1. ICANN: MISSION, STRUCTURE AND CONSTITUENCIES
Good Afternoon. Have privilege and honour to speak to you again; will be covering what ICANN does; the scale of operations it oversees and will then address the multi-stakeholder model which we work under.
ICANN: MISSION, STRUCTURE AND CONSTITUENCIES
Pierre Dandjinou, Vice President, Africa

2. What does ICANN do?
ICANN helps humans to connect to one another anywhere on the planet through the Internet. ICANN helps to support the linking system that allows devices to communicate. So that when you type ACME.COM you actually get to that website, which actually resides on another computers somewhere else in the world on the Internet.
For people to be able to get to one another, every domain name, every network address, and even names need to be unique.
This uniqueness is essential, otherwise there would be global confusion or a shattering of the unity of the Internet.
This is what keeps the Internet unified and whole and allows everything that wishes to connect to find each other.
What is the Internet?
What holds it together?
3 Golden Rings…
Next slide

3. Agenda
ICANN’s Mission
ICANN’s Structure
The Multi stakeholder policy making
Functions and Constituencies
Conclusion

4. One world. One internet.
Internet is governed by decentralized, international, multi-stakeholder groups. As one group, ICANN plays a vital role in managing the shared resource of Internet names and addresses. But there is a larger system that we are a part of….

5. What does ICANN do?
Kim / Naela start here (transition in conversation with VP at end of slide 12) and end at slide 18

6. Functions that ICANN Coordinates
Domain Name System (DNS)
Internet Protocol (IP) Address Allocation
Protocol-Parameter Registry
Root Server Systems
Generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLD) system management
Country-code Top-Level Domain Name (ccTLD) DNS
Time Zone Database Management
The coordination and management of IP addresses and domain names are carried out by a global technical community that operates under principles of inclusion, consensus, multistakeholder participation, bottom-up decision making processes, transparency and accountability. This has worked so well that these important features are for the most part invisible to the average user. In recent months, ICANN has emerged from relative obscurity to a spotlight on the world stage. This is due in large part to its new generic top-level domain program, through which it is “opening up the right side of the dot” to anyone interested in running a part of the Internet’s infrastructure.
Domain Name System was covered in the previous slide.
Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation: The allocation of Internet numbers such as IPv4, IPv6 and Autonomous System numbers are governed by the Global Policies that are defined and adopted by all five Regional Internet Registries and ICANN. These unique identifiers are fundamental components of a smoothly working Internet.
Protocol-Parameter Registry: The technical protocol parameters provide the technical standards and protocol registries which form the basis for creating products, applications and the core
infrastructure of the Internet. ICANN works closely with the IETF to administer and maintain these important registries.
Root Server Systems: The root zone is at the apex of the Domain Name System (DNS), and the information stored in the root zone file is used by almost all Internet applications. As the IANA Functions
Operator, ICANN maintains and validates the information that is accepted into the root zone is in keeping with the established policies and technical criteria. ICANN evaluates potential change requests and ensures the integrity of the information that is approved for the root zone.
Time Zone Database Management: In October 2011, ICANN took over management of the time zone database that is used by a large number of commercial operating systems and software applications. It had been managed by a group of dedicated volunteers for nearly 30 years until the IETF requested that ICANN take it over.

7. ICANN’s Operations
ICANN is structured to manage DNS, ensuring growth and stability of Internet
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
Supporting Organizations
Address
Country Code Names
Generic Names
Board of Directors Advisory Committees
At-Large
Governmental
DNS Root Server System
Security & Stability
Technical Advisory Bodies
Technical Liaison Group
Internet Engineering Task Force
ICANN’s structure allows it to plays many parts in the Internet Ecosystem, ensuring its growth and stability.
IANA - The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet Protocol addressing systems, as well as the Autonomous System Numbers used for routing Internet traffic and other technical parameters associated with Internet protocols. ICANN performs the IANA function under contract with the United States Department of Commerce.
An internationally diverse Board of Directors oversees the policy development process and ICANN governance. ICANN has three Supporting Organizations that develop and recommend policies concerning the Internet’s technical management within their areas of expertise. These are the Address Supporting Organization, the Country Code Names Supporting Organization and the Generic Names Supporting Organization. ICANN also has four Advisory Committees that serve as formal advisory bodies to the ICANN Board. They are made up of representatives from the Internet community to advise on a particular issue or policy area. ICANN Bylaws mandate four: At-Large Advisory Committee, DNS Root Server System Advisory Committee, Governmental Advisory Committee and Security and Stability Advisory Committee.
ICANN also has two technical advisory bodies, the Technical Liaison Group and the Internet Engineering Task Force. The Technical Liaison Group (TLG), consisting of four organizations: the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), the International Telecommunications Union's Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and the Internet Architecture Board (IAB). Annually, in rotation, one TLG organization appoints one non-voting liaison to the Board and one non-voting member to the Nominating Committee. (The IAB does not take a role in this rotation due to the participation of an IETF liaison.)
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) appoints a representative as a non-voting liaison to the ICANN Board of Directors. The organization develops and promotes a wide range of Internet standards dealing in particular with standards of the Internet protocol suite. Their technical documents influence the way people design, use and manage the Internet.

8. Multiple Stakeholders Create Policy
ICANN Board Approval
ICANN
Staff & Policy Making Process
Engineering and Technical Community, e.g. IETF
Governments and IGOs,
via GAC
This brings us to what we call the “multistakeholder model”.
Stakeholders, as mentioned before, can be any single one of us who uses or is affected by the Internet. They also include companies, governments, non-profit and educational organizations, and also the organizations that make everything work – the registries you buy domain names from, for example. All of them must rely on advice from technical experts, who form another category of stakeholder.
The important point about the model is that everyone has a voice, but no one has a veto.
No one category of stakeholder is in charge. ICANN coordinates, but it does not control the outcomes. They are entirely driven by what the stakeholders ask – and what they work toward under ICANN’s consensus-building model.
This model has allowed the Internet to expand and flourish very rapidly. It has accelerated economic growth and it has brought social and economic benefits to its many users.
Civil Society,
e.g
At-Large
Registries and Registrars, e.g. ccTLDs and gTLDs
Numbering and Addressing Organizations
Security and Stability Advisors, e.g. Root Server Operators
Business, NGOs and
Non Profit Organizations

9. Thank You & Questions?

10. Pierre Dandjinou VP, Africa Pierre.dandjinou@icann.org