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Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

WELCOME CEREMONY
ICANN MEETING
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL
4 DECEMBER 2006

[ BRAZILIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM. ]

>>VINT CERF: GOOD MORNING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

MY NAME IS VINT CERF, I AM CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF ICANN.

AND AS YOU CAN TELL, THE AMAZING HOSPITALITY OF BRAZIL HAS LEFT ME SPEECHLESS.

[ LAUGHTER ]

>>VINT CERF: IT'S AN HONOR TO BE ON THIS DAIS THIS MORNING TO OPEN THE 27TH MEETING OF ICANN.

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT WE HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET HERE IN BRAZIL.

WE HAVE A VERY, VERY AMBITIOUS AGENDA THIS WEEK, AND IT'S THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, AS YOU KNOW, SO WE HAVE A VERY, VERY FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS.

SO I'M GOING TO FIRST THANK SECRETARY GADELHA FOR HIS PRESENCE HERE THIS MORNING AND ASK THAT MY COLLEAGUE, PAUL TWOMEY, THE CEO OF ICANN, CONTINUE WITH BRIEF OPENING REMARKS, BECAUSE I HAVE RUN OUT OF SPEECH.

>>PAUL TWOMEY: THANK YOU, VINT, AND GOOD MORNING, EVERYBODY.

I RARELY GET TO HAVE THE LAST WORD AFTER VINT, SO I SHALL ENJOY THE SITUATION.

I'D LIKE TO ALSO ADD MY THANKS AND WARM WELCOME TO PEOPLE WHO ARE PARTICIPATING AND TO OUR BRAZILIAN HOSTS.

I WILL COME BACK TO THAT A LITTLE LATER.

BUT MAY I FIRST INTRODUCE THE GUEST OF HONOR AND OUR KEY HOST, IF YOU LIKE.

AND I'LL ASK SECRETARY GADELHA TO SPEAK AND THEN I WILL ALSO MAKE SOME COMMENTS AFTER THAT.

SECRETARY AUGUSTO CESAR GADELHA VIEIRA IS AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER AND HOLDS A PH.D. AT THE STANFORD UNIVERSITY, WHERE HE STUDIED AT THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS LAB.

HE IS A PROFESSOR AT THE FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF RIO DE JANEIRO.

HE'S HAD MANAGING POSITIONS AT THE NATIONAL LABORATORY OF SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING FOR 14 YEARS.

IN THESE DAYS, HE IS THE SECRETARY FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POLICY AT THE MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.

AND AS THOSE OF US WHO KNOW THE INTERNET IN BRAZIL KNOW, THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT POSITION.

HE IS THE COORDINATOR OF THE BRAZILIAN INTERNET STEERING COMMITTEE.

SECRETARY GADELHA, WE'RE VERY PLEASED TO BE HERE, AND WE'D ASK YOU TO ADDRESS OUR AUDIENCE.

>>MR. GADELHA: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DR. TWOMEY.

GOOD MORNING TO EVERYBODY.

I WILL DO MY ADDRESS TO YOU IN PORTUGUESE.

SO I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GOOD TRANSLATION.

AS THE SECRETARY OF SCIENCE AND COMPUTER INFORMATION POLICIES OF THE MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, AND I'M ALSO IN CHARGE OF THE BRAZILIAN INTERNET STEERING COMMITTEE.

ON BEHALF OF THE BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT AS WELL AS THIS STEERING COMMITTEE, I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME YOU ALL TO THIS CONFERENCE.

MOST SPECIFICALLY, I WOULD LIKE TO GREET ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE FOR ICANN, THROUGH ITS CEO, DR. VINTON CERF, WHOSE CONTRIBUTION TO CREATE AND TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN BRAZIL IS ACKNOWLEDGED BY EVERYONE PRESENT HERE.

AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO GREET THE WHOLE TEAM OF ICANN, THROUGH THEIR CEO, DR. PAUL TWOMEY.

I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE ALL THE MEMBERS OF GAC AND ALL THE CONSTITUENTS, ALL THE GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES, THE PRESS, THE MEDIA, AS WELL AS THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING US THROUGHOUT THE WEB.

