*ICANN is looking for volunteers to weigh in on who will get discounts when applying for Top Level Domains "to assure that the less-developed parts of the world are able to participate in the new Domain name program,²"* February 7, 2012

Volunteers Sought to Help Evaluate Generic Top-Level Domain Applicants Seeking Financial Support New Panel Will Help Expand Internet¹s Reach

http://www.icann.org/en/**announcements/announcement-3-**03feb12-en.htm<http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-3-03feb12-en.htm>

Marina del Rey, CaliforniaŠ The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is seeking volunteers who will assist in the evaluation of those organizations seeking financial support to apply for a new generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD).

³These volunteers will be key to ICANN¹s effort to assure that the less-developed parts of the world are able to participate in the new Domain name program,² said Kurt Pritz, Senior Vice President. ³The panel members will make a real impact in ensuring that the opportunities for innovation and economic development created by the Internet are open to everyone.²

The volunteers will be chosen for their background and experience in areas such as running a small business, operating in developing economies, analyzing business plans, serving in the public interest, managing a domain name registry service, or awarding grants.

The financial assistance component of the Applicant Support Program offers a limited number of qualifying applicants the opportunity to pay a reduced evaluation fee of $47,000 instead of the full evaluation fee of $185,000.

The selected volunteers will assist in the evaluation of financial support applicants in the context of established public interest, financial capabilities and financial need criteria as outlined in the ³Financial Assistance Handbook <http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/**applicants/candidate-support/** financial-assist<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/candidate-support/financial-assist> a nce-handbook-11jan12-en.pdf> .²

Those who are interested in applying, should review the criteria, time commitment and other expectations, which are detailed here: http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/**applicants/candidate-support/** sarp-eoi-request-<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/candidate-support/sarp-eoi-request-> 0 3feb12-en.pdf

### * To learn more about the Applicant Support Program, go here: http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/**applicants/candidate-support<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/candidate-support> . * To read the New gTLD Financial Assistance Handbook, go here: http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/**applicants/candidate-support/** financial-assista<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/candidate-support/financial-assista> n ce-handbook-11jan12-en.pdf * To learn more about the New gTLD program, go here: http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/**about/program/materials<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/about/program/materials>

*********************** Regards,

Heidi Ullrich, Silvia Vivanco, Matt Ashtiani, Gisella Gruber and Nathalie Peregrine ICANN At-Large Staff E-mail: staff@atlarge.icann.org

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