How to Apply for the ICANN Fellowship Program?

Your Funded Gateway to the Global Stage of Internet Governance
Everything You Need to Know — Who Qualifies, What It Covers, How to Apply, and How to Make the Most of Your Fellowship Experience

Three times a year, several thousand of the world’s most committed internet governance professionals gather at ICANN’s Public Meetings. These are the people who shape domain name policy, DNS security standards, digital rights frameworks, and the technical infrastructure that billions of internet users depend on. They come from every sector — government, civil society, technical community, academia, and industry — and from every corner of the globe.

For many of them, the journey to that meeting room began with a single decision: applying for the ICANN Fellowship Program.

The ICANN Fellowship Program is one of the most impactful and least-known opportunities in internet governance. It provides fully funded participation — flights, accommodation, registration, and daily expenses — for individuals from underserved and underrepresented communities to attend ICANN Public Meetings. More than travel support, it is an accelerated entry into one of the world’s most consequential policy communities.

If you have ever wanted to understand how the internet is governed, contribute to that governance, and build an international network of peers in the field, the ICANN Fellowship Program may be the single most important application you ever submit.

What the Fellowship Covers:  Round-trip economy airfare, hotel accommodation for the full meeting period, registration and access to all sessions, daily per diem for meals and incidentals, pre-meeting training workshops, a dedicated fellowship schedule and mentor, and access to the fellowship alumni network of 500+ professionals from 100+ countries.

What Is the ICANN Fellowship Program?

The ICANN Fellowship Program is ICANN’s flagship capacity building initiative for emerging internet governance professionals. Established to address the geographic and socioeconomic barriers that prevent many qualified individuals from participating in global internet governance, the program provides comprehensive support for selected fellows to attend one of ICANN’s three annual Public Meetings.

Each meeting runs for approximately a week and brings together the full multi-stakeholder community that participates in ICANN’s policy development processes — registrars, registry operators, governments, civil society organizations, technical experts, and individual internet users’ representatives. Fellows attend all sessions open to the general community, participate in dedicated fellowship training and orientation, and are paired with a mentor drawn from ICANN’s experienced community members.

The program has been running since the early 2000s and has produced a remarkable alumni community. Over 500 ICANN Fellows from more than 100 countries have participated, and the fellowship alumni network includes individuals now in senior positions at national telecommunications regulators, international organizations, civil society groups, academic institutions, and internet governance bodies around the world. The fellowship does not just provide access to a meeting — it provides entry into a community.

Fellowship by the Numbers:  500+ alumni from 100+ countries. 30-50 fellows selected per meeting. 3 meetings per year. Fellowship applications accepted 3-4 months before each meeting. All fellows receive fully funded participation — no out-of-pocket costs.

Who Can Apply for the ICANN Fellowship Program?

One of the most important and frequently misunderstood aspects of the ICANN Fellowship Program is its eligibility criteria. The program is explicitly designed to bring in people who would not otherwise be able to participate — which means the selection criteria intentionally favor applicants from regions and communities that are underrepresented in ICANN’s processes.

Geographic Priority

The ICANN Fellowship Program prioritizes applicants from developing regions where internet governance participation is limited by economic barriers. This includes Africa, Asia Pacific (particularly Pacific Island nations and South and Southeast Asia), Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Applicants from highly developed economies with well-resourced domestic internet governance communities are generally not eligible, as the program focuses on filling specific geographic gaps in community representation.

Within priority regions, ICANN also gives consideration to geographic distribution across the region — not just the applicant’s individual country, but ensuring that the fellowship cohort represents diverse countries within each region rather than concentrating fellows from the same few nations meeting after meeting.

Background and Expertise

The fellowship is not exclusively for technical experts or professional policy specialists. ICANN actively seeks fellows from diverse professional backgrounds because internet governance requires diverse expertise: policy analysts, lawyers, civil society advocates, network engineers, academics, journalists, government officials, and engaged private sector professionals all bring valuable perspectives to ICANN’s policy processes.

What matters is genuine demonstrated interest in internet governance — not a credential or a job title, but evidence that you have engaged with internet governance issues in some meaningful way and that you understand what ICANN does and why it matters. This might be demonstrated through your professional work, civil society involvement, academic research, writing or publication, or community engagement on internet-related policy issues.

Organizational Affiliation and Individual Applicants

Applicants can be affiliated with any organization working in the internet governance space — civil society groups, academic institutions, government agencies, regional internet organizations, or non-commercial user communities. However, applicants affiliated with ICANN-contracted parties — registrars and registry operators — are generally not eligible, as those organizations are expected to fund their own participation through commercial revenues.