WE ARE DEEPLY HONORED FOR THIS PRIVILEGE TO HAVE YOU HERE IN THIS 27TH ICANN MEETING.

I'D LIKE TO THANK ICANN AND ALL THE COUNTRIES THAT ARE PART OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN FOR ALL THE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE THAT YOU HAD ON US TO HOST THIS MEETING FOR THE SECOND TIME IN BRAZIL.

I HOPE THAT WE CAN REALLY BE VERY -- HAVE A LOT OF HOSPITALITY TO YOU THROUGHOUT THE SIX OR SEVEN DAYS OF THIS EVENT, WITH A LOT OF FRATERNITY HAPPENING, WHICH IS ONE OF THE FEATURES THAT IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE BRAZILIAN PEOPLE.

THE MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, PROFESSOR DR. SERGIO RESENDE, WHO IS NOT HERE IN THIS OPENING CEREMONY, HE WOULD LIKE SO MUCH TO BE HERE PERSONALLY TO WELCOME, BUT, UNFORTUNATELY, HE HAD SOME APPOINTMENTS THAT HE COULD NOT POSTPONE.

THEREFORE, HE COULD NOT COME HERE THIS MORNING.

HOWEVER, HE HAD ASKED ME TO TELL YOU THAT HE GREETS YOU AND HE WISHES THAT YOU HAVE A SUCCESSFUL JOURNEY OF WORK AND TASKS THAT WILL BE DEVELOPED HERE DURING THIS WEEK.

AND HE ACKNOWLEDGES HOW IMPORTANT IT IS ICANN AND ITS CONSTITUENCY AND THAT THE MANAGEMENT OF THE PROGRESS OF INTERNET IS SOMETHING ESSENTIAL AND RELEVANT TO BRAZIL.

AND BRAZIL IN SUCH A SCENARIO IS NOT INTERESTED ONLY TO HIS GOVERNMENT, BUT ALSO TO HIS CIVIL SOCIETY THAT IS HIGHLY ACTIVE IN THE INTERNET.

BRAZIL IS EXTREMELY CONCERNED ABOUT GOVERNANCE ISSUES AND THE DEVELOPMENT IN THE INTERNET.

WE HAVE BEEN SUPPORTING AND PARTICIPATING ACTIVELY IN ALL FORUMS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDRESSING THOSE ISSUES.

MORE SPECIFICALLY, WE HAVE TODAY TWO BRAZILIANS TAKING PART AT THE STEERING COMMITTEE AT ICANN BOARD AND WHO HAVE BEEN PRESENT AND VERY ACTIVE AT WSIS IN GENEVA AND TUNIS AND THE FIRST MEETING GIVEN BY THE IGF IN ATHENS, GREECE.

THEREFORE, THE MEETING BEING EXECUTED IN BRAZIL, AS WELL AS THE ICANN MEETING, AS WELL AS THE NEXT MEETING OF INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM NEXT YEAR, NOVEMBER, IN RIO DE JANEIRO, ALL OF THESE EVENTS ARE OF EXTREME IMPORTANCE TO ALL OF US IN OUR COUNTRY.

THE GOVERNANCE OF THE DOMAIN .BR IS EXECUTED BY THE CGI.BR, WHICH IS THE BRAZILIAN INTERNATIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE.

HOWEVER, THE MISSION OF THIS STEERING COMMITTEE IS MUCH BROADER AND COMPREHENSIVE THAN ANY ATTRIBUTION TO NUMBERS OR NAMES.

ITS MISSION WOULD INCLUDE, AMONG OTHER ACTIONS, THE SUPPORT TO PROJECTS OF DIGITAL INCLUSION, EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS OF THE SOCIETY ABOUT THE APPROPRIATE AND ADEQUATE USE OF THE INTERNET AND HOW TO DEFEAT AGAINST SOME ATTEMPTS OF SAFENESS AND SPAMS, TO SET STRATEGIC GUIDELINES RELATED TO THE USE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN THIS COUNTRY, IN BRAZIL, TO PROMOTE TRIALS AND TECHNICAL STANDARDS TO ENSURE SAFETY IN THE NETWORK SERVICES IN THIS COUNTRY, THE COLLECTION, ORGANIZATION, AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ABOUT WEB SERVICES, INCLUDING INDICATORS AND STATISTICS, AS WELL AS COOPERATIVE ACTIONS, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE ACTIONS, AND SUPPORT TO SOME OTHER CCTLDS THROUGHOUT THE TRANSFERENCE OF TECHNOLOGY AS WELL AS TRAINING.

