LOS ANGELES - ICANN's Development and Public Responsibility Department (DPRD) announced the newest group of admitted members to the popular NextGen@ICANN program. Started just one year ago, this program has quickly grown and become one of the most exciting opportunities for members of the next generation of Internet users to get involved with ICANN and the global Internet community.

According to ICANN, the NextGen@ICANN program saw more than 60 applications for roughly a dozen spots. Of those applicants, the NextGen Selection Committee chose 13 applicants to invite to the program. The Committee also selected a NextGen@ICANN Ambassador, a previous NextGen@ICANN member who will be on hand to help facilitate the program and provide a link to previous programs.

Meet the NextGen@ICANN54 Members

Please join us in congratulating the following applicants. They are all either living or studying in the European Union and the names are in alphabetical order.

• Sana Ali - England

• Rachel Barry - Ireland

• Benjamin Bergemann - Germany

• Tamara Bizyuk - Ukraine

• Michael Booth - England

• Agustina Callegari - Argentina (NextGen Ambassador)

• Giovanna Carloni - England

• Alexandra Chernyavskaya - England

• Christopher Dennett - Wales

• Ayden Férdeline - England

• Vinzenz Heussier - Austria

• Jelena Ožegović - Serbia

• Stacie Walsh - England

• Monika Zainierute - Lithuania

In an effort to ensure a high level of accountability, transparency, and fairness the committee is comprised of men, women, community members, business leaders, staff, and former NextGen members. The DPRD would like to personally thank each of them for volunteering their time to help identify the next group of NextGen@ICANN members. Please contact nextgen@icann.org if you're interested in being on the Selection Committee in the future.

• Nigel Hickson [ICANN VP, IGO Engagement]

• Gabriella Schittek [Global Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Central and Eastern Europe]

• Anthony Harris [Executive Director of CABASE]

• Kelvin Wong [Head, Outreach & Public Responsibility, APAC]

• Anri van der Spuy [Former NextGen participant and ICANN Fellow]

• Oscar Robles-Garay [CEO of NIC Mexico]

As part of the Development and Public Responsibility Department's (DPRD) ongoing work to support the next generation of Internet users, the NextGen@ICANN program has been formalized as a staple DPRD initiative to engage regionally based undergraduate and graduate students at ICANN meetings, and introduce them to ICANN through guided programming. The NextGen@ICANN program was initially organized at ICANN49 in Singapore with DotAsia and NetMission and has been successfully replicated at both ICANN50 in London and ICANN51 in Los Angeles by our Department.

The application for the NextGen@ICANN program at ICANN55 in Marrakech will be live on September 4, 2015 on the NextGen@ICANN page. More information about the program is available on that application link.

Questions and comments can be directed to nextgen@icann.org anytime.