<h2 style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 0px;">Fellowship Program Brings Global Voices Together at ICANN</h2>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: small;">Fellows announced for Los Angeles meeting, application round for New Delhi now open</p>
<p style="margin: 15px 0px 0px;">24 October 2007</p>
<p> <strong> </strong> <strong>MARINA DEL REY, Calif.</strong>:
Global input and ideas will be on the rise at the 30th International
Public Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers thanks to ICANN's on-going fellowship program. </p>
<p> "The fellowship program is a real testament to the importance ICANN
places on 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." </p>
<p> For the Los Angeles Meeting, there are 24 fellows from 22
countries, chosen from 167 applications received. Seven of the fellows
are alumni from the trial program launched in San Juan last June; five
are candidates who had to defer from the San Juan meeting, eight
fellows are first-time attendees to an ICANN meeting and the remaining
four have attended past meetings, but are first time fellows. An
additional 9 Los Angeles candidates opted to defer to the New Delhi
meeting in February 2008. </p>
<p> Applications for the 31st ICANN International Public Meeting in
India will go online 24 October 2007 and will be accepted until 1200
PDT (UTC -7) on Monday 26 November 2007. More information, as well as a
link to the application for a fellowship, is available online at: <a href="http://www.icann.org/fellowships/">http://www.icann.org/fellowships/</a>. </p>
<p> When applications are assessed by an independent selection
committee, priority is given to applicants who are current residents of
developing or 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. </p>
<p>The fellowship will assist in covering airfare, hotel and a stipend.
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 New Delhi meeting will be held
from 10-15 February 2008. </p>
<p>"We have seen the fellowship recipients in action at our San Juan
meeting this past June – and they added a great deal to the
discussions," 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." </p>
<p align="left"><strong>About ICANN: </strong></p>
<p> ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's
system of unique identifiers like domain names (like .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 and stability.
ICANN is an internationally organized, public benefit non-profit
company. For more information please visit: <a href="http://www.icann.org/">www.icann.org</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Media Contacts: </strong></p>
<p>Jason Keenan <br>
Media Adviser, ICANN (USA) <br>
Ph: +1 310 382 4004 <br>
E: <a href="mailto:jason.keenan@icann.org">jason.keenan@icann.org</a> </p>
<p>International: Andrew Robertson <br>
Edelman (London) <br>
Ph: +44 7921 588 770 <br>
E: <a href="mailto:andrew.robertson@edelman.com">andrew.robertson@edelman.com</a></p>