Announcement

Vancouver ICANN Meeting: Focus on Individual Internet Users
Tuesday, 29 November — Friday, 2 December
Columbia's Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina
Vancouver, British Columbia

<http://www.icann.org/meetings/vancouver/>

~ Are you interested in using non-English (internationalized) domain names?
~ Do you want more choices for top level domain names (beyond .COM, .NET, etc.)?
~ Are you concerned about your personal privacy when you register a domain name?
~ Curious about what the proposed changes in .COM Registry management mean for you?
~ Then don't miss the Vancouver ICANN Meeting!

ICANN's Interim At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) invites all interested individuals to attend At-Large Internet Users workshops and meetings on Tuesday, 29 November, through Friday, 2 December at Columbia's Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina in Vancouver, British  Columbia. Featured events include: a workshop on implementing internationalized domain names (IDNs) so the world's non-English speaking communities can use domain names in their own language; a workshop on privacy protections in the WHOIS databases to discuss what is being done, and what should be done, to protect the personal data collected when individuals register domain names; a workshop on the proposed settlement between ICANN and VeriSign, which has long-term implications for how much your .COM domain name will cost and how the .COM Registry will be managed; and public forums on how new top level domain names should be introduced, as well as on numerous other issues that affect how people use the Internet. Information on key events of interest to Internet users is included below. Information on additional ICANN events is posted at <http://www.icann.org/meetings/vancouver/>.

Tuesday, 29 Nov 2005

0900-1100 At-Large Planning Forum ~ an open discussion of the role and activities of the individual Internet user community within ICANN.

1130-1430 VeriSign Settlement Workshop ~ a briefing and open discussion on the pros and cons of the proposed settlement agreement between ICANN and VeriSign and how it might affect Internet stakeholders.

1430-1830 NCUC Privacy Conference ~ a panel discussion featuring data protection commissioners, Internet privacy experts, and registrars and registries discussing the protection of personal data collected when individuals register domain names.

Wednesday, 30 Nov 2005

1030-1130 Roundtable — Welcome to ICANN, Here's What It Means To You ~ a public roundtable featuring a discussion by North American Internet leaders on what ICANN is doing, why it is important to the world's Internet communities, what the ICANN community will be doing during their week in Vancouver, and how people can get involved.

1130-1230 Lunch for New Particpants ~ individuals new to ICANN are invited to have lunch with Vint Cerf and the rest of the ICANN Board and ICANN's At-Large Advisory Committee, and learn more about ICANN.

1230-1830 IDN Workshop ~ a public panel discussion on the implementation of internationalized domain names.

Thursday, 1 Dec 2005

1000-1230 At-Large Users Forum ~ a public briefing and discussion of the key policy issues facing the individual Internet user community within ICANN.

1400-1600 ALAC Meeting ~ a public meeting on At-Large (individual Internet users) organizing and policy activities, including formation of the Asia-Pacific RALO, and input on the ALAC's and ICANN's long-term plans.

1700-1830 WSIS Workshop ~ a public discussion of what happened at the United Nation's World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)

Friday, 2 Dec 2005

0830-1030 At-Large Regional Meetings ~ Asia-Pacific Regional At-Large Organization (APRALO) Meeting for individuals and user groups in the Asia-Pacific region.

1100-1330 ALAC Meeting ~ a public meeting on At-Large (individual Internet users) organizing and policy activities.

1330-1730 Public Forum ~ Open microphone, public discussion

Saturday, 3 Dec 2005

0900-1300 Public Forum ~ Open microphone, public discussion