Now that the year is almost over, I'm ready to relax and celebrate Christmas with family in the traditional Scandinavian way. But first, I wanted to reflect and share some highlights from the past year, which was also my first full year at ICANN.
The year ended on a high note when, last week, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the WSIS+20 Outcomes Document, a major milestone that reinforces our current Internet governance approach.
Along with other members of the technical community, I had the opportunity to address the General Assembly, where I emphasized the importance of multistakeholder collaboration in ensuring a secure, stable, and reliable Internet. This was just one of the ways that we have defended this model throughout the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20); all year, representatives from ICANN and the Internet community have worked tirelessly to defend multistakeholder participation. Your work had a real impact, and you made this positive result possible.
Looking back to the beginning of 2025, I dedicated a lot of time to getting to know ICANN staff and community members, which included meeting with the leaders of each Supporting Organization and Advisory Committee. ICANN82 in March was my first ICANN Public Meeting in my new role, and it provided a great opportunity to meet the wider community.
A key priority for ICANN when I joined was to secure the organization's financial stability. This effort progressed well over the past year, and we now see a much-improved financial outlook. In January, I appointed Russ Weinstein Senior Vice President of Policy Development Support, and all year I have been working with the Executive Team to evolve the organization's structure to increase synergy and strategic alignment.
In March, the Board approved the ICANN Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2026–30, which went into effect on 1 July. For this fiscal year, I introduced new Organizational Objectives that are focused on achieving the new Strategic Plan and accompanying Operating Plan. The Organizational Objectives form the basis for objective-setting by the Executive Team and all ICANN org staff, which will help us better track our progress and outcomes.
As part of the effort to enhance ICANN's accountability, transparency, and effectiveness, the Board directed ICANN org in May to develop a plan for community dialogue on ICANN Reviews. We continue to support and actively participate in the Review of Reviews Cross Community Group as it considers the future of Reviews.
This is only a sampling of our many achievements this year. We also made considerable progress on implementing the New Generic Top-Level Domains Program: 2026 Round, which I summarized in another blog. We saw successes in promoting a more multilingual Internet by organizing the third annual Universal Acceptance Day, in combating Domain Name System Abuse through enforcing the contract amendments, and in many other areas.
I extend my sincere thanks to the ICANN community, Board, and organization for the support I received over the past year. It has been wonderful to get to know new colleagues and rekindle old connections.
I'm thrilled to be part of ICANN as we enter the next phase of digital cooperation. To those who celebrate, I wish you a joyful holiday season and a happy new year, and I look forward to working together in 2026!
