ICANN CEO, Fadi Chehadé.
A long, long time ago we published a list of cities that ICANN should not be holding a meeting at.
The list, published before the ICANN meeting in Cartagena, Colombia, made light of crime in various locations; some participants were eventually mugged or otherwise scammed at the time.
Four years later, we’re now publishing an updated list of the regions or cities worldwide that ICANN won’t be holding a conference any time soon, and here they are:
- Kiev, Ukraine – Despite being far from Donbass, the actual area where the conflict between pro-Russian rebel separatists and Ukrainian army occurs, the mere mention of Ukraine doesn’t instill much confidence to ICANN participants – who are frequent fliers – after the downing of a Malaysian airliner.
- Conakry, Guinea – The country hit with the most cases of the Ebola virus, might offer luxury hotels and exotic culture, but the Ebola virus spreads with body contact and handshakes would be out of the question for the ICANN participants.
- Gaza, Palestine – Constant shelling of Palestine buildings by Israel and responsive attacks by the Hamas fighters makes the region impossible to host an international conference at. Plus the Yasser Arafat international airport has been closed for several years.
- Lagos, Nigeria – The Islamist insurgency in Nigeria has led to kidnappings and violence by Boko Haram. One might be enjoying a beautiful meal in this large African nation after a busy ICANN meeting, only to be kidnapped by armed rebels; not very appetizing.
- Baghdad, Iraq – The withdrawal of US troops in Iraq completed a decade after former president, G.W.Bush declared “mission accomplished“, but the recent rise of the ISIS militants in the region would make even the most accustomed to war and world traveled ICANN participants flinch with anxiety. How do you expect them to discuss the multi-stakeholder model and gTLD expansion under such duress?
- Athens, Greece – Despite being the cradle of European civilization and a flourishing city welcoming millions of tourists every year, Athenians and other Greeks simply don’t care about domains. In the summer months – that is, from May to October – they don’t care about anything else either, opting to spend time relaxing with families and friends by the numerous beaches, enjoying quality food and wine. Opa!
ICANN would clearly have to skip those cities and keep the meeting destinations at more conventional, less exotic locations, such as Los Angeles.
