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<body class='hmmessage'><div dir='ltr'><br><div><span>Dear colleagues, dear friends,</span><div dir="ltr">
<span>Nominet has been working with the Commonwealth
Telecommunications Organisation, Public Interest Registry and ICANN on a
Commonwealth DNS Forum, to be held on 19-20 June in London,
immediately prior to ICANN’s London meeting.</span><BR>
<span>The event is aimed at developing discussions between the many
different organisations involved in Internet governance issues around
the many really good things that are going on
in different parts of the Commonwealth.</span><BR>
<span>I hope that we will be able to welcome you at the Commonwealth DNS Forum in London for an interactive dialogue.</span><BR>
<span>And please circulate this invite around your network – nationally and to your colleagues in other Commonwealth countries.</span><BR>
<span>Best wishes and I look forward to seeing you in London</span><BR>
<span> </span><BR>
<span>Martin</span><BR>
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<p class="ecxMsoNormal"><span> </span><strong><span lang="EN-US">CTO, ICANN, Nominet and Public Interest Registry to host first Commonwealth DNS Forum</span></strong><span></span></p>
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<p class="ecxMsoNormal"><b><span><br>
<strong><span>London, 11 March 2014</span></strong></span></b><span> – The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), the Intern<span>e</span>t
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the UK domain name
registry Nominet and Public Interest Registry, operators of the .ORG
domain will jointly host the first
<a href="http://www.cto.int/events/upcoming-events/dns-forum-2014/" target="_blank">
Commonwealth Domain Name System forum</a> in London on <strong><span>19 - 20 June 2014</span></strong>.
<br>
<br>
Named <em><span>Commonwealth DNS Forum 2014</span></em>, the event is designed to help the stakeholders from across the Commonwealth to examine:</span><span></span></p>
<ul><li class="ecxMsoNormal">
<span>the economic potential of the domain name industry</span><span></span></li><li class="ecxMsoNormal">
<span>governance policy options for the cyberspace</span><span></span></li><li class="ecxMsoNormal">
<span>issues surrounding local content generation and utilisation</span><span></span></li><li class="ecxMsoNormal">
<span>opportunities for investment and innovation</span><span></span></li><li class="ecxMsoNormal">
<span>opportunities for and impact upon civil society, and </span><span></span></li><li class="ecxMsoNormal">
<span>the role of multi-stakeholder partnerships to develop public policy.</span><span></span></li></ul>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal"><span>“<em><span>This event will contribute to
ICANN’s global programme to diversify its Community through
a multi-stakeholder approach. The Commonwealth represents a cross
section of the global ICT community contributing a great deal to the
public policy debate. We hope this event will be able to marshal that
thinking for the greater good of the DNS community</span></em>”
said Nigel Hickson, ICANN Vice-President. <br>
<br>
Professor Tim Unwin, the Secretary-General of the CTO said: “<em><span>The
CTO is delighted to be a partner of this event which, for the first
time, will bring an important Commonwealth perspective to a consultation
on the domain name system. It will be another step in the CTO’s efforts
to mobilise the strengths of the Commonwealth to ensure Cyberspace
delivers the socio-economic benefits it is capable of.</span></em>”
<br>
<br>
Nominet’s Chief Executive Officer, Lesley Cowley OBE, added: “<em><span>We’re
very pleased to be supporting this important event. There is a lot of
interesting activity taking place across the Commonwealth which is
helping to unlock the full potential of the Internet. This includes
improving cybersecurity, increasing access, and work with local
communities and businesses, as well as developments in the DNS market.
We hope that the Commonwealth DNS Forum will allow us
to share this wealth of practical experience, helping us all to learn
from each other.</span></em>”<br>
<br>
“<em><span>For more than a decade, Public Interest Registry has served
as an advocate for collaboration, safety and security on the Internet.
As the long-standing operator of the .ORG domain and operator of the
soon-to-be-launched
.NGO and .ONG domains for the global non-governmental organisation
community, we have unique insight into the issues surrounding the domain
industry. We look forward to bringing together stakeholders from across
the Commonwealth at this event to help them
prepare for imminent changes to the Internet landscape and to foster
discussion around the power of the domain name system,</span></em>” said Brian Cute, Chief Executive Officer of Public Interest Registry.<br>
<br>
The event will draw delegates from across the Commonwealth with speaker<span>s</span> drawn from public sector, industry and civil society.
