Internet Governance Glossary - 7.2 Internet-focused Organizations
ICANN (established 1998) is an international multi-stakeholder organization with US government oversight responsible, at the overall level, for the administration of three sets of unique identifier systems for the internet: domain names, numerical Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and a third type that serves to identify so-called port and parameter numbers. ICANN has two channels through which civil society organisations (CSO) can participate in the "bottom-up policy development process": The Noncommercial Users Constituency (NCUC, http://ncdnhc.org/) and the At Large Community (http://www.atlarge.icann.org/) with the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC).
IANA (established 1988) is operated as a department of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and executes with high policy authority for IP number allocations some technical administrative functions on behalf of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and ICANN.
Unincorporated organization uniting the five regional Internet registries (RIR): AFRINIC, APNIC, LACNIC, ARIN and RIPE NCC
On the basis of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) the regional Internet registries (RIR) of the NRO undertake joint activities, including joint technical projects, liaison activities and policy co-ordination.
AFRINIC, the regional Internet registry (RIR) for the African region, was incorporated in Mauritius in 2004 to serve the African Community by providing professional and efficient management of Internet number technology usage and development, and promoting Internet self-governance.
APNIC was born 1993 and has become the regional Internet registry (RIR) for the Asia-Pacific region whose core activity is the allocation and registration of Internet number resources including in particular the allocation of blocks of IP (Internet Protocol) addresses.
ARIN, established 1997 as one of the five regional Internet registries (RIR), is incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia, USA.
RIPE NCC (established 1992 in Amsterdam) is an independent, not-for-profit membership organization and one of five regional Internet registries (RIRs) providing Internet resource allocations, registration services and coordination activities.
AfTLD, an association of ccTLD (country-code Top Level Domain) managers in the Africa region, was incorporated as a Mauritius non-profit organization in 2002.
APTLD is an organisation for ccTLD (country-code Top Level Domain) registries in Asia Pacific region originally established in 1998, and in 2003 legally established in Malaysia.
LACTLD was created 1998 as an association with the aim to represent the region´s interests in domain name issues, promoting Latin American and Caribbean integration, as well as becoming a platform for the cooperation and exchange of information and experiences amongst regional TLDs.
CENTR (formed in March 1998 and since 2006, registered as a NPO based in Brussels) is the European ccTLD organisation.
ISOC (established 1992) is an international non-profit organization that participates actively in Internet policy development processes and which has some governance roles in regard to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), providing the financial and legal framework for IETF's activities.
IETF (established 1986) though not being a legal entity develops and maintains the core fundamental technical standards of the Internet.
The IAB (established 1979/1984/1986/1992) today is a committee global in scope of the Internet Society (ISOC). It has a number of organisational governance responsibilities regarding the work of Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). In particular, it serves as the appeal body in regard to decisions in IETF's standardization process, and IAB is responsible for the appointment of liaison representatives representing IETF in the relationship to other standardization and Internet governance organizations.
IEEE (established 1963) is a professional association for technical engineering dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence and standards developing organization. Its objectives are the educational and technical advancement of electrical and electronic engineering, telecommunications, computer engineering and allied disciplines.
W3C (established 1994) is a multi-stakeholder standardization consortium focusing on website content formats and developing World Wide Web related standards.
The Web Foundation is a non-profit organization which was established 1009 by WWW inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and is devoted to achieving a world in which all people can use the Web to communicate, collaborate and innovate freely, building bridges across the divides that threaten our shared future.
The IGC was originally created 2003 in the context of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to provide a forum for discussion, advocacy, action, and for representation of civil society contributions in Internet governance processes which should be inclusive, people centered and development oriented. IGC is an important coordination body for civil society organizations (CSO) participation in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
ICDRI was founded 1998 as a non-profit center based in the United States with the overarching vision of equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities.
Institution/division dedicated to improving the security and resilience of computer systems and networks that is recognized as a trusted, authoritative organization the field of cybersecurity.