Next week, several of us will be in Paris for the 32nd Annual International Public ICANN meeting. As I’ve mentioned before, ICANN meetings afford us a unique opportunity to meet registries, vendors, customers and other registrars, all in one central location. A great deal of policy discussion also takes place, as does a meeting of the ICANN Registrar Constituency, of which Tucows is a member and is heavily involved.

Among the “hot-button” topics that are sure to be discussed in detail at the meeting:

• IPv6: As the number of available IP addresses under IPv4 continues to shrink, the importance of IPv6 adoption worldwide will continue to grow.
• New TLDs: Although details are still fuzzy, it is widely expected that a number of new TLDs will be introduced in the coming years. What types of TLDs are introduced and the process by which they are chosen will be discussed in detail at this meeting.
• Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs): IDNs allow international users to use web addresses in their native script, but adoption and standards thus far have been spotty and inconsistent. The need for greater adoption and standards will be discussed.
• The future of ICANN: ICANN’s role in the management of the domain name system is sure to be a major topic of discussion as its current agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce nears its conclusion in 2009.

All signs point to the meeting being very well-attended, which will allow me to connect with even more partners, customers and vendors (particularly those based in Europe) than most conferences. In fact, my schedule from Monday through Friday is already booked solid with meetings, sessions and workshops—a telltale sign that I’m in for an extremely busy week!

You can visit the ICANN Paris Public Participation website for more information on the upcoming meeting. If you plan to be in Paris and would like to say hello, please be sure to let us know.