DotGreen focused on encouraging people to share their own green story, a key component of pushing the green movement forward. The twitter monitor at DotGreen’s booth proved a success, bringing people to share their #greenfest thoughts with others and watch their names appear on the large monitor, for other attendees and the world of twitter to see. So many great messages about green living and good businesses and community groups come out of Green Festivals, and promoting the conference and the groups in attendance helps to bring ideas from the Festival to a larger audience.

DotGreen visiting the Project Onward studio at the Chicago Cultural Center

With a few other Green Festivals under our belts, like New York and San Francisco, it was especially interesting to learn about some of the local Chicago organizations and their efforts.

Project Onward is one such organization, a studio and gallery dedicated to the creative growth of artists with mental and developmental disabilities. Their studio is located in the Chicago Cultural Center downtown, and provides artists with support and a Gallery to profit from their work, while fostering in visitors an awareness of disability issues and an appreciation of the visionary talents of people with special needs.

iGO, a Non-profit car sharing organization, presented its efforts to build a convenient and sustainable transportation system for the people of Chicago,inviting discussion about the possibilities for environmentally responsible transit infrastructure.

Tim Mayhew and Stefanie Lynch, of DotGreen, with Eric Heineman, Sustainability Policy Advisor to Governor Pat Quinn's Office

The DotGreen team also had the great fortune to meet Eric Heineman, Sustainability Policy Advisor to Governor Pat Quinn, who was able to share some of the  latest green initiatives. These include electronic and paper recycling programs, promotion of alternative energy, and provision of energy efficient retrofits to existing buildings.

On both Saturday and Sunday, DotGreen held a raffle for dinner gift cards to support a remarkable local green restaurant, Uncommon Ground. Attendees at Green Festival also had the pleasure of hearing Helen Cameron, Uncommon Ground founder, speak about her creation of the greenest restaurant in America.

Helen Cameron, Michael Cameron, and Jennifer Knoll, DotGreen Director, selecting the raffle winner for dinner at Uncommon Ground

Raffle winner with Jennifer Bullock, DotGreen Director

DotGreen headed to the restaurant’s Devon location for a delicious meal and a tour of their rooftop garden. 30 lbs of produce had been harvested just days before from the thriving garden, abundant with abundant varieties of heirloom lettuce, spinach, and root, and even some bee hives. The man responsible for care of the farm is known as Farmer Dan, who discussed his personal connection to the garden, and the way he feels he can give back to customers and unique blends of biologically diverse mixes of greens cultivated on the roof.

Farmer Dan, Uncommon Ground roof garden caretaker

The city of Chicago itself has an impressive green resume – it boasts the highest regional density of green roofs in the US, and comes in second only to Germany worldwide.

DotGreen looks forward to continuing to hear and express the voices of the green movement at future festivals and beyond. Thank you Chicago for such a warm welcome!

Green Festival, a joint project with Green America and Global Exchange, has brought events to U.S. cities for the past 10 years, drawing tens of thousands of people to each festival. Attendees have the chance to hear inspirational talks from leaders in various areas of the green movement, and explore projects and products that make sense for people and planet. Local businesses, non-profits, and community organizations all find common ground at Green Festivals, connecting, learning, and sharing for ”green.”  Green Festival is an ideal place for attendees to seek information and either begin or continue a personal path of making greener choices.  And for veterans, Green Festival is a place to rejuvenate with the large, ever-growing green movement. It offers a sense that we are part of the big picture, and people just like ourselves are working on solutions and making green choices in their businesses and everyday lives.

An estimated 25,000 people visited and experienced the vendors and speakers who were gathered at the Javits Center for Green Festival N.Y. Exhibitors ranged from healthy food companies like Brad’s Raw Foods to local resources like offMetro, which helps people living in New York (and San Francisco) find green options for nearby vacationing. All shared a focus on environmental and humanitarian consciousness, and a desire to reach out to the local and broader community.

