#ICANN67 Virtual Community Forum from 7-12 March 2020 ; how you can participate in the discussions

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will be having its 67th online meeting from Saturday March 7 to Thursday March 12 2020.

Originally ICANN67 was to be hosted in Cancun, Mexico, but due to concerns regarding COVID-19, it was turned into a virtual community forum.

So…..what’s this ICANN?

As the name implies, ICANN helps coordinate the assignment and management of Internet numbering resources (such as IP addresses) and domain names (forming a system called the Domain Name System or DNS). The DNS maps domain names to IP addresses.

ICANN also defines and implements policies for how the “Names and Numbers” of the Internet are assigned. ICANN coordinates policy development related to the DNS by bringing a variety of stakeholders (ranging from governments, technical, business, civil society) organised in various groups to develop and advise on such DNS policies. This volunteer-based group of diverse stakeholders is called the ICANN multi-stakeholder community.

The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS) is an member of the ICANN At-Large Community since 2006, which represents the interests of Internet end users in ICANN policies and activities. Currently, as the TTCS’ At-Large representative (Dev Anand Teelucksingh), I have continued to be involved in various At-Large activities. I do want to encourage anyone with a interest and a desire to learn more about ICANN policy issues and how to get involved, email me at [email protected] and I’ll try my best to help.

Important links to learn and follow #ICANN67

ICANN67 Full Meeting Schedule – this table (you will have to scroll down a lot) shows the various online meetings happening at the same time. All times listed are local to Cancun. Mexico (GMT -5) so when looking at the ICANN67 schedule, you will need to add 1 hour to get the time of the meeting in Trinidad and Tobago.

How to participate in ICANN67 Virtual Sessions – handy PDF detailing how you use Zoom to connect to the meetings. Zoom allows participants (either face to face or remotely) to instant message each other, review the meeting agenda and documents, follow presentations and raise their hands in order to make comments. Download the Zoom client for your OS or install the mobile app

If you visit the schedule on your iOS or Android device, you can install the ICANN Meeting App to follow the ICANN meeting schedule on your mobile / tablet device and to personalize the schedule of sessions you are interested in. Search for “ICANN Meeting” in your app stores.

ICANN At-Large meetings sessions – handy table of all of the At-large sessions of interest to end users.