[AfrICANN-discuss] Fellowship Program Brings Global Voices Together at ICANN

[Anne-Rachel Inné]

http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-18aug09-en.htm
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 Fellowship Program Brings Global Voices Together at ICANN

Fellows announced for Seoul meeting

18 August 2009

*MARINA DEL REY, Calif.*: Global input and ideas will be on the rise at the
36th International Public Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers thanks to ICANN's on-going Fellowship program.

"The Fellowship program is a real testament to the importance ICANN places
on global engagement increased participation from the developing and least
developed world," said Theresa Swinehart, ICANN's Vice President, Global and
Strategic Partnerships. "Reaching out to the global community, we saw a
desire to be a part of the key discussions that take place at our meetings,
but some countries and Internet users just didn't have the resources to
attend. The Fellowship program helps bridge that gap."

As a reminder about the process, applications for each meeting are accessed
by an independent selection committee, and priority is given to applicants
who are current residents of developing and least developed nations
interested in participating in ICANN and its supporting organizations, such
as the Governmental Advisory Committee, the Country Code Names Supporting
Organization, and the Generic Names Supporting Organization. Additionally,
all confirmed fellowship participants must comply with the terms and
conditions of the program, as outlined at
http://www.icann.org/en/fellowships/terms-and-conditions.htm. As stated
within these terms and conditions, ICANN is a California non-profit public
benefit corporation incorporated in the United States and must therefore
comply with all the laws and regulations of California and the United
States. Fellows are responsible for obtaining all travel visas once accepted
into the program. ICANN will only purchase tickets for Fellows after all
necessary documentation has been obtained and Fellows demonstrate that they
have obtained all necessary travel visas.

Once all of the requirements for travel are met, the Fellowship program
arranges airfare and hotel, as well as provides a small stipend to assist
with some meeting costs incurred, following successful completion of the
Fellowship program. Recipients will be expected to actively participate in
and contribute to ICANN processes. As always, registration for ICANN's
meetings is free for anyone wanting to attend. The Seoul meeting will be
held from 25–30 October 2009.

For the Seoul meeting, 35 Fellows
<http://www.icann.org/en/fellowships/>have been selected (or deferred
from previous meeting) from 29 countries,
chosen amongst the 132 applications received from 65 countries. 9 of the
Fellows are alumni from at least one of the past seven programmes; 20
Fellows are first-time attendees to any ICANN meeting and 6 have attended
past meetings, but are first time Fellows. There is representation from all
sectors including civil, government, academia, and from business or user
groups. Included in these sectors are representatives of country code
supporting groups. You will find the list of participants at
http://www.icann.org/en/fellowships/.

The 37th ICANN International Public Meeting will be held in Nairobi, Kenya
from 7-12 March 2010. Applications will go online 28 September 2009 at
http://www.icann.org/fellowships/.

"We have seen the fellowship recipients in action since our first meeting in
San Juan in June 2007 — and they have grown in their level of understanding
and participation in the ICANN process and community," Swinehart added.
“ICANN is in the middle of major initiatives around new top-level domains,
the introduction of internationalized domain names, to name just two, and
the Fellowship program has a key role in making sure we get the broadest
possible input on these matters."

*About ICANN: *

ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of
unique identifiers such as domain names (.org, .museum and country codes
like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that
help computers reach each other over the Internet. Careful management of
these resources is vital to the Internet's operation, so ICANN's global
stakeholders meet regularly to develop policies that ensure the Internet's
ongoing security, stability, and interoperability. ICANN is an
internationally organized, public benefit non-profit company. For more
information please visit: www.icann.org.

*Media Contacts: *

Brad White
Director of Media Affairs
Tel: +1 202 429 2710
Email: brad.white at icann.org

International: Andrew Robertson
Edelman (London)
Ph: +44 7921 588 770
Email: andrew.robertson at edelman.com
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-- 
Anne-Rachel Inne
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