney government is well aware that the mayor of Paris has expressed strong support for the .paris endeavor, and they would welcome similar support for .sydney. Rees noted that afterall, Sydney, in which 200 nations are represented, is Australia's digital gateway. In his welcome remarks, Rees affirmed support for ICANN while noting that the Internet doesn't belong to anyone, and in fact it belongs to everyone, making it revolutionary in many ways.
The minister for Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy in Australia, Senator Stephen Conroy, also graced the opening ceremony of the 35th ICANN Meeting. With a positive outlook, he shared with the ICANN community that Australia has launched some efforts last April to connect 90% of homes in the country by securing investments related to its infrastructure and communications network. This will translate to 25,000 jobs in Australia, a good indicator that Australia is indeed moving forward to respond to the opportunities available in the digital economy.
The meeting's agenda was given by Twomey. In his last President's Report, Twomey identified the agenda of the 35th ICANN Meeting, namely: the new gTLD program, IDN ccTLD fast track, new ICANN accountability mechanisms, DNSSSEC interim solution, etc. Trademark protection and economic analysis, particularly the benefits to consumers, are some of the key overarching issues in the introduction of new gTLDs. These issues along with the other factors that will be affected by new gTLDs will be heavily discussed this week. This meeting's annual welcome reception will also serve as a testimonial dinner for Dr. Paul Twomey. ICANN's achievements with Twomey at the helm will be celebrated Monday night. |