Individual applicants who are not affiliated with any organization can also apply, particularly if they are engaged in internet governance through personal advocacy, research, or community work. ICANN’s selection committee evaluates the substance of the application — the quality of the engagement and the potential contribution to the fellowship cohort — not just the prestige of the applicant’s organizational affiliation.

The ICANN Fellowship Application Process: Step by Step

The application process for the ICANN Fellowship Program is straightforward but requires genuine preparation. A rushed or superficial application is unlikely to succeed in a competitive pool. Here is the complete process.

Find the Application Window for Your Target Meeting ICANN holds three Public Meetings per year, typically labeled by number (e.g., ICANN82, ICANN83 and so on). Fellowship applications open approximately 3 to 4 months before each meeting. Check the fellowship page at icann.org/fellowships regularly — or subscribe to ICANN’s community announcements — so you know when applications open for the meeting you want to target.

Review the Eligibility Criteria Before investing time in your application, confirm that you meet the eligibility criteria for your target meeting. Geographic eligibility varies by meeting, and ICANN sometimes designates specific regional priorities for each cohort. Read the eligibility guidelines for the specific meeting cycle you are applying for — do not assume they are identical to previous cycles.

Prepare Your Personal Statement The personal statement is the heart of your application and the factor that most differentiates successful from unsuccessful applications. It should explain three things clearly: what your background is and how it connects to internet governance; what specific aspects of ICANN’s work you want to engage with and why; and what you will bring back to your community from the fellowship experience. Be specific, concrete, and honest. Generic statements about wanting to learn about the internet will not be competitive. Reviewers are looking for genuine engagement and real community connection.

Complete the Online Application Form The application is submitted through ICANN’s online portal. In addition to the personal statement, you will be asked to provide: contact information, organizational affiliation (if any), professional background and current role, language proficiency, prior internet governance engagement, and the specific ICANN policy areas or working groups you want to engage with. Complete every section fully — incomplete applications are disadvantaged in review.

Provide Supporting Documentation Most fellowship applications require supporting documentation that substantiates the claims in your personal statement: a current CV or resume, a letter of support from your organization (if organizationally affiliated), and possibly evidence of prior internet governance engagement such as links to written work, event participation records, or community leadership roles. Ensure your documentation is current and directly relevant to your application.

Wait for Review and Selection ICANN’s fellowship team reviews all applications against the eligibility and selection criteria. The review process typically takes 4 to 6 weeks after the application window closes. Selected fellows are notified by email and given a defined window to confirm their acceptance. If you are not selected for one round, you can apply again for future meetings — many successful fellows applied more than once before being selected.

Complete Pre-Meeting Preparation Selected fellows receive a preparation package including: access to ICANN’s online learning platform (learn.icann.org) with recommended courses to complete before the meeting; a pre-meeting orientation webinar with fellowship staff; introduction to your assigned mentor; and a structured fellowship agenda that supplements the main meeting program. Taking this preparation seriously dramatically increases the value of your fellowship experience.

What Makes a Strong ICANN Fellowship Application?

With 30 to 50 fellows selected from a field of hundreds of applicants per meeting, the ICANN Fellowship Program is competitive. Understanding what the selection committee is looking for — and what distinguishes the applications that succeed from those that do not — is essential to making the most of your application.

The single most important factor is the quality and specificity of your personal statement. Successful statements do not simply declare an interest in internet governance — they demonstrate it. They reference specific ICANN policy processes by name, connect the applicant’s professional or community work to particular policy questions, and articulate a clear vision for how the fellowship experience will contribute to both the applicant’s development and the broader community they represent.

The second most important factor is your community connection. ICANN’s fellowship prioritizes individuals who will use what they learn to strengthen internet governance participation in their home communities — not individuals who are primarily seeking a personal professional credential. Applications that articulate a concrete plan for how the fellowship experience will be shared, applied, or built upon back home are consistently stronger than those that focus exclusively on personal learning goals.

Geographic fit matters significantly. If ICANN has identified a specific regional gap it is trying to fill in a given cohort, applicants from that region will have a stronger baseline advantage. But geographic advantage alone is not sufficient — the quality of the application still determines who is selected from within the eligible pool. Do not rely on geographic eligibility to substitute for application quality.

Application Checklist:  Before submitting: Have you explained specifically which ICANN policy areas you want to engage with? Have you connected your background to internet governance concretely? Have you articulated what you will bring back to your community? Is your personal statement free of generic language? Is your CV current and relevant? Have you reviewed the eligibility criteria for this specific meeting cycle?

