AruWSIG Toolkit

What is ICANN?

ICANN, or the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is a global multi-stakeholder organization that was created by the U.S. government and its Department of Commerce.[1] It coordinates the Internet DNS, IP addresses and autonomous system numbers, which involves a continued management of these evolving systems and the protocols that underlie them. While ICANN began in the U.S. government, it is now, and continues to be, an international, community-driven organization independent of any one government.[2] Their management of an interoperable Internet covers over 330 million domain names, the allocation of more than 4 billion network addresses, and the support of approximately 95 million DNS look-ups everyday across 240 countries.[3][4][5] ICANN collaborates with a variety of stakeholders including companies, individuals, and governments to ensure the continued success of the Internet. It holds meetings three times a year, switching the international location for each meeting; one of these serves as the annual general meeting when the new ICANN Board members take their seats.[6]

What is the DNS?

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the system used to translate alphanumeric domain names into Internet Protocol numbers. Simply put, the DNS converts the names typed in the Web browser address bar into IP addresses. It functions much like the Internet’s address book.

What is ICANNWiki?

ICANNWiki is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the Internet community's collaborative development of wiki articles on ICANN and Internet Governance-related topics. The wiki provides neutral, third-party information for ICANN meeting attendees and Internet citizens at large. It is an open platform governed by wiki values, such as Neutral Point of View, transparency, assuming good faith, and building together. The project is independent of ICANN, began in Portland, Oregon, USA. The following video provides a short introduction:

We help with the following:

• Demistify acronyms and concepts about Internet governance and ICANN

For example, ICANN stands for the ‘Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers’. Let’s visit that page on ICANNWiki!

• Introduce you to people you may want to know. Let’s visit Rebecca’s page. -Inspire and improve local resources and engagement, by co-hosting capacity development events and Edit-a-thons.
• Keep you current on what ICANN is working on with our conference-specific Quick Guides
• Keep the actors, issues and events within the Internet governance ecosystem in order, connected and easily accessible for better participation

What are we focused on right now?

• building local resources, such as: sw.icannwiki.org
  • This is done by engaging those interested in Internet governance (like you). We host editing events where you may translate English material to Swahili or build original content that is relevant to your region, city, etc.
  • Improving our existing content

How can you work with ICANNWiki to make the Internet a better place?

• • Host an Edit-a-thon to gauge your community’s interest
  • Gather a group of friends who are interested in translation or knowledge-building within the Internet governance world.

What are some other organizations you can get involved with?

• The Internet Society
• a local School of Internet Goverance
• The Internet Governance Forum
• Become a Fellow or NextGen member at ICANN