ICANN is holding its 63rd Public Meeting (ICANN63) at the Barcelona International Convention Centre from 20th to 25th October 2018. The meeting is hosted by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Business, through the Secretary of State for Digital Advancement, and Red.es, a public corporate entity responsible for managing the Internet Domain Name Registry for the country code “.es”, and for developing programs to stimulate the digital economy.
Speakers at the Opening Ceremony on the 22th October 2018 included the Spanish Minister of Economy and Business Nadia Calviño; Secretary of State for Digital Advancement Francisco Polo; ICANN Board Chair Cherine Chalaby; and ICANN President and CEO Göran Marby.
The meeting brought together stakeholders from all over the world. Governments, businesses, the civil society, non-governmental organizations, research institutions, technical communities, and others are active participants in the event. The sessions enable discussions and the development of policies on a broad range of Internet-related topics, particularly the Domain Name System and IP addressing, and inform the audience on latest issues of concern to stakeholders.
Among the highlights of ICANN63 was a High Level Governmental Meeting (HLGM) that took place on 22th of October 2018. Ministers, representatives of governments, and delegations from around the world attended the meeting. The day-long HLGM included interactive sessions for ministers and high-level officials to discuss the Internet ecosystem and governance, ICANN‘s work, wider digital issues of global interest, and the role of governments in these areas. The Nigerian delegation was led by Barr Adebayo Shittu, Honourable Minister of Communications, supported by Dr. Isa Ali Pantami Director General/CEO NITDA, representatives from NIRA, government and the Academia
At the ccTLD news session, the presentation from the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) “Creating Domestic Visibility for the .ng Brand”, was made by Mr. Adebiyi Oladipo, a member of the NiRA Board.
Additionally, there were sessions related to the evolution of ICANN policies such as WHOIS, in the light of new data protection rules emerging from the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These sessions provide opportunities for all to learn more about the work that is being done to adapt existing ICANN contractual requirements and community-developed policies in relation to data protection laws, including a potential model to enable access to non-public user registration data for legitimate purposes.