How the ICANN Fellowship Program Benefits You — and Your Community

The immediate benefits of the ICANN Fellowship are clear — fully funded participation at a major global internet governance event. But the most significant benefits are the ones that compound over time.

Access to ICANN’s Policy Community An ICANN Public Meeting brings together 2,000 to 3,000 of the world’s most active internet governance professionals. As a fellow, you have access to all of them — in session rooms, in hallway conversations, at social events, and through the structured networking opportunities that ICANN builds into the meeting program. The relationships you build as a fellow become a professional network that supports your internet governance work for years after the meeting ends.

Mentorship From Experienced Community Members Each fellow is paired with a mentor drawn from ICANN’s experienced community — someone who knows the people, the processes, and the culture of ICANN’s policy world and can help you navigate it effectively. A good mentor does more than introduce you to sessions — they explain the dynamics behind the discussions, introduce you to key community members, and help you identify where your contributions will be most valuable.

Deep-Dive Training and Orientation The fellowship program includes dedicated pre-meeting online preparation and in-person orientation sessions at the start of the meeting week. These sessions provide context that general attendees do not receive — background on the policy issues currently under discussion, explanation of ICANN’s governance structures, practical guidance on how to engage effectively in working group sessions and the Public Forum, and strategic advice on making the most of the week.

Career Impact and Alumni Community ICANN Fellowship alumni include people now leading national telecommunications regulators, heading internet governance units at international organizations, founding civil society groups, and contributing to major policy processes at organizations like the IGF, ITU, and ISOC. The fellowship is recognized by employers in the internet governance, policy, and technology sectors as evidence of serious engagement with the field. The alumni network — 500+ people from 100+ countries — is a career resource that extends far beyond any single meeting.

Contributing to a More Diverse Internet Governance Community When you accept an ICANN Fellowship, you are not only investing in your own development — you are helping ICANN’s policy processes become more representative of the global internet community. The policies developed at ICANN affect every internet user on Earth. The more diverse the community that shapes those policies, the more likely they are to serve everyone’s interests equitably. Your participation as a fellow is a direct contribution to that diversity.

ICANN Fellowship Program: Key Facts

Fellowship Fact	Detail
Program launch	ICANN Fellowship Program operational since the early 2000s
Alumni total	500+ fellows from 100+ countries across all global regions
Fellows per meeting	30-50 fellows selected per ICANN Public Meeting
Meetings per year	Three — typically labelled ICANN82, 83, etc. with rotating global locations
What is covered	Round-trip economy airfare, hotel, registration, per diem — no out-of-pocket costs
Application timing	Opens approximately 3-4 months before each meeting — check icann.org/fellowships
Selection timeline	4-6 weeks after application window closes — notified by email
Priority regions	Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America/Caribbean, Middle East, and Eastern Europe/Central Asia
Preparation support	Pre-meeting webinar, ICANN Learn courses, mentor assignment, fellowship schedule
Companion program	NextGen@ICANN — a parallel program for applicants aged 18-30

RELATED PROGRAM:  NextGen@ICANN — The Fellowship for the Next Generation of Internet Leaders

NextGen@ICANN: The Youth-Focused Companion Program

Alongside the standard ICANN Fellowship Program, ICANN operates NextGen@ICANN — a companion program specifically designed for young internet governance leaders aged 18 to 30. If you are in this age range and considering applying for the fellowship, it is worth knowing which program is the better fit for you.

NextGen@ICANN shares the same core benefit structure as the fellowship: fully funded travel, accommodation, registration, and per diem for one ICANN Public Meeting. What distinguishes it is its deliberately youth-oriented programming and its explicit focus on developing the next generation of ICANN community leaders. NextGen participants attend a dedicated orientation, participate in NextGen-specific sessions led by and designed for young professionals, and shadow senior community members through the meeting week.

The application criteria for NextGen are similar to the fellowship but with the age requirement as the primary distinguishing eligibility factor. NextGen applicants should demonstrate genuine interest in internet governance and a clear connection to underserved or underrepresented communities, just as fellowship applicants do — but the selection committee also evaluates the potential for long-term community leadership that the youth focus implies.

Approximately 30 to 50 NextGen participants are selected per meeting. Many NextGen alumni go on to apply for the standard ICANN Fellowship for subsequent meetings, building a multi-meeting engagement trajectory that dramatically accelerates their development as internet governance professionals. If you are between 18 and 30, apply to NextGen. If you are older, apply to the Fellowship. Both are highly competitive and both are transformative.