Speakers on several stages discussed topics like green marketing, fair trade fashion, healthy diet choices, and environmental justice. The main stage of the event was streamed live on Huffington Post Green, giving the featured speakers an even greater reach.  Highlights include Van Jones who was enthusiastically received Saturday morning, as he spoke about the topic of his recent book, Rebuild the Dream. His talk focused on the revitalization of the American economy through green jobs. On Sunday was Amy Goodman, co-founder and host of Democracy Now!, an independent news program that focuses on international issues and perspectives rarely covered in mainstream media.  Ford Motor Company showcased their greenest cars and presented the $5000 Community Green Grant to Green City Force, a New York organization that aims to break the poverty cycle by engaging young adults in service, training, and work experience related to the green economy.  Ford has been distributing these grants at each Green Festival since early 2011, giving local organizations the opportunity to explain their work to event attendees, who vote on where to direct the funds.

Brad Gruno of Brad's Raw Foods visiting DotGreen's social media station. http://www.bradsrawchips.com/

Just left of the main stage throughout the festival, DotGreen did its part with our social media monitor projecting the latest from twitter @GreenFestival @DotGreenTLD to promote the voice of the green movement to the world via hashtags of #greenfest #earthday #greenmovement #green.  The Internet is a catalyst for social change and connections, and serves as a tool for information and awareness.  The DotGreen team helped to forward the green conversation at the festival and around the world with online tools.

Green Festival Connections Continue

Look for DotGreen at the next Green Festival in Chicago on May 5 and 6, and find us live on Twitter @GreenFestival and @DotGreenTLD.  DotGreen’s goal is to continue this effort to promote green awareness on a global scale.  The DotGreen Team had a great time in New York last weekend, celebrating Earth Day and discussing a range of green topics with Green Festival attendees. We enjoy the opportunity to galvanize further online conversation and inspire participation from the many individuals and organizations participating in the event.  Some shared their ideals of green with us and received a free .green T-shirt. (see photos below) The .green Top-Level Domain will launch in 2013 globally, bringing environmental and social awareness into the name space of the Internet with new website addresses such as yourCompany.green, YourName.green, YourProduct.green, or Non-profit.green!
DotGreen is giving away FREE tickets to students, teachers and green groups – just let us know you’re coming to Chicago for the next Green Festival, May 5-6. Or you can join in the fun on Twitter @GreenFestival and @DotGreenTLD.  Use hashtags: #GreenFest #GreenMovement #GoGreen Please see our Album below, and even more here.

DotGreen: Bringing the New Green Internet to You

Green Festival has become the premier gathering place to generate inspiration and to harness the energy that this community ignites when joined together. What date could be a more appropriate time to be celebrating than Earth Day 2012 — honoring our world together! The DotGreen Community is excited to be a part of this year’s Green Festival in New York City and to introduce our contribution to the green movement; a new online namespace for the green community. The green movement online will be identified by the .green extension or Top Level Domain of website address names such as www.product.green or www.yourfavoritecompany.green. This extension will identify interest, collaboration, and commitment of companies, non-profits, and individuals – even governments, who are all valuable contributors to the green movement.

What is .green?

.green is the new Top-Level Domain for all things green online. DotGreen Community, Inc. is preparing infrastructure, policies, and the 2013 launch of .green domain names for new .green website. This will provide a unique and natural opportunity to find and share stories of sustainability, a trusted online space amongst a green audience and the green community. Internet users and global citizens will recognize the green signal for information on green practices, solutions, products, programs, initiatives, organizations and more.

Public Benefit is integrated into the .green operating model. Sales of .green domain names will generate increased philanthropy and create a new income stream for the DotGreen Foundation. The DotGreen Foundation is a For Public Benefit Charity which works with EarthShare to support programs and projects of sustainability in all regions of the world adding additional value to Internet users and .green domain registrants who connect on the Green Internet. The strength of the green movement, lies with the people. You can be informed, make green lifestyle changes, companies can introduce robust CSR initiatives, Governments can lead with sustainability initiatives and we can all do our part to help boost the movement through awareness and dialogue on the .green Internet.

