Amrita Choudhury (left) and other ICANN meeting participants at ICANN55 in Marrakech.
As a three-time ICANN Fellow myself, the upcoming ICANN57 in Hyderabad, India will be the fourth ICANN Public Meeting that I’ve attended in person.
If ICANN57 is your first ICANN Meeting, I want to take this opportunity to give you a few pieces of advice:
First, make sure to attend the pre-ICANN webinar and the Newcomers Session. These will give you a quick crash course on key discussion topics and common acronyms used at ICANN Public Meetings.
Figure out what sessions you should attend by visiting the ICANN Information Booth. The staff at the booth can help you out with your queries about the meeting, especially on which sessions to attend and the location of each session.
Raise your questions at the ICANN Public Forum, as the ICANN Board members and community leaders will be there to answer your queries
And most importantly, bring a jacket and wear comfortable shoes – the rooms can get quite cold and you’ll be walking a lot!
While ICANN Meetings can be challenging to a newcomer, given the complexity of ICANN as an organization, attending and participating is a great way to learn and get involved. My first meeting experience was at ICANN41 in Singapore, where I attended as an ICANN Fellow. The meeting opened up the world of ICANN to me, and gave me an overview of the roles played by the different stakeholder groups within ICANN.
It was at my second meeting (ICANN42 in Dakar), where I also attended as an ICANN Fellow, that I got a better understanding of the common ICANN discussion topics, such as Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), the New generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) Program and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6).
At my third ICANN Meeting (again, as an ICANN Fellow) at ICANN55 in Marrakech, I was already an experienced ICANN community member who follows ICANN updates closely. It provided me with the opportunity to catch up with old friends, exchange perspectives with community leaders and forge new relationships.
Attending the three meetings as an ICANN Fellow was an enlightening experience. I was given the opportunity to be part of the global community, to discuss issues related to the Internet world of names and numbers. It also encouraged me to become an ICANN Ambassador, which allows me to spread awareness about ICANN and Internet governance to the different stakeholders and communities in India. And along the way, I’ve made a lot of new friends.
I am looking forward to attending ICANN57 in Hyderabad, India, which is sure to be a memorable meeting. Not only because it is in my home country, India, but also because it is the first meeting since the expiration of the contract between ICANN and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Hyderabad is also a great travel destination, with many historical and cultural sites worth visiting. So do take some time to check them out.
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I look forward to meeting you at ICANN57!