Global input and ideas will be on the rise at the 42nd Public Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers thanks to ICANN's on-going Fellowship program.
Now in its fifth year of successful capacity building and participation in the ICANN community, the Program's mission is to identify members of the Internet community who either have not previously been able to participate in ICANN processes and constituent organizations, or those who require further exposure to the Internet community and its work but cannot travel and attend a meeting without financial support. Outreach is focused on the less developed regions of the world, in order to help create a broader base of knowledgeable constituents who will become the new voice of experience in their regions and beyond.As a reminder about the process, applications for each meeting are assessed by an independent selection committee, and priority is given to applicants who: meet minimum program requirements; are current residents of developing and least developed nations in the five ICANN regions; and who are interested in participating in ICANN and its supporting organizations, advisory committees or stakeholder groups. An effort is made to include more participants from the region that the current meeting is being held in, as long as minimum requirements have been satisfied. 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 stipend, following successful completion of the Fellowship program, to assist with some meeting costs incurred. Recipients will be expected to actively participate in and contribute to ICANN processes during and after the meeting. As always, registration for ICANN's meetings is free for anyone wanting to attend. The meeting in Dakar, Senegal will be held from 23-28 October 2011.
For this 14th round of the Fellowship Program, 19 fellows have been selected from 18 countries, chosen amongst the 78 applications received. Seven of the fellows are alumni from at least one of the past 13 programmes; 10 are first-time attendees to any ICANN meeting, 2 individuals 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.
The 43nd ICANN Public Meeting will be held in San Jose, Costa Rica (Latin America region) from 11-16 March 2012. The online application process for that meeting opens on 30 September 2011; look to the ICANN homepage for that announcement.
This announcement was sourced from :
http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-18aug11-en.htm