Green Festival embodies this approach where everyone plays an important role, and DotGreen is grateful to be celebrating Earth Day with this community. We hope to see you at the event – stop by the Social Media station by the main stage to connect with us and help share exciting happenings at Green Festival NY! If we miss you in New York, please look for us at the next Green Festival in Chicago in May!

Read this article on greenfestivals.org

David Maddocks is a blog contributor for DotGreen. He is an Advisor and serves on the Board of Directors. Please see his biography here. David Maddocks can be reached at director@dotgreen.org

This blog series comes from David Maddocks’ experience at the Fortune Brainstorm Green Conference. Since 2001, this conference has united creative minds for a sustainability summit, bringing together industry players, leaders from the environmental movement, senior government officials, and provocative thinkers.

Laguna Niguel, California Tuesday, April 17, 2012

All Together Now.

If there was a theme for today at the Fortune Green Brainstorm Conference it was, “All Together Now.” Or, perhaps more accurately, “[Almost] All Together Now.”

The day was overwhelmingly tilted toward energy and energy policy.

Environmental leaders, such as Peter Seligmann of Conservation International, Mark Tercek of The Nature Conservancy and Hunter Lovins of Natural Capitalism, and corporate leaders such as David Abney of UPS, Dan Hesse of Sprint, Steve Bolze of General Electric and Rob Walton, Chairman of Wal-Mart, overwhelmingly agreed on the need for corporations, NGOs and government to work together to find solutions to accelerate the rate of progress to find solutions.

Conspicuously missing from this conversation: government.

It would have been nice to see Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu participate in this ongoing conversation that had corporate giants agreeing that we need either to enforce existing or enact new, reasonable, regulations and environmentalists accepting the reality that we need bridge fuels on our way to renewable energy. Interestingly, these two groups all seemed to agree on the necessity to break government’s lack of commitment to a long term energy policy.

There were some consumer branding highlights, but they were few. I attended the breakfast session called “Green Insurgents,” featuring Seth Goldman of Honest Tea, Jason Graham-Nye of gDiapers and Adam Lowry of Method Products. Jason and Adam offered an interesting contrast. Jason’s consumers are deeply committed to gDiapers because of their children. They are evangelists who happily spread the word and stock shelves for free throughout the country. Adam believes Method must out-innovate competitors in a manner than does not lean on “green.” In fact, he asserted that merely marketing “green” wasn’t enough because, from his vantage point, its expected.

I also attended the round table on “The Sharing Economy.” Much of this was around car sharing. While interesting, I don’t believe it got down to the culture tectonics that are making such businesses possible: globalization, the move into cities, the global financial meltdown, technology and the new attitudes of young people (my words, not theirs). They touched a few of these items, but never got to the whole mosaic that is making up our modern times and providing new opportunities for business models that, if implemented correctly, can be inherently greener than traditional “move boxes around the earth and sell one to everyone” models.

From my vantage point there were two stars of the day: Rob Walton, Chairman of Wal-Mart and a board member at Conservation International, and Hunter Lovins of Natural Capitalism Solutions. Rob explained how his family’s foundation has taken up the environment as a third pillar in their charter in addition to local Arkansas issues and Education Reform. He further explained that they did this because the next generation of Waltons are interested in the environment. Hunter Lovins was terrific. She called for a wholesale transformation to the way companies conceive their businesses in a way that accelerates the elimination of greenhouse emissions and reduces negative externalities. She emphatically stated that it cannot get done without the cooperation of business. In my mind’s eye, she totally gets it.

More tomorrow friends.

