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ICANN Fellowship Terms and Conditions
ICANN Fellowship Program
Last Updated: 23 July 2020
Previous Fellowship Process and Terms
Application Process
The only way to apply for an ICANN fellowship is through the online application system. The online application form must be written in English. If English is not your first language, you are encouraged to translate your responses into English for the application.
Once you start the online application, you will have until the application round closes to submit the completed form.
Please take note of the application closing dates listed at
http://icann.org/en/fellowships/
. Active but incomplete applications will NOT be considered once application window is closed.
The Fellowship Program supports approximately 45 participants per ICANN Public Meeting, inclusive of newcomers, returning alumni, and mentors. The ICANN Policy Forum is open only to Fellowship Program alumni who are actively engaged in ICANN org's multi-stakeholder community. A successful candidate can receive a fellowship up to three times.
A
selection committee
reviews all eligible applications and is made up of representatives nominated by their Supporting Organizations (SO) or Advisory Committees (AC) (collectively the "Selection Committee"). The Selection Committee assesses each application according to the
ICANN Fellowship Applicant Selection Criteria
and will take into account comments from ICANN organization members on individual applications, the overall needs for each region and community group in ICANN org's multi-stakeholder model. Confidentiality is a crucial component of the selection process. During the review and selection process, the Selection Committee may have access to confidential information, including, but not limited to, your personal information, such as education history, employment history and information you choose to provide in your application. During the course of evaluating your application, ICANN org may also collect opinions, discussions, assessments results, and recommendations concerning your qualifications for the fellow position. You agree that this information is confidential to ICANN org and will not be shared with anyone during and following the selection process, except where the disclosure is required by applicable law.
Members of the Selection Committee may reside in locations outside of the United States or your country of residence and are committed to protecting and keeping each applicant's personal information confidential and in compliance with ICANN policies and applicable laws.
All successful candidates are announced on the ICANN website, within approximately eight (8) weeks after the online application process closes; actual dates of when successful candidates will be announced are posted on the
Fellowship web page
. Successful candidates will receive a follow-up email to the e-mail address provided on their application and confirmation letter sent to the same email address at the time of the announcement. The confirmation letter must be returned within a week of receipt confirming a candidate's acceptance of the fellowship. If a candidate declines the fellowship, an established list of alternates will be used to fill the vacated position. Following acceptance of, and participation in the ICANN Fellowship Program, ICANN org will publish a list of the participants' names, country or region of residence and work sector/area on the
ICANN Fellowship Participants web page
.
Travel and Other Support Once Selected
Travel will be booked by ICANN org through its designated Travel Management Company. This method ensures the lowest trip cost and allows ICANN Travel Support to ensure the security and well-being of supported travelers.
ICANN org will not purchase any travel tickets for a fellow unless they are in receipt and can show proof of all valid travel documents: passport and required final destination and transit visas.
ICANN org shall not be liable for any loss or expenses (including airfares) for travel delays incurred by the fellow as a result of inaccurate information provided by the fellow, delays in submitting the appropriate forms to the relevant authorities or refusals of host or transit country authorities to grant a visa to the fellow.
ICANN org will cover the cost of the lowest fare available economy airfare at the time of booking based on the fellow's approved dates of arrival and departure as provided in a separate email sent by ICANN Travel Support titled "Welcome Email". For the compete travel guidelines on air transportation booking, please refer to the
ICANN Community Travel Support Guidelines
.
ICANN org will book and pay for a standard room (king or queen) on the fellow's behalf based on a single occupancy. Fellows are not allowed to self-book their hotel reservation. Any and all hotel surcharges (e.g., telephone calls, room service, laundry, movies) and other incidental expenses are the responsibility of the fellow. The hotel may request a credit card or cash deposit from the fellow to guarantee these expenses.
For ICANN meetings, a stipend not to exceed USD 500.00 will be provided to offset reasonable individual expenses (such as meals, transport to/from the airport and incidentals). The stipend will be wired to the fellows once they have proven that they have received their visa (if necessary) and their flight booking has been completed by ICANN org's Travel Management Company. Therefore, if fellows want to guarantee receipt of their stipend prior to the meeting, they must meet both visa and flight requirements 30 days prior to the ICANN Meeting. Anything less than 30 days will mean that fellows may not receive their stipend
before the meeting
. Those fellows who satisfactorily complete all aspects of the program and submit the post-meeting survey, as further detailed in the Terms and Conditions document found on the ICANN Fellowship website page
https://www.icann.org/fellowshipprogram
, will receive a certificate of completion for the ICANN Fellowship Program.
ICANN org will reimburse costs incurred by fellows to obtain a visa up to USD 200.00 as allowed in the
ICANN Community Travel Support Guidelines
.