IN THIS COMMITTEE, THEREFORE, THERE ARE NINE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND 12 OUT OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY, INCLUDING REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ENTREPRENEUR SECTOR, FROM THE THIRD SECTOR, AND FROM THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL COMMUNITY, THAT HAVE BEEN NAMED AMONG THEIR OWN GROUPS.

THEREFORE, THIS IS A REPRESENTATIVE FORUM OF MULTISTAKEHOLDERS.

WE DECIDED TO BUILD THE INTERNET GOVERNANCE IN BRAZIL AMONG THE PRINCIPLES OF PLURALISM, TRANSPARENCE, AND DEMOCRACY.

THIS TYPE OF VISION THAT HAS GUIDED THE CONSTITUTION OF CGI.BR IS THE ONE THAT WE HAVE BEEN ADVOCATING AT INTERNATIONAL FORUMS.

WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS THE MODEL THAT CAN BE USED AS A REFERENCE TO ANY OTHER COUNTRIES.

HOWEVER, THE BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT UNDERSTANDS THAT THE WAY WE SHOULD MANAGE THE INTERNET RESOURCES IN EACH ONE OF THE COUNTRIES SHOULD RESPECT, ABOVE ALL, THE SELF-DETERMINATION OF EACH ONE OF US.

AND THIS CANNOT JUST SIMPLY BE TRANSLATED OR BE DESCRIBED INTO NATIONAL MODELS TO BE USED AS WORLDWIDE GOVERNANCE TO THE NETWORK.

THE BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT HAS ALSO BEEN ADVOCATING THAT THE BASIC RESOURCES OF THE NETWORK IN BRAZIL, SUCH AS THE NAMES OF DOMAIN AND I.P. ADDRESSES, THEY SHOULD BE ADDRESSED AS IN THE WELFARE OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.

IN FACT, THE DOMAIN NAMES THAT ARE PART OF THE CCTLD .BR ARE NOT COMMERCIALIZED.

SHARING INFORMATION, ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE, AND PROMOTION OF COOPERATIVE WORK, THIS IS THE TYPE OF AIM AND OBJECTIVES THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO FULLY ACHIEVE THROUGHOUT THIS WONDERFUL ACHIEVEMENT THAT WAS PERFORMED BY MANKIND, WHICH IS THE INTERNET, BY USING EXCESSIVE RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN DOMAIN NAMES.

STILL, THE BRAZILIAN INTERNET STEERING COMMITTEE CALLED OUR ATTENTION TO THOSE ACTIONS THAT ARE CRUCIAL AND ARE CONSIDERED TO BE OPERATED AND SAVED AS WELL TO THE BRAZILIAN NETWORK.

AND THESE ARE, FIRST OF ALL, WE SHOULD CREATE A CENTER OF SUPPORT AND EXCELLENCE TO SAVE TO INCIDENCES WHICH ARE ALSO CONSIDERED TO BE AN INTERNATIONAL REFERENCE TOWARDS THAT TOPIC.

SECOND, TO OPTIMIZE NATIONAL RESOURCES AS TO NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURES THROUGHOUT THE SUPPORT OF FIXING AND OPERATING SOME EXCHANGE TRAFFIC SITES AND SOME STRATEGIC SITES IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE BRAZILIAN CONSTITUTION.

SUPPORT TO RAISE INDICATORS FOR ITCS MAINTENANCE, NOT JUST NATIONAL, BUT ALSO INTERNATIONAL, THAT WILL FORM AND INTERFERE IN THE FIELD, SUPPORT TO SOME OTHER PROJECTS THAT COULD LEVERAGE THE ICTS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE COUNTRY, INCLUDING SCIENTIFICAL, TECHNICAL EVENTS, THE COLLABORATION, TOGETHER WITH SOME OTHER COUNTRIES, PART OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS OF DOMAIN NAMES AND SAFETY IN THE NETWORK.