NextGen Application:  Applications for NextGen@ICANN open at the same time as fellowship applications and follow the same general process. Apply at icann.org/nextgen. The age limit is 18-30. Meeting selection criteria and priority regions are aligned with the fellowship program.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What does the ICANN Fellowship Program fully cover, and are there any costs to fellows?

The ICANN Fellowship Program covers all major costs of participation with no out-of-pocket requirement for selected fellows. Coverage includes: round-trip economy class airfare between your home country and the meeting location; hotel accommodation for the full duration of the meeting (typically 7-8 nights); full meeting registration giving access to all open sessions; daily per diem to cover meals and incidental expenses; and access to all fellowship-specific programming including pre-meeting preparation. Fellows are expected to cover minor personal expenses such as personal travel to and from their local airport, but the program is designed to eliminate economic barriers to participation entirely.

Q2: Who is NOT eligible for the ICANN Fellowship Program?

Several categories of applicants are generally not eligible. Individuals affiliated with ICANN-contracted parties — registrars and registry operators — are excluded because those organizations are expected to fund their own participation through commercial revenues. Individuals who have previously attended multiple ICANN meetings through other funded mechanisms may be deprioritized in favor of genuinely new participants. Applicants from highly developed economies with well-funded domestic internet governance communities are generally not the target demographic, as the program focuses on underrepresented regions. And applicants who do not demonstrate genuine engagement with internet governance issues — regardless of geographic eligibility — will not be competitive in the selection process.

Q3: How competitive is the fellowship, and what are my chances of being selected?

The fellowship is genuinely competitive, with selection rates that vary by region and meeting. Typically 30-50 fellows are selected from a pool of several hundred applications per meeting. Selection rates can be higher for applicants from regions with fewer applications and lower for very competitive regions. The most important predictor of success is application quality — particularly the personal statement — not just geographic eligibility. Many successful fellows applied more than once before being selected, and ICANN encourages reapplication. Each application cycle is independent, and feedback from a previous unsuccessful application can inform a stronger subsequent submission.

Q4: What is expected of fellows during and after the meeting?

Fellows have a range of expectations during the meeting: attending and actively participating in fellowship-specific sessions; engaging substantively with ICANN’s general meeting program; meeting with their assigned mentor; and participating in the fellowship community throughout the week. After the meeting, fellows are expected to submit a short report describing their experience and how they plan to apply what they learned in their home community. Many fellows also make presentations to local civil society groups, write blog posts or articles, or present at local internet governance events as a way of multiplying the fellowship’s community impact. These post-meeting contributions are valued but are not strictly enforced — the expectation is good-faith engagement, not a formal deliverable.

Q5: Can I apply to the ICANN Fellowship Program if I have already attended an ICANN meeting virtually?

Yes. Virtual attendance at ICANN meetings — which is always free and open to anyone — does not disqualify you from applying for in-person fellowship participation. In fact, having attended virtual sessions can strengthen your application by demonstrating that you have genuine knowledge of and interest in ICANN’s processes before applying. The fellowship provides something that virtual participation cannot: the full immersive experience of the meeting community, the hallway conversations, the mentorship, the relationship building, and the contextual understanding that comes from being physically present in the room where internet governance decisions are shaped. Prior virtual engagement demonstrates interest; the fellowship provides depth.

Your Seat at the Global Internet Governance Table Is One Application Away.

The ICANN Fellowship Program exists because the people who designed it understood that internet governance is only legitimate when the full diversity of the global internet community is in the room. That diversity requires removing economic barriers to participation — and the fellowship does exactly that.

If you are from an underrepresented region, working in or adjacent to internet governance, and committed to bringing what you learn back to your community — this program was built for you. Apply.

Apply for the ICANN Fellowship Today

• Apply for the ICANN Fellowship at icann.org/fellowshipprogram — next deadline approaching
• If aged 18-30, apply for NextGen@ICANN at icann.org/nextgen — same support, youth focus
• Prepare now with free ICANN Learn courses at learn.icann.org — Introduction to ICANN
• Attend a virtual ICANN meeting to build your knowledge before applying — icann.org/meetings
• Connect with ICANN fellowship alumni in your region through at-large and RALO networks

Share this guide with a colleague who would benefit from the fellowship opportunity

The most influential voices in internet governance started somewhere. The ICANN Fellowship Program is one of the best starting points available. Take it.

© 2026 IG Insight Blog. This article is published for educational and informational purposes.