You can go to the Walton foundation here: http://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/

You can go to Conservation International here: http://www.conservation.org/Pages/default.aspx

You can learn more about Hunter Lovins here: http://www.natcapsolutions.org/

Laguna Niguel, California Monday, April 16, 2012

Wayne’s World – Hi everyone. So, you know that scene in Wayne’s World when Wayne and Garth meet Alice Cooper? They fall on the ground and repeat, “We’re not worthy!” That about captures how I felt yesterday afternoon in the presence of multi-national corporations and leading global environmental organizations and speakers here at Fortune’s Brainstorm Green Conference in Laguna Niguel, California.

The first session was about Natural Gas and fracking. Mike Brune, the Executive Director of the Sierra Club, did an outstanding job of making several arguments in opposition of fracking. What’s interesting is that his approach was from the standpoint of what seems reasonable. He wasn’t all out against it. He made an argument that it may not be any better than coal depending on the fugitive emissions. And, he argued that it cannot be a substitute for the work that must be done to eliminate the use of such sources of energy entirely. They took a poll of the audience at the beginning and the end of the session and, clearly, Mike did his job in getting his point across. Second up was the session The Green Consumer. This was the most disappointing to me. It was supposed to be about social media. And, at times it made its way to the subject. It was more about consumer voices in the process of sustainability. It lacked, for me, any deep insights into the way successful companies are using technology to further connect with, share with and learn from their consumers.
This was followed by a fascinating short film and musical performance by film maker Kenji Williams. His project, called Bella Gaia (“Beautiful Earth”) is amazing. See part of it here: http://youtu.be/DiI7vMbSpn8

Next up was a session entitled, “Following the Green Money.” I was blown away by Michael Eckhart from Citigroup. Of the three panelists, he was the one who really understood the macro issues holding back green investing globally. Also, his worldview was truly global. He also compared the United States’ progress in total when compared to green investments throughout the rest of the world.

This inspiring session was followed up by Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mulally. He was there to talk about the new electric Ford Focus. The story of Ford in the past few years is a remarkable one. They, as we all know, are the only auto company NOT to receive a government bailout. Moreover, they are also growing globally and rehiring factory workers in America. He also discussed how Ford is working with governments on entire transportation systems. Wow. Lastly, at dinner, we heard from Gordon McKay of Harvard discuss major policy issues and geo engineering. Heady stuff.

The format is interesting. There is one continuous session, virtually no time for questions (although the reporters managed to get in a few) and the panelists are ushered in from back stage and right back out at the beginning. From the standpoint of efficiency, its first rate. From the standpoint of someone wanting the opportunity to ask questions or come up to the stage and speak with one of the panelists, its virtually impossible.

That said, it is a fascinating conference so far. More later.

Laguna Niguel, California Sunday, April 15, 2012

The Conference Begins — Hello DotGreen Community members, friends and compatriots. My name is David Maddocks. I am a Board Member at DotGreen and this is my first writing on these pages.

This week I am attending the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference in Laguna Niguel, California on behalf of DotGreen. It promises to be an exciting three days of meetings, discussions and networking among companies, environmental groups and other interested parties in the next phase of the green economy.

DotGreen, which has just completed its application with ICANN for a new Top Level Doman (TLD) is here because we are building the Internet platform that will stand at the intersection of all of these groups.

I am particularly excited for a couple of sessions this afternoon: The first is a session entitled “The Green Consumer: How New Media is Changing the Game.” For obvious reasons this is a session where I will be in the front row. The second session I am looking forward to features Alan Mulally, the CEO of the Ford Motor Company. Lastly, over dinner, we’ll be listening to a conversation on “Planet Sized Ideas for Planet Sized Problems.” I am looking forward to this large discussion.

The weather here is beautiful today – the kind of weather that reminds us all of how small we are and how much this planet is worth fighting for. I will post something each evening, so please come check in again. I look forward to everyone’s comments and questions.

Before I go, here’s a quick background on me and how I came to be part of DotGreen:

I have been in consumer marketing my entire career – for some 20+ years now. For most of the past decade, I was Chief Marketing Officer at the sneaker company Converse – makers of the iconic Chuck Taylor All Star. I was fortunate enough to join a team that purchased the brand out of a bankruptcy and I participated in its turn around and tremendous growth for the following seven years. Following that, my wife and I moved home to Portland, Oregon to raise our three glorious children in the beautiful Northwest.

