If you have been following ICANN — the organisation responsible for coordinating the domain name system, IP address allocation, and the technical infrastructure of the internet — you have probably noticed that it holds not one but three public meetings every year. And you may have noticed that they go by different names: Community Forum, Policy Forum, and Annual General Meeting.
These are not just different names for the same event in different cities. Each meeting type has a distinct purpose, a different structure, a different duration, a different audience, and a different set of outcomes. Understanding the difference between the ICANN Community Forum and the Policy Forum — and how the Annual General Meeting fits into the picture — is essential for anyone who wants to participate effectively in ICANN’s governance processes, apply for the right fellowship at the right time, or simply follow which decisions are happening where.
This guide explains all three, in plain English, with the detail you need to navigate ICANN’s meeting cycle as a participant, an applicant, or an engaged observer.
| The Short Answer: The Community Forum (6 days, Feb/Mar) is the broadest meeting — broad community work, cross-stakeholder interaction, and public plenary sessions. The Policy Forum (4 days, June) is the most focused — intensive policy development work, no public Board meeting, smaller attendance. The Annual General Meeting (6 days, Oct/Nov) is the largest and most ceremonial, combining policy work with the ICANN Board’s public meeting and the highest community attendance of the year. |
Why ICANN Has Three Meetings a Year?
ICANN’s public meetings exist because ICANN’s governance is built on the multistakeholder model — the principle that the internet’s technical coordination should be governed by the communities of people it affects, not by any single government or organisation. That model requires regular, structured, public opportunities for those communities to gather, debate, develop policy, and hold ICANN’s leadership accountable.
Before the current three-meeting structure, ICANN experimented with different meeting formats and frequencies. The current model — Community Forum, Policy Forum, Annual General Meeting — was designed to serve different governance functions at different points in the year. The Policy Forum was specifically created as a more focused, working-oriented meeting distinct from the larger, broader gatherings. The result is a meeting cycle where each event serves its own purpose in ICANN’s governance calendar rather than simply repeating the same format three times.
All three meetings are open to the public, free to attend (in person or remotely), and governed by ICANN’s Expected Standards of Behavior and Community Anti-Harassment Policy. Remote participation tools are provided for public sessions at all three meetings. Anyone interested in ICANN’s work can participate — and ICANN runs fellowship and NextGen programs specifically to fund participation for people who cannot self-finance attendance.
The Three ICANN Meeting Types: A Detailed Breakdown
The Community Forum: Broad, Open, Six Days
The Community Forum is the first meeting of ICANN’s annual cycle. It is typically held in February or March and runs for six days. It is the most open and structurally diverse of the three meeting types, designed to support a wide range of community work simultaneously. During the Community Forum, Supporting Organizations (SOs) and Advisory Committees (ACs) hold their own internal working sessions, cross-community interactions take place between different stakeholder groups, and plenary sessions are held on issues of broad interest to the full ICANN community.
The Community Forum also includes sessions for individual stakeholder groups, constituencies, and working groups to advance their respective work. The Community Forum is where newcomers are most likely to get an accessible, broad overview of how ICANN functions in practice. Because it includes more general-interest sessions and cross-community interaction than the Policy Forum, it is often recommended as a starting point for people entering the ICANN ecosystem for the first time. The ICANN Fellowship Program and NextGen@ICANN both run for Community Forum rounds.
Recent Community Forums: ICANN85 — Mumbai, India (7–12 March 2026) | ICANN82 — San Juan, Puerto Rico (March 2024) | ICANN79 — San Juan, Puerto Rico (March 2024)
The Policy Forum: Focused, Technical, Four Days
The Policy Forum is the second meeting of ICANN’s annual cycle, typically held in June. It runs for four days — Monday through Thursday — making it the shortest of the three annual meetings. But shorter does not mean less important: the Policy Forum is where the most concentrated policy development work of the year happens.
The Policy Forum is explicitly designed to support the policy development work of the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees. This means an agenda dominated by GNSO Council meetings, ccNSO working sessions, ALAC plenary sessions, cross-community working group meetings, and focused discussions on active Policy Development Processes. Sessions are connected to specific PDPs and other ongoing community work rather than to general community outreach or introductory programming.