DOMAIN .BR IS BEING USED NOWADAYS BY 90% OF ALL THE DOMAINS WHICH ARE REGISTERED IN BRAZIL.

AND THEY AMOUNT TO OVER ONE MILLION DOMAINS .BR.

HOWEVER, WE HAVE STILL A LONG PATH TO GO AND TO ACHIEVE A NUMBER OF OBJECTIVES IN TERMS TO GLOBALIZE AND UNIVERSALIZE THE USE OF INTERNET IN BRAZIL.

CURRENTLY, JUST 28% OF THE POPULATION, SOMETHING AROUND 43 MILLION BRAZILIANS, HAVE ACCESS TO INTERNET IN BRAZIL, AND JUST 40% OF THEM ARE ABLE TO ACCESS INTERNET BY THEIR HOMES.

IF WE TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT 67% OF OUR POPULATION THAT REPRESENTS SOMETHING AROUND 102 MILLION PEOPLE WHICH ARE NOT EFFECTIVELY CONNECTED TO INTERNET, IT'S QUITE NORMAL TO EXPECT THAT THE BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT SHOULD HAVE AS A PRIORITY THE PROMOTION OF SOCIAL AND DIGITAL INCLUSION.

IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THAT OBJECTIVE, THE BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN DEVELOPING SOME PROJECTS IN ORDER TO UNIVERSALIZE ACCESS TO BROADBAND.

OTHERWISE, WE WON'T BE ABLE TO HAVE A REAL DIGITAL INCLUSION OF THE POPULATION BEING INSERTED IN THE MODERN SOCIETY OF INFORMATION.

BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT BELIEVES THAT MULTISTRUCTURES THAT FOLLOW TRANSPARENCY AND DEMOCRACY IN THE GOVERNANCE OF INTERNET ARE JUST ESSENTIAL TO GREATER SOCIETY OF INFORMATION THAT SHOULD BE CENTRALIZED ON THE PEOPLE AND GUIDED TO THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AIMING TO BE IDEALIZED BY THE WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY.

TO OVERCOME THE DIGITAL GAP IS NEVER THE LAST HUGE CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVE TO FACE NOWADAYS.

HOWEVER, THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER LARGE CHALLENGES IN CREATING A FAIR, EQUITABLE, MODERN SOCIETY AND A SOCIETY THAT IS FOR KNOWLEDGE.

AND THEY HAVE ALL BEEN TOPICS IN SEVERAL INTERNATIONAL FORA.

WE ARE QUITE SURE THAT ICANN WILL FULFILL A ROLE THAT IS EXTREMELY RELEVANT IN TERMS TO IMPROVE INTERNET AND TO OVERCOME ANY SORT OF BARRIERS AND PROBLEMS ACTING STILL IN THIS ACT, AND WE WOULD LOVE TO BE PARTNERS IN THIS JOINT EFFORT.

WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ICANN, IN ORDER TO ENSURE A NETWORK THAT IS FULLY SAFE AND FROM AN OPERATIONAL STANDPOINT CAN BE STABLE, RELIABLE, AND INTEROPERATABLE GLOBALLY, WE EXPECT ICANN HAS EXPRESSED ITS CORE VALUES OF ITS NORMS AND STANDARDS THAT NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE ABOUT THOSE PUBLIC POLICIES, AND OUR RECOMMENDATIONS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BY ICANN THROUGHOUT THE GAC THAT IS ALSO REPRESENTED HERE IN THIS FORUM.

WITH THE GOVERNMENT AS WELL AS IN THE BRAZILIAN STEERING COMMITTEE, WE ARE FULLY AWARE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF ICANN IN THE INTERNET SCENARIO.

WE HOPE TO CREATE TOOLS AND MECHANISMS WITHIN WEB GOVERNANCE, TOOLS THAT CAN BE EXTREMELY EFFICIENT, COMPREHENSIVE, THAT COULD MEET ALL TYPE OF REQUIRED DEMANDS WHICH ARE EXPRESSED BY THE WSIS.