Fellows agree to the abide by the
ICANN Community Travel Support Guidelines
to determine the level and amount of travel support provided by ICANN org and acknowledge the responsibilities shared with the fellows.
National Laws and Legislation
During the travel period covered under the ICANN Fellowship Program, it is the fellow's responsibility to comply with all local laws and legislation of the country or countries to which he or she will travel (including but not limited to laws pertaining to immigration, taxation, customs, employment and foreign exchange control).
It is the fellow's responsibility to comply with all regulations (including those dealing with visas and required vaccinations) of any country visited.
ICANN org is not responsible for obtaining visas for fellows, but MAY assist with communications regarding the visas, including a form invitation letter to the ICANN meeting for which the fellow has been granted a fellowship.
ICANN will not entertain any claim for work permits or any other costs relating to compliance with the national legislation of any country in the world from a fellow or any third party.
ICANN org is a California non-profit public benefit corporation incorporated in the United States and must therefore comply with all of the laws and regulations of California and the United States.
Required Travel Documents
Each selected fellow must be in possession of a valid passport prior to ICANN org booking any travel (airfare and hotel).
Travel documents as required by the fellow's country of origin or the country hosting the meeting. Destination visas and transit visas may be required to connect in certain cities or countries. Fellows should check with their local consulate agency.
Fellows should always carry proof of health insurance. Insurance is NOT supplied by ICANN org.
All travel documents must be consistent with the name on the fellow's valid passport.
Personal Safety and Health
It is the sole and exclusive responsibility of the fellow to acquire and pay for any and all insurance, including, but not limited to travel insurance.
ICANN is not responsible for the personal health, safety or belongings of the fellow.
Each fellow is exclusively responsible for maintaining his or her personal health and safety during the period of the fellowship.
ICANN strongly suggests that fellows consult and comply with the views of the diplomatic and consular authorities of the country of their nationality in respect of travel conditions and safety of travelers applicable in the countries to be visited under this fellowship. It is not ICANN's responsibility to inform or provide advice to applicants or fellows about travel conditions or safety of travelers.
If the fellow makes a decision not to travel to the ICANN meeting following the advice of relevant authorities, the fellow must immediately advise the ICANN Fellowship Program administrator. ICANN will then make a determination whether to terminate the fellowship for that meeting.
ICANN also strongly suggests that fellows seek guidance from qualified health personnel concerning potential health risks in the areas to be visited. In preparing for a trip, fellows should receive, at their own expense, all required and recommended immunizations and take malaria prophylaxis if traveling to an area where malaria is endemic.
BE AWARE THAT SOME TRANSIT REGIONS MAY ALSO REQUIRE CERTAIN VACCINATIONS OR LAPSE TIME IN TRAVEL DUE TO YOUR REGION OF ORIGIN.
Required Post Meeting Reporting
Each fellow is required to complete a post-meeting survey within two weeks following the conclusion of the ICANN Meeting. The survey will gather details about the fellow's experiences in the Fellowship Program as well as his or her thoughts on future contributions to the ICANN community and processes.
Deferment
Applicants must re-apply for each fellowship round. The only exception is if the applicant is unable to obtain a visa for the meeting for which he or she was accepted, the Selection Committee can choose to defer the applicant's acceptance to the next eligible meeting, provided it is in the same fiscal year.
Failure to Comply with Terms
Please note that if a fellow chooses to not comply with any one of the above mentioned terms of the ICANN Fellowship Program, ICANN reserves the right to determine the appropriate course of action including, but not limited to: (i) terminating the fellowship prior to the end of a meeting; (ii) causing the fellow's early departure from the program and ICANN Meeting; (iii) and/or asking the fellow to cover costs for expenditures.
Privacy Policy
ICANN respects the protection and privacy of personal information. ICANN will process each candidate's personal information as explained in ICANN's privacy policy. The ICANN Privacy Policy is available
here
.
ICANN is not responsible for profile content or verification of user details.
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About ICANN
If you're new to ICANN, this page is for you. It contains resources to help you quickly understand who we are and what we do.
Overview
ICANN is a California-based nonprofit, public-benefit organization accountable to a global community of stakeholders. Its enduring mission is to ensure the stable, secure operation of the Internet's unique identifier systems. ICANN's primary responsibilities include helping coordinate the Internet's unique identifiers – domain names and numbers that comprise the Internet's "address book" and ensure that users reach the right computer or device. As a part of this, ICANN coordinates the root zone of the Domain Name System (DNS) and performs IANA functions, specifically, the management of Internet domain names, numbers, and protocol assignments.
