As every year, at the end of ICANN’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), the new Nominating Committee (NomCom) comes together to start its work. Due to the Corona pandemic, the circumstances were slightly different; however, the 2021 NomCom kicked-off end of 2020.

ICANN’s Nominating Committee is charged with identifying, recruiting, and selecting nominees of the highest possible quality for key leadership positions at ICANN. The 2021 NomCom is seeking candidates for the following positions:

• Three members of the ICANN Board of Directors
• Three regional representatives to the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC)—(one each from Africa, Asia/Australia/Pacific Islands, and Latin America/Caribbean regions)
• Two members of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Council
• One member of the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) Council

The NomCom is an independent committee of 21 delegates, 15 of whom have voting privileges. The NomCom is designed to function independently from the Board, the Supporting Organizations, and Advisory Committees. The full cycle lasts one year and includes five main phases: preparation, recruitment of candidates, assessments of candidates, candidate selection, and NomCom reporting to the community.

The Corona pandemic will not make the job any easier, as it is inevitable that some, if not all, meetings will only be held virtually. That will make it challenging to raise awareness, get applications, and reach out to possible candidates.

The application phase will start by the end of January, and the call will be published on NomCom’s website. From then on, applications can be submitted for an expected two months.