BUT MOREOVER, WE WOULD CONSIDER THAT ICANN CURRENTLY PERFORMS A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IN ORDER TO ENSURE STABILITY IN THE WORLDWIDE INTERNET ENVIRONMENT.

THIS FORUM IS BEING CARRIED OUT DUE TO THE SUPPORT OF SEVERAL SPONSORS AND PARTNERS WHO -- TO WHOM WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK DEEPLY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL THE CARRIERS: AFILIAS, PIR, VERISIGN, LACNIC, MICROSOFT, CISCO, NOMER.COM, LOCAWEB, NIC CHILE, NIC MEXICO, BRASIL TELECOM, IG, LOGICBOXES, SKENZO, CABASE, AND ICANNWIKI, THAT HAVE ASSOCIATED WITH US IN ORDER TO EXECUTE THIS 27TH ICANN MEETING.

I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE BRAZILIAN STEERING COMMITTEE OF INTERNET IN BRAZIL AND ICANN FOR THEIR CONFIDENCE AND THEIR HELP.

AND NOW THE TEAMS OFFER THE INFORMATION, CURRENT COORDINATION OF .BR AND ICANN AND ALL THE DEDICATION THAT ALL THESE COMMITTEES AND TEAMS HAVE REALLY PLAYED IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS EVENT COME TRUE.

I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THE GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES THAT HAD SUPPORTED THE EXECUTION OF THIS EVENT, SUCH AS SAO PAULO TOURISM, THE MINISTER OF TOURISM AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS.

FINALLY, I WISH YOU ALL A VERY FRUITFUL AND PLEASANT EVENT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

AND I HOPE THAT YOU FEEL THAT YOU ARE OUR FRIENDS, FRIENDS OF BRAZILIANS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH AND HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY.

[ APPLAUSE ]

>>PAUL TWOMEY: SECRETARY GADELHA, THANKS SO MUCH FOR THOSE THOUGHTS. I WONDER IF I MAY FIRST OF ALL SAY AS A FELLOW CITIZEN FROM THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE HOW PLEASED I AM TO BE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY THAT CELEBRATES THE SOUTHERN CROSS IN ITS FLAG AND NATIONAL SYMBOLS.

I WANT TO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR WORDS. I PARTICULARLY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR VERY CAREFUL AND SUPPORTIVE WORDS, AND FOR THE REAL IMPACT THAT YOUR PERSONAL LEADERSHIP HAS HAD ON SOME OF THE TOPICS THAT YOU DISCUSSED. THIS HAS BEEN A LANDMARK YEAR FOR THE INTERNET AND FOR ICANN.

2006 HAS SEEN MANY INTERNET-RELATED MEETINGS TAKING PLACE THROUGHOUT THIS YEAR, INCLUDING THE INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM IN ATHENS. AND YOU SPOKE ABOUT INTERNET GOVERNANCE, AND AS I SAID, I WOULD LIKE TO PERSONALLY THANK YOU FOR YOUR VERY CAREFUL AND SUPPORTIVE WORDS THERE.

AND WE CERTAINLY RECOGNIZE THE KEY ROLE OF CGI.BR AND OF YOUR LEADERSHIP, I THINK IN ENSURING A GOOD PATH FORWARD.

AND SO WE APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH.

I'D ALSO, WHILE WE'RE ON THAT TOPIC, WOULD PARTICULARLY LIKE TO THANK HARTMUT GLASER AND ANTONIO TAVARES AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CGI.BR, THE STEERING GROUP AND THE STAFF FOR OFFERING TO HOST THIS MEETING, PUTTING THE MEETING ON, SUPPORTING US.

THEY ARE TRUE FRIENDS IN NEED, AND AS USUAL HAVE DONE A VERY GOOD JOB.

I WAS ASKED SEVERAL TIMES BY PEOPLE AS WE WERE PREPARING FOR THIS MEETING DO THEY NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THIS, DO THEY NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THAT. AND I SAID THIS IS BRAZIL, YOU DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THOSE THINGS. IT'S ALL GOING TO BE FINE. AND IT'S PROVING TO BE THE CASE.

