ICANN64 Kobe, probably the world's biggest internet event in 2019
ICANN, for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is the world organization responsible for making the internet functionning.
Each year, the non-profit organization holds three public meetings in different regions of the world.
The primary purpose of an ICANN Summit is to discuss issues of importance in the internet sector, share best practices, and meet with members of the ICANN organization.
ICANN meetings are probably the biggest internet events in the world. Meetings are open to anybody and entrance is free of charge. During the 5 days, hundreds of small events are organized in different rooms, generally with few or very few attendants.
ICANN64 in Japan
The Japan Network Information Center in Kobe (Japan) will host the Asia Pacific region's meeting in 2019, from the 9th until the 14th of March.
Hundreds of attendees from dozens of countries are expected, with thousands participating remotely.
What will be discussed in Kobe?
Cybercrime, .BRANDS and privacy protection should be some of the hottest topics. But in practice, ICANN summits rarely produce anything concrete, as it is very difficult to make many with many different cultures agree on anything related to the internet. Most attendants go there in order ot meet partners or prospects and/or for turism purposes.
What to see in Kobe in 24 hours
Take advantage of the ICANN event to know better Japan and the Japanese culture
Coming to Japan might be an occasion to learn Japanese and understand better this large market. Although very far from the leaders USA and China, Japanese internet companies such as Rakuten, Yahoo! Japan or Line are performing well. Language schools like sng.ac.jp/en in Tokyo have designed programs for foreigners and expatriates, whith wich one can start to master the basic of the Japanese language within a few weeks.
See also
See the digital and technology calendar of events