The CIRA Technical Community Summit took place on March 7, 2025. This webpage is preserved for historical purposes.
CIRA will publish a final research report, which integrates perspectives and insights shared during the Summit, in mid-2025.
In the lead-up to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 Review, the in-person CIRA-hosted summit will bring a range of technical community members together to identify shared priorities for a strengthened and improved multistakeholder model of internet governance.
The summit’s agenda is driven by an original piece of research, currently in development, that aims to reflect members of the technical community’s priorities and concerns for evolving and improving multistakeholder internet governance. The draft research report was circulated to attendees in February 2025.
The summit will leverage the expertise and feedback of those in attendance to engage with and refine the research and associated recommendations. While the outcomes of the event won’t represent the views of the entirety of the technical community, we hope they can be used to strengthen advocacy for multistakeholder internet governance in the WSIS+20 Review and other key policy dialogues.
Tim Wu, Former White House Antitrust Advisor, Columbia Law School Professor, and author of The Curse of Bigness and The Attention Merchants, will be the keynote speaker. For more information on Tim Wu, please visit www.prhspeakers.com.
Please note that the summit is invite-only due to capacity constraints. We kindly ask that you do not circulate or share this link publicly.
About
Date: Friday, March 7, 2025 (the day before ICANN82 begins)
Time: 8:15 – 17:00 UTC-8 (Seattle local time)
Location:
Princessa Ballroom
Grand Hyatt Seattle
721 Pine Street
Seattle, Washington
(3-minute walk from ICANN82 venue)
Format: In-person only (no virtual or hybrid option available)
Key contact: [email protected]
The remaining speakers and panelists will be included in the program below upon confirmation.
Program
8:15
Registration and breakfast
9:00
Welcome to CIRA Technical Community Summit
Byron Holland, President & CEO, CIRA
9:10
Insights in action: Delving into research findings
An interactive overview of key findings and insights from the draft research report circulated to attendees ahead of the summit.
Sabrina Wilkinson, Internet Governance Manager, CIRA
9:30
Keynote presentation from Tim Wu and Q&A
Former White House Antitrust Advisor Tim Wu explores the tensions between multilateralism and multistakeholderism— and challenges within the multistakeholder model.
10:30
Coffee break
10:50
Interactive panel 1: Key challenges in multistakeholder internet governance
Panelists address key issues identified in the draft research report, sharing their perspectives on the ‘pain points’ in multistakeholder internet governance. They discuss how these challenges play out in practice and explore how they can uniquely impact the technical community.
Moderator: Jordan Carter, Internet Governance and Policy Director, auDA
Jennifer Chung, Vice-President, Policy, DotAsia Organisation
Sarah Wyld, Head of Policy & Privacy, Tucows
Everton Rodrigues, Expert Advisor, NIC.br
Polina Malaja, Policy Director, CENTR
Joyce Chen, Senior Advisor, Strategic Engagement, APNIC
12:15
Lunch
13:15
Afternoon keynotes: Regional & local spotlights on emerging challenges
Speakers provide a look-ahead on new or emerging challenges in multistakeholder internet governance within their regional or local contexts.
Andrew Lewela, CEO, KeNIC
Rocío de la Fuente, General Manager, LACTLD
13:45
Breakout tables: Revising and refining the draft recommendations
Reflecting on the day’s comments, in small groups, attendees review the draft report’s recommendations, discuss their alignment with views shared, and what specifications and revisions should be made.
Facilitator: Charles Noir, Vice-president, Community Investment, Policy & Advocacy, CIRA
15:00
Coffee break
15:20
Interactive panel 2: Turning recommendations into action, making and measuring progress
Panelists discuss and explore how to ensure the report’s recommendations lead to improved and evolved multistakeholder internet governance — and how progress can and should be measured.
Moderator: Molehe Wesi, CEO, ZADNA
Ashley Heineman, Director, Global Policy, GoDaddy
Chafic Chaya, Regional Manager, Public Policy and Government Affairs (Middle East), RIPE NCC
Boyoung Kim, General Researcher, KISA
Margarita Valdés, Legal and Business Director, NIC Chile
Elizabeth Bacon, Senior Director Policy & Privacy, Public Interest Registry
Declan McDermott, Policy & Regulatory Affairs Manager, .IE
16:40
Looking ahead to the WSIS +20 Review: Wrap up and next steps
Charles Noir, Vice-president, Community Investment, Policy & Advocacy, CIRA