The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) marks the 15th anniversary of its flagship ICANN Fellowship Program, which has served as a gateway to participation in the Internet governance community for more than 800 fellows from 160 countries/territories. Launched in 2007 by ICANN, the international nonprofit that coordinates the Domain Name System and plays a key role in ensuring a global, interoperable, and secure Internet, the Fellowship introduces individuals from underserved and underrepresented communities from around the world to ICANN and the Internet governance community.
Fifteen years after its launch, the numbers highlight the enduring success of the ICANN Fellowship Program: More than 100 former fellows currently hold positions across the ICANN community and many more remain engaged within the broader Internet governance space. The goal of the program is for fellows to become active members of the ICANN community, thereby strengthening the diversity of the multistakeholder model that forms the bedrock of ICANN's technical Internet governance approach. It ensures that all relevant actors, from business, government, civil society, and other areas, work together in ICANN's consensus-driven policy-making process to maintain an open, secure, and resilient Internet. Through personal mentors and trainings fellows get acquainted with ICANN's multistakeholder model enabling them to participate in the technical Internet governance community.
"That many former fellows, all across the world, remain active members of the ICANN community speaks to the success of the Fellowship Program, Their dedication to ICANN's mission of preserving an Internet that is stable, secure, and global invigorates the ICANN community."
- Göran Marby, ICANN President and CEO.
ICANN Fellowships are awarded to selected applicants in conjunction with the three annual public meetings hosted by ICANN in different locations around the world. Fellows come from diverse backgrounds but have a shared interest in learning about Internet governance and ICANN's multistakeholder model.
"As the ICANN Fellowship Program turns 15, I am delighted that it has achieved the goals set a decade and a half ago, As it continues to evolve to meet future needs, I am confident that the program will keep providing opportunities for individuals from underserved and underrepresented communities to join the ICANN community and contribute meaningfully to the future of the Internet."
- Maarten Botterman, ICANN Board Chair.
About ICANN
ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you have to type an address - a name or a number - into your computer or other device. That address must be unique, so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation and a community with participants from all over the world.