The ICANN Newcomer Program was launched in February 2011 at the Silicon Valley Meeting. In the beginning, any registered Newcomers to ICANN or to an ICANN meeting were told at Registration that there was a Newcomer Welcome Area to help them understand more about ICANN. The Welcome area was led by an alumni chosen for her knowledge and capacity to mentor, as she was an original fellow from San Juan, 2007, and part of the Registry community by virtue of managing .md. Other alumni volunteered all week to provide support and the feedback from the community was strongly supportive, so the decision was made to not only continue this initiative but enhance and grow it to a larger audience and purpose. Several months and one meeting later in Singapore, a day of sessions geared toward Newcomers was created, providing an overview of what an ICANN meeting is like, as well as some key information on current work in ICANN. The Sunday Newcomer Track is now part of each ICANN meeting, and continues to evolve to meet the needs of those just joining the ICANN community. Along with the growth of the Sunday program is the evolution of the Newcomer Welcome Area, which is now called the ICANN Booth and Newcomer Welcome Area. It is co-led by a member of ICANN Staff and a member of the Fellowship Alumni program (those who have participated in 2 or more meetings and are engaged in some level in the community), and staffed by volunteers from the Fellowship Alumni as well.
Main goals of the program are -
- Provide a starting point for Newcomers to understand what ICANN and the ICANN Community do, what the structures and processes are and how the system works, so they can engage in their first meeting as effectively as possible.
- Mentor, guide and provide satisfying information to Newcomers so they leave the ICANN meeting well informed and willing to come back.
Newcomers, as well as anyone attending the ICANN meetings, can join the Fellowship Morning meetings held Monday-Thursday of the ICANN meeting week, to accelerate their learning and participation. Many Newcomers who take part in the ICANN meeting through this program are future applicants for the Fellowship, and provide feedback to ICANN that having sessions and mentors devoted to them increased the possibility of continuing on with ICANN.
Please go to http://www.icann.org/en/about/participate/newcomers to hear from some previous Newcomers about the experience and provide any questions or comments regarding the program to janice.lange@icann.org.