One important structural difference: the Policy Forum does not include a public Board meeting. The ICANN Board’s formal public meeting takes place at the Annual General Meeting, not at the Policy Forum. This reflects the Policy Forum’s character as a working meeting for the community’s policy machinery rather than a governance-and-accountability event for the full community.
The Policy Forum is typically smaller in attendance than the Community Forum or AGM. It attracts participants who are already active in specific ICANN community processes rather than newcomers exploring the ecosystem. The ICANN Fellowship Program for the Policy Forum round is restricted to alumni of the main Fellowship who have demonstrated continued active engagement.
Recent Policy Forums: ICANN86 — Seville, Spain (8–11 June 2026) | ICANN83 — Kigali, Rwanda (June 2024) | ICANN80 — Kigali, Rwanda (June 2024)
The Annual General Meeting: Largest, Broadest, Most Formal
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is the third and final meeting of ICANN’s annual cycle, typically held in October or November. Like the Community Forum, it runs for six days, and it draws the largest attendance of the three annual meetings.
The AGM combines everything the Community Forum offers — broad community work, cross-stakeholder interaction, SO and AC sessions, constituency meetings, working group sessions — with the formal public Board meeting that the Policy Forum does not include. It is the meeting where the ICANN Board formally meets in public session, where annual reports are presented, and where the highest-profile governance events of the year tend to occur.
The AGM also typically includes the most extensive public forum component of the annual cycle, giving community members the opportunity to raise issues directly with the ICANN Board in a public session. For this reason, the AGM is often the target meeting for advocacy groups, civil society organisations, government representatives, and community members who want the highest-visibility opportunity to engage with ICANN’s leadership.
Recent AGMs: ICANN87 — Bali, Indonesia (17–22 October 2026) | ICANN84 — Istanbul, Türkiye (November 2024) | ICANN81 — Istanbul (November 2024)
ICANN Community Forum vs Policy Forum: Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Community Forum | Policy Forum |
| Position in annual cycle | 1st meeting — February/March | 2nd meeting — June |
| Duration | 6 days | 4 days (Mon–Thu) |
| Primary focus | Broad community work, cross-stakeholder interaction, plenary sessions | Focused policy development work by SOs and ACs |
| Public Board meeting | No formal public Board meeting | No public Board meeting |
| Audience size | Larger attendance | Typically smaller; more specialised attendees |
| Newcomer-friendly | High — more general-interest and introductory sessions | Lower — assumes active engagement in ICANN processes |
| Fellowship availability | Main Fellowship + NextGen@ICANN | Policy Forum Fellowship (alumni only) |
| Prep Week | Usually includes a Prep Week 2–3 weeks before | Includes Prep Week (e.g. ICANN86 Prep Week: 20–21 May 2026) |
| Recent example | ICANN85 — Mumbai, March 2026 | ICANN86 — Seville, 8–11 June 2026 |
| Remote participation | Yes — all public sessions | Yes — all public sessions |
Which Meeting Should You Target as a Newcomer?
If you are coming to ICANN for the first time — whether through a fellowship program, the NextGen initiative, or simply as a registered remote participant — the Community Forum is generally the better starting point.
The Community Forum’s broader agenda and more varied session types mean there is more accessible entry-level content alongside the specialist working group sessions. Cross-community interactions give newcomers a chance to see how different stakeholder groups relate to each other. And the main ICANN Fellowship Program and NextGen@ICANN both run for Community Forum rounds, meaning the ecosystem is designed to support newcomers at these meetings in particular.
The Policy Forum, by contrast, assumes you are already engaged in specific ICANN community processes. Its agenda is built around working sessions for active participants in Policy Development Processes, not introduction or orientation. Even the Policy Forum fellowship is restricted to alumni of the main fellowship who have continued active engagement — a clear signal that this meeting is for people already part of the community, not those just joining it.
The Annual General Meeting is the most high-profile event and the one most frequently covered in internet governance media. But high profile does not automatically mean the best entry point. The AGM’s formal Board sessions and public forum are valuable for practitioners who want visibility into ICANN’s top-level governance, but the meeting’s breadth can be overwhelming for a first-time attendee without prior community context.
| Strategic Advice: Apply for a fellowship to the Community Forum first. Use that experience to build your community relationships and identify which GNSO or ALAC working groups align with your interests. Then apply for the Policy Forum fellowship in a subsequent cycle when you have active engagement to demonstrate. This sequencing is exactly what ICANN’s fellowship design intends. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Is the Policy Forum less important than the Community Forum or the AGM?