IN THIS MEETING HERE IN SAO PAULO THERE ARE SEVERAL, I THINK, KEY THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO TAKE PLACE THAT ARE WORTHY OF ATTENTION.

PERHAPS FIRST AND FOREMOST, I'D LIKE TO NOTE AND CONGRATULATE, EVEN, THAT HERE WE EXPECT THE FORMATION, AS WE HAVE FORMATION OF VARIOUS REGIONAL CONSTITUENCY GROUPINGS, I'M VERY PLEASED THAT WE HAVE SEEN THE FINALIZING WORK IN THE LAST 24 TO 48 HOURS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN REGIONAL AT-LARGE ORGANIZATION. AND I THINK IT'S QUITE APPROPRIATE THAT THE FORMATION OF, AS WE CALL IT, THE LAC RALO, ANOTHER ACRONYM TO ADD TO THE LARGE GROUP OF ACRONYMS THAT COME OUT OF ICANN. WE ARE VERY PLEASED THAT THAT ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN FORMED HERE AT A MEETING IN THE REGION AND IN BRAZIL.

IN THE HIGHLIGHTS -- SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SAO PAULO MEETING WILL BE CONTINUOUS WORK ON INTERNATIONALIZED DOMAIN NAMES, WHICH IS A KEY PRIORITY FOR ICANN AND FOR OTHERS TO ENABLE IN ITS OWN SMALL BUT IMPORTANT WAY TO SUPPORT A DNS FOR THE PEOPLE WORLDWIDE, AND ITS OWN SMALL BUT IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO A MULTILINGUAL INTERNET.

WE HAVE RECEIVED ALREADY SOME STATUS REPORTS ON THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS AND WE SHALL RECEIVE SOME MORE PUBLIC SESSIONS AND HOSTING AND TRAINING SESSIONS ON WHERE WE ARE ON IDNS, INCLUDING A LOT OF THE TECHNICAL ISSUES AND THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE IN THE IETF AS WELL AS POLICY WORK IN THE GNSO COUNCIL AND GENERAL -- SORT OF THE BROAD RANGE OF ISSUES HERE ON IDNS.

WE ALSO HAVE A WORKSHOP ON ANOTHER IMPORTANT TECHNICAL ROLL-OUT, IF YOU LIKE, WHICH IS ON IPV6. AND THE WORKSHOP WILL FOCUS ON HOW IT'S BEING DEPLOYED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

WE HAVE A PUBLIC FORUM OF THE GENERIC NAME SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION TO FOCUS ON ITS DRAFT FINAL REPORT OF ITS WORKING GROUP ON INTRODUCTION OF NEW TOP-LEVEL DOMAINS AND THIS IS AN IMPORTANT INITIATIVE THAT WE WILL SEE COME TO FRUITION, I EXPECT IN THE NEXT -- IN 2007. A VERY IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX AREA, AND ONE THAT NEEDS GOOD DISCUSSION AMONGST OUR COMMUNITY.

THERE IS AN OPEN FORUM TO DISCUSS AND SHARE OPINIONS RELATED TO TWO PROPOSED ACTIONS ON THE WHOIS SERVICE. ONE IS IMPLEMENTATION OF A NEW CONSENSUS POLICY INVOLVING WHOIS IN NATIONAL LAWS, AND SECONDLY A CONSIDERATION OF THE WHOIS TASK FORCE, PROPOSALS FOR MAKING CHANGES IN THE WHOIS SERVICES, AND THEY WILL BE IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS.

SIMILARLY THERE IS A WORKSHOP ON ASPECTS OF THE DOMAIN NAME MARKET AND THE WAY IN WHICH IT IS EVOLVING AND SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES IN THAT MARKETPLACE, BUILDING ON WORKSHOPS WE HAVE HAD IN PREVIOUS MEETINGS WHICH I THINK IS IMPORTANT FOR THE ONGOING EDUCATION OF ALL ABOUT THIS VERY FAST-MOVING AND VERY DYNAMIC MARKETPLACE.

