ICANN84: Kick-Off in Dublin, Focusing on Next-Gen Internet Governance.

DUBLIN, IRELAND – October 25, 2025 – The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) commenced its 84th Public Meeting, the Annual General Meeting (ICANN84), today in a hybrid format from the Convention Centre Dublin. The meeting, which gathers global stakeholders from government, business, civil society, and the technical community, officially began with a strong focus on two pivotal areas: the next wave of New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) and the future of Internet Governance ahead of the UN’s WSIS+20 review.

Key Day 1 Activities

Day one was dedicated largely to foundational sessions, capacity building, and essential planning by various supporting organizations (SOs) and advisory committees (ACs).

• Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) Session: The GAC, which advises the ICANN Board, held a dedicated capacity development session focused on preparing its members for substantive discussions on the New gTLD Program: Next Round. This training focused on the Applicant Guidebook (AGB) and the complex application journey.
• Capacity Building & Leadership: As an Annual General Meeting (AGM), a significant portion of the day was dedicated to leadership training and showcasing ICANN’s work to a broader global audience, reinforcing the organization’s unique multistakeholder model.
• Policy Outlook Preparation: Supporting Organizations (SOs) like the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) and the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) convened preliminary working sessions to map out the week’s policy development on critical issues, including Domain Name System (DNS) Abuse mitigation and policies concerning domain name registration data.

The atmosphere was marked by an increased awareness of the need to finalize policies that will allow the Internet to securely and equitably expand, particularly with the long-awaited launch of the next gTLD application round in April 2026 on the horizon.

Resolution of the Day (GAC Capacity Development)

As the first day focused heavily on capacity building and preparatory work rather than formal policy votes, a key non-binding commitment was made by the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC):

Resolution: The Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) resolved to prioritize knowledge sharing and collaborative training throughout ICANN84, ensuring all member representatives are fully prepared to engage in the forthcoming substantive discussions on the Applicant Guidebook for the New gTLD Program: Next Round. The committee committed to using the dedicated capacity development sessions to facilitate an informed, consensus-based governmental position on the program’s final structure.

Note: Dr. Adebunmi Akinbo is in Dublin as an Incoming ALAC Member and Member of the ALT.

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