No — the Policy Forum is where much of ICANN’s substantive policy work happens. The GNSO Council meetings, ccNSO plenary sessions, cross-community working group sessions, and PDP-related discussions that take place at the Policy Forum are central to how ICANN actually develops and advances policy. The meeting is smaller and more focused by design, not because less important work is happening. Many experienced ICANN community members consider the Policy Forum the most productive meeting of the year precisely because it concentrates on working sessions rather than plenary events.
Q2: Can I attend the Policy Forum as a first-time ICANN community member?
Yes — all ICANN meetings are open to the public and free to attend in person or remotely. Anyone can register for the Policy Forum. What is restricted is the Policy Forum fellowship, which is available only to alumni of the main ICANN Fellowship who have demonstrated continued active engagement. If you can self-finance attendance or attend remotely, there is no formal barrier to your participation at the Policy Forum. You will simply find the agenda more accessible if you have some prior context from a Community Forum or AGM.
Q3: Does the ICANN Board meet publicly at all three meetings?
No. The formal public Board meeting takes place at the Annual General Meeting, not at the Community Forum or the Policy Forum. This is an important distinction for anyone who wants to engage with or observe ICANN’s highest-level governance. The Board does conduct other business throughout the year, and community meetings include opportunities for Board members to engage informally with participants, but the structured public Board session is an AGM feature.
Q4: What is Prep Week, and does it happen at all three meeting types?
Prep Week is a structured preparatory period held a few weeks before an ICANN Public Meeting. It is used by SOs, ACs, working groups, and other community bodies to advance their work before the meeting itself and to coordinate the meeting’s agenda. Prep Week sessions are typically virtual and are open to remote participation. Both the Community Forum and the Policy Forum have associated Prep Weeks — for example, ICANN86 Policy Forum’s Prep Week was held on 20–21 May 2026, about two and a half weeks before the June meeting.
Q5: How do the NextGen@ICANN and Fellowship programs map to the three meeting types?
The main ICANN Fellowship Program runs for both the Community Forum and the Annual General Meeting rounds — both are open to first-time and returning applicants (up to twice total). The Policy Forum fellowship round is restricted to alumni of the main fellowship who have demonstrated continued active engagement in ICANN communities. NextGen@ICANN (for university students aged 18–30) runs for whichever ICANN Public Meeting is being held in the region where the student lives and studies — it has run at Community Forum, Policy Forum, and AGM rounds depending on the regional rotation.
| ICANN’s Policy Meetings Are Open to Everyone. Your Seat Is Waiting. Whether you attend the Community Forum as a first-time fellowship recipient, follow the Policy Forum remotely as an engaged practitioner, or participate in the Annual General Meeting’s public Board session as a civil society advocate — ICANN’s three-meeting cycle is designed to be open, inclusive, and accessible. You do not need to be an expert to show up. You need to be curious, prepared, and present. Start your ICANN journey right now: Get Involved With ICANN at icann.org Browse all ICANN Public Meetings at https://meetings.icann.org/en/ — see the full schedule and register Apply for the ICANN Fellowship at icann.org/fellowshipprogram — fully funded participation Explore NextGen@ICANN at icann.org/public-responsibility-support/nextgen — for students 18–30 Take free ICANN Learn courses at learn.icann.org before your first meeting Read more on IG Insight: What Is ICANN? | How to Write a Public Comment | ICANN Fellowship Guide Follow IG Insight at iginsight.org — internet governance explained simply for everyone ICANN’s community is shaped by the people who show up. The Community Forum, Policy Forum, and Annual General Meeting are where that happens. IG Insight is your guide to getting there. |
Dipankar Barua is an internet governance advocate from Dhaka, Bangladesh, who believes that voices from the Global South must be heard in the rooms where the internet’s future is decided. As an ICANN advocate and VSIG member, he actively engages in multistakeholder policy processes spanning DNS security, digital inclusion, and responsible AI governance. With an academic grounding in Computer Science and AI, and over 15 years of applied IT experience, Dipankar bridges the gap between technical communities and policy spaces — writing, participating, and advocating for a more open, equitable, and inclusive internet for all.