FINALLY, THERE ARE SEVERAL IMPORTANT ASPECTS IN THIS MEETING OF EXPRESSIONS OF ICANN'S BOTTOM-UP MANAGEMENT AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT. ONE IS THE STRATEGIC PLAN. THIS MEETING IS -- BOARD MEETING AT THE END OF THIS WEEK IS EXPECTED TO FINALIZE THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS AND THE FINAL CONSULTATION PROCESS ON THAT WILL BE DURING THIS MEETING, BUILDING ON OUR ROLLING CONSULTATION PROCESS, BOTTOM-UP PROCESS ON OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.

WE WILL ALSO BE REPORTING ON THE OPERATIONAL PLAN FOR 2006/2007.

AND WE'LL ALSO BE JUST GIVING SOME QUICK INTRODUCTION OF WORK BEING DONE TO PREPARE THE FIRST ANNUAL REPORT WHICH WE HAVE UNDERTAKEN TO HAVE COMPLETED BY THE 31ST OF DECEMBER AS PART OF ICANN'S INCREASED AUTONOMY STEPS FOLLOWING THE SIGNATURE OF OUR JOINT PROJECT AGREEMENT IN SEPTEMBER, A MAJOR STEP FORWARD IN ICANN'S EVOLVING AUTONOMY AND SENSE OF DETERMINATION OF ITS OWN INTEREST AND AN EXPRESSION OF ICANN'S ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE INTERNATIONAL INTERNET COMMUNITY. NOT NECESSARILY TO ONE DEPARTMENT OF A PARTICULAR GOVERNMENT.

AND SO, IMPORTANTLY, THAT WORK IS BEING DONE.

I'D ALSO POINT OUT THAT THERE WILL BE CONSULTATIONS HERE ON -- ONGOING CONSULTATIVE WORK ON IMPROVING ICANN'S ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY, PARTICULARLY SOME MANAGEMENT OPERATING PRINCIPLES. AND THAT CONSULTATION WE'LL TALK FURTHER ABOUT IN THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS.

WE ALSO WILL BE EXPANDING AT THIS MEETING OUR VERY SUCCESSFUL TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES. THESE PEOPLE AT THE FRONT DESK HERE DO A HEROIC JOB, AND NOT ONLY FOR US BUT HAVE EXPANDED THEIR INFLUENCE ALSO INSIDE THE U.N. HAVING DONE A LOT OF WORK NOW FOR THE WORKING GROUP FOR INTERNET GOVERNANCE AND THE WSIS AND NOW THE INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM. AND AFTER FURTHER DIALOGUE WITH OUR PARTNERS HERE, THEY HAVE ACTUALLY EXPANDED THEIR BUSINESS AND WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH US TO EXPAND THE ABILITY FOR THIS SORT OF REALTIME TRANSCRIPTION ACROSS SEVERAL MEETINGS INSIDE THE ICANN CONTEXT AND WE THINK THAT WILL BE VERY HELPFUL.

SO TO COME TO CONCLUSION, SECRETARY GADELHA, AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO YOU, TO THE STEERING COMMITTEE, TO THE HOST. I PARTICULARLY WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE SPONSORS. YOU WENT THROUGH THEIR NAMES. I WON'T REPEAT THEM, BUT I WOULD PARTICULARLY LIKE TO THANK THE SPONSORS. I KNOW THAT FOR EVERYBODY WHO HOSTS ONE OF THESE MEETINGS, THEY MAKE A VERY IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION, AND I KNOW THE ICANN BOARD VERY MUCH APPRECIATES THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SUCCESS OF THE MEETINGS.

AND I LOOK FORWARD TO A VERY FRUITFUL AND VERY FULL WEEK OF DISCUSSIONS AMONGST THE ICANN COMMUNITY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

[ APPLAUSE ]

>>PAUL TWOMEY: SO VINT AND I ARE NOW MOVING ON TO A SHORT MEDIA CONFERENCE, WHICH I THINK IS GOING TO BE A ONE-HORSE -- A ONE-PERSON SHOW BY THE SOUNDS OF IT, AND THEN THERE WILL BE THE MEETING CONVENED WITH THE PUBLIC FORUM SESSION AT 10:30.

IN HERE.

THANK YOU.

[ APPLAUSE ].