<br>
<br>
For more information, please contact:</span><span></span></p>
<ul><li class="ecxMsoNormal">
<span lang="FR">Marcel Belingue (</span><span><a href="mailto:m.belingue@cto.int" target="_blank"><span lang="FR">m.belingue@cto.int</span></a></span><span lang="FR">)</span><span lang="FR"></span></li><li class="ecxMsoNormal">
<span>Nigel Hickson</span><span> (<a href="mailto:nigel.hickson@icann.org" target="_blank"><span>nigel.hickson@icann.org</span></a>)</span></li><li class="ecxMsoNormal">
<span>Martin Boyle</span><span> (<a href="mailto:Martin.Boyle@nominet.org.uk" target="_blank"><span>Martin.Boyle@nominet.org.uk</span></a>)</span></li><li class="ecxMsoNormal">
<span>Nick Thorne (<a href="mailto:nick.thorne@domzac.org" target="_blank">nick.thorne@domzac.org</a>)</span><span></span></li></ul>
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<p class="ecxMsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
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<p class="ecxMsoNormal"><strong><span>About the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation</span></strong><span><br>
The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) is an
international organisation based in London and established through a
Headquarters Agreement with the Government of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is the oldest and largest
Commonwealth organisation engaged in multilateral collaboration in the
field of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The CTO uses
its experience and expertise to support its members in integrating ICTs
to deliver effective development interventions
that enrich, empower, and emancipate people within the Commonwealth and
beyond. For more information please visit
<a target="_blank">www.cto.int </a><br>
<br>
<strong><span>About The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers</span></strong><br>
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
coordinates the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions,
which are key technical services critical to the continued operations of
the Internet’s underlying address book, the Domain
Name System (DNS). The IANA functions include: (1) the coordination of
the assignment of technical protocol parameters including the management
of the address and routing parameter area (ARPA) top-level domain; (2)
the administration of certain responsibilities
associated with Internet DNS root zone management such as generic
(gTLD) and country code (ccTLD) Top-Level Domains; (3) the allocation of
Internet numbering resources; and (4) other services. ICANN performs
the IANA functions under a U.S. Government contract.
For more information please visit <a href="http://www.icann.org/" target="_blank">
www.icann.org</a><br>
<br>
<strong><span>About Nominet</span></strong><br>
Domain names are one of the key building blocks of the internet – an
essential component of every email address and website. Millions of
businesses and consumers now depend on Nominet’s services, which
underpin a critical part of the UK Internet economy.
<br>
<br>
Nominet is a private, not-for-profit business, responsible for the
smooth and secure running of the .uk internet infrastructure. We have
over 2,800 members and are committed to acting in the public interest.<br>
<br>
With the proceeds of a successful registry business, Nominet set up and
support the Nominet Trust, an independent charitable foundation focussed
on increasing access, safety and education on internet issues.
<br>
<br>
<strong><span>About Public Interest Registry</span></strong><br>
Public Interest Registry is a non-profit corporation that operates the
.ORG top-level domain – the world's third largest "generic" top-level
domain with more than 10 million domain names registered worldwide. As
an advocate for collaboration, safety and security
on the Internet, Public Interest Registry's mission is to empower the
global non-commercial community to use the Internet more effectively,
and to take a leadership position among Internet stakeholders on policy
and other issues relating to the domain naming
system. </span></p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal"><span>In 2014 Public Interest Registry will launch
two new Top Level Domains designed specifically to meet the needs of
the global NGO community .
These two domains .ngo|.ong have been designed in close consultation
with global Civil Society and their management will be guided by their
needs. Follow progress at: (<a href="http://www.globalngo.org" target="_blank">http://www.globalngo.org</a><span>)</span></span></p>
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<p class="ecxMsoNormal"><span>To register:
<a href="http://www.cto.int/events/upcoming-events/dns-forum-2014/registration/" target="_blank">
http://www.cto.int/events/upcoming-events/dns-forum-2014/registration/</a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> </div></body>
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