ICANN follows a multistakeholder model in which individuals, businesses, civil society, governments, and technologists play important roles in its community-based, consensus-driven, policymaking approach. ICANN includes a community of volunteers on topics ranging from technical Internet governance and policy development to programs that have enabled the secure expansion of the DNS to more than 1,200 generic top-level domains (gTLDs). Another expansion through the New gTLD Program: Next Round is planned for 2026, giving businesses, communities and other organizations the chance to create an online space tailored to their audience, culture, or region.
ICANN is also working to ensure the Universal Acceptance of all domain names, regardless of language or script, in all Internet-enabled devices so everyone can communicate using a domain name and email address that best suits their needs. ICANN was formed in 1998 and its history traces back to the creation and evolution of the Internet itself. Learn more about ICANN's history, as well as interesting Internet facts and milestones at
https://www.icann.org/en/history
.
What Does ICANN Do?
Click to open the full PDF
.
10 Key Facts About ICANN
ICANN is open and free to everyone.
There are "
keys
" to the Internet that are changed regularly.
ICANN's staff
, approximately 450 people, are based in more than 33 countries and speak over 40 languages fluently.
The Internet is a network of networks – no one person or entity controls it.
ICANN coordinates the Internet's unique identifiers including billions of domain names and IP addresses. These are critical elements used for Internet communication in every country in the world.
More than 1,200 new gTLDs have been delegated into the root zone.
151 IDN TLDs
have been delegated in 37 languages and 23 scripts.
ICANN coordinates the world's
time zone database
used in locales across the world.
The Internet has been up and running smoothly for several decades without fail, even as it has experienced significant growth in users and traffic.
ICANN is not the
Internet content police
.
Learn More About ICANN
Learn more about our history, what we do, how we work, and how your talents, expertise, and enthusiasm can help advance ICANN's mission in your region and globally.
The History of ICANN
- Discover ICANN's history, which traces back to the creation and the evolution of the Internet itself.
ICANN for Beginners
- New to ICANN? Find valuable information to help you get started on your ICANN journey. Explore our learning courses, infographics, videos, and other resources.
New gTLD Program: 2026 Round
- The New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round is
an ICANN initiative
to enable the expansion of the Internet's Domain Name System (DNS) through the introduction of new top-level domains.
ICANN Shorthand - A
multilingual glossary
is available to help people navigate many industry acronyms and terms.
ICANN Invites You to Participate
If you have an interest in ICANN and topics related to global Internet policy and the Domain Name System, we encourage you to participate. ICANN provides many online forums and through its Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees (SOs and ACs) including the following:
Address Supporting Organization (
ASO
)
At-Large Advisory Committee (
ALAC
)
Country Code Domain Name Supporting Organization (
ccNSO
)
Generic Names Supporting Organization (
GNSO
)
Governmental Advisory Committee (
GAC
)
Root Server System Advisory Committee (
RSSAC
)
Security and Stability Advisory Committee (
SSAC
)
ICANN on Social Media
@icann
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instgram.com/icann.org
ICANN is not responsible for profile content or verification of user details.
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Domain Name System
Internationalized Domain Name ,IDN,"IDNs are domain names that include characters used in the local representation of languages that are not written with the twenty-six letters of the basic Latin alphabet ""a-z"". An IDN can contain Latin letters with diacritical marks, as required by many European languages, or may consist of characters from non-Latin scripts such as Arabic or Chinese. Many languages also use other types of digits than the European ""0-9"". The basic Latin alphabet together with the European-Arabic digits are, for the purpose of domain names, termed ""ASCII characters"" (ASCII = American Standard Code for Information Interchange). These are also included in the broader range of ""Unicode characters"" that provides the basis for IDNs. The ""hostname rule"" requires that all domain names of the type under consideration here are stored in the DNS using only the ASCII characters listed above, with the one further addition of the hyphen ""-"". The Unicode form of an IDN therefore requires special encoding before it is entered into the DNS. The following terminology is used when distinguishing between these forms: A domain name consists of a series of ""labels"" (separated by ""dots""). The ASCII form of an IDN label is termed an ""A-label"". All operations defined in the DNS protocol use A-labels exclusively. The Unicode form, which a user expects to be displayed, is termed a ""U-label"". The difference may be illustrated with the Hindi word for ""test"" — परीका — appearing here as a U-label would (in the Devanagari script). A special form of ""ASCII compatible encoding"" (abbreviated ACE) is applied to this to produce the corresponding A-label: xn--11b5bs1di. A domain name that only includes ASCII letters, digits, and hyphens is termed an ""LDH label"". Although the definitions of A-labels and LDH-labels overlap, a name consisting exclusively of LDH labels, such as""icann.org"" is not an IDN."