[AfrICANN-discuss] FW: Internationalization of the Internet Marks Historic Agreement

[emko at internetresearch.com.gh]

Very loud applause.....

Eric here


> FYI
>
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> FOR RELEASE:                    Immediate
>
> MEDIA CONTACTS:                        Mike Silber
> ICANN Board Member
> Bromhof, South Africa
> Ph. +27 82 773 1288
> mike.silber at icann.org<mailto:mike.silber at icann.org>
>
> Anne-Rachel Inne
> ICANN Regional Manager for Africa
> Niger, Africa
> Ph. + 1 323 304 3420
> anne-rachel.inne at icann.org<mailto:anne-rachel.inne at icann.org>
>
>
> Internationalization of the Internet Marks Historic Agreement
>
> Washington, D.C… September 30, 2009… ICANN has signed an historic
> Affirmation Agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce that confirms
> the effectiveness of the ICANN model of international multi-stakeholder
> and bottom-up governance of the global Internet addressing system.
>
> “This means that there can no longer be any doubt that the Internet
> belongs to the world and is not under the control of any single government
> or special interest group,” said Mike Silber, a member of ICANN’s
> Board of Directors.  “The very fact that I, as a citizen of South Africa
> serve on ICANN’s board, along with representatives from around the world
> speaks to the international diversity of this very unique
> organization.”
>
> “This new Affirmation marks an exciting new stage in ICANN’s
> development as a truly international entity and it confirms once and for
> all, that the ICANN model of public participation works, and works
> effectively” said Rod Beckstrom, ICANN Chief Executive Officer. “One
> world, one Internet, everyone connected – this is our goal at ICANN.
> This agreement gives international stakeholders an even more powerful
> voice in our activities moving forward.”
>
> “The Internet is global and it is critical that its governance reflect
> its international nature,” said Peter Dengate Thrush, a New Zealander
> who serves as ICANN’s Chairman of the Board.  “Now we can clearly say
> that a new era of the Internationalization of the Internet has begun.”
>
> “This historic agreement is only one part of this internationalization
> process,” said Mike Silber. “Soon because of ICANN’s
> Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) program, all portions of an Internet
> domain name may be made-up of characters from almost any language. This
> will lead to a huge increase in Internet users from regions in the world,
> such as the Middle East or Asia, where people may not be using computer
> keyboards with Latin-based characters.”
>
> ###
>
> To read the Affirmation Agreement go here:
> http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-30sep09-en.htm#affirmation
>
> To read the reactions of various business and government leaders go here:
> http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-30sep09-en.htm#reaction
>
> To see a videotaped interview with CEO Rod Beckstrom on the Affirmation
> Agreement go here:
> http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-30sep09-en.htm#video
>
> To learn more about ICANN’s Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) program
> go here:
> http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/factsheet-idn-program-05jun09.pdf
>
>
> About ICANN:
>
> To reach another person on the Internet you have to type a domain name of
> IP address into your computer.  It has to be unique so computers know
> where to find each other.  ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers
> across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn't have one global
> Internet. ICANN was formed in 1998. It is a not-for-profit public-benefit
> corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping
> the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and
> develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers. ICANN doesn’t
> control content on the Internet. It cannot stop spam and it doesn’t deal
> with access to the Internet. But through its coordination role of the
> Internet’s naming system, it does have an important impact on the
> expansion and evolution of the Internet. For more information please
> visit: www.icann.org<http://www.icann.org/>.
>
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