CIRA welcomes world Internet leaders to Toronto

.CA host to high-level global meeting on Internet governance

OTTAWA, Oct. 10, 2012 /CNW/ - The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (www.CIRA.ca), the organization that manages .CA, Canada's Top-level domain, is welcoming key Internet policy decision-makers from around the world to Toronto next week for ICANN 45, a high-level meeting that will help define the future of the Internet and how it will be governed.

"We are proud to have been chosen by ICANN to host this important forum," said Byron Holland, President and CEO of CIRA. "The Internet has become an integral part of the economic, political and social lives of all Canadians and we can't afford to ignore the issues and events that are influencing how it will operate in the decades to come."

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the organization responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers, including country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) such as .CA, generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) such as .COM and .ORG, and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help computers communicate over the Internet.

As part of its multi-stakeholder approach to the operation of the Internet, ICANN holds three meetings per year around the globe. The next one, ICANN 45, is taking place at Toronto's Westin Harbour Castle hotel from October 14 to 19.

ICANN 45 will feature meetings and panel sessions related to keeping the Internet open, secure, stable and interoperable, including:

• Opening keynote on Monday, October 15: Featuring the Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board, who will discuss the Government of Canada's efforts to promote digital openness and innovation through its Action Plan on Open Government.
• High Level Government Meeting on Monday, October 15: Where senior government officials will discuss preserving and improving the Internet's multi-stakeholder governance model, which is led by ICANN.
• The first public comments at an ICANN event by Fadi Chehadé, who was named ICANN's new President and CEO in June.
• New developments in the operation, security and infrastructure of the Internet, including internationalized domain names, new generic Top-Level Domains, IPv6, and the deployment of Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC).
• The ICANN 45 Gala, taking place October 17 at the CN Tower.

Anyone can attend ICANN 45. For more information or to register, please visit www.cira.ca/icann45/index.php.

About CIRA

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the Member-driven organization that manages Canada's .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada's Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally.

SOURCE: Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)

to attend an ICANN event or session, or to schedule an interview with Byron Holland or Fadi Chehadé, please contact:

Tanya O'Callaghan
Communications Manager, Canadian Internet Registration Authority
[phone] ext. 262
[email protected]

Leo Valiquette
inmedia Public Relations
[phone]
[email protected]