Today, I advise a number of companies, large and small, on growth strategies. Yet, an increasing part of my work considers the social impact (positive and negative) consumer companies have on the planet and on society itself. I was fortunate enough to join product(RED), Bobby Shriver and Bono’s pro social branding concept to help combat AIDS in Africa. My work with these two amazing leaders left an indelible mark on how I see the role of companies in the world. I believe it is possible to do well and do good at the same time. I believe that companies, made up of people like us all, can serve shareholders and society at the same time.

This led me to DotGreen and the work they are doing to create a global platform for sharing ideas on the Internet. Their concept is brilliantly simple and, at the same time, expansive in scope.

Thank you for reading – I look forward to sharing of my experience here for the next few days.

Seeing is believing!  A snapshot view of the ICANN TAS system showing .green as completed from passing the review to deposits confirmed to application receipt confirmation.

On April 3, The DotGreen Community, Inc. officially submitted its application to ICANN to manage the .green Top-Level Domain. To read original article, visit http://dotyou.biz/congrats-to-dotgreen-on-application-submission/

By Annalisa Roger

DotGreen has been a labor of love. In my life over the past 5 years, I have received the support of so many who support the green movement. Internet industry experts and friends who believe in the .green TLD have put their trust and faith in me, cheering on the DotGreen Team and working with us on the development of this new gTLD space for social and environmental good. Allow me to express my personal gratitude and special thanks for the hard work and daily commitment the DotGreen Team and our friends at Neustar have afforded this project up to this point.

I am delighted to announce that on April 3rd, 2012, we completed and submitted an exceptional application for the .green TLD to The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for evaluation.

Finishing the application is a tremendous milestone that we would like to share with the green movement. It gives me great pleasure to assure environmentalists, ocean lovers, animal advocates and humanitarians of the green movement that we are doing our best to further involve the Internet domain industry in the larger puzzle of shifting to sustainability. I am confident we have submitted the most comprehensive and compelling application and business case possible for the responsible and successful management of the .green TLD. We have met complex industry requirements and regulations of the new gTLD application process, and have also prepared policies and infrastructure to best serve the new green Internet.

While not an ICANN application requirement, I have insisted all along that a non-profit be a necessary part of the .green TLD initiative. In 2008, we founded the non-profit DotGreen Foundation, a For Public Benefit Charity, and in 2011 was awarded the prestigious 501(c)3 tax exempt status in the U.S. Now .green domain registrations will fund programs and projects aligned with sustainability (the meaning of the string “green”), for people and planet in every region of the world. I am thankful to EarthShare for their steady support and guidance thus far and look forward to our shared future achieving our philanthropic goals together.

Humanity’s greatest movements and best efforts always involve the people and their communities to gather around a common issue. Earth’s health is the issue of our time. The success of the .green TLD will belong to the new generation of registrants and Internet users whose love of nature, economic drive, collaborative interests, and concern for each other will galvanize the Global Response to Environmental and Economic Necessities (.GREEN) online in the race to save our planet.

April 30th, is the “Big Reveal” followed by batching and evaluation. Should our path to delegation bring challenges over the course of this year, we invite you to stay in touch on Facebook, Twitter and our Newsletter, so we can keep you posted. Please continue to wish us good luck!

Warm regards,

Annalisa

By Tim Switzer

ICANN 43 was recently held in Costa Rica – simply said, it was an incredible week on many fronts.

The host country and organization, NIC-Internet Costa Rica, did an incredible job of running a first class event that included more than 1,700 attendees. The participants were treated to an incredibly passionate opening ceremony speech by Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla. There were some memorable ICANN week events including Music Night and the spectacular Gala, which was highlighted by delightful music from local artist and Grammy award winning group Editus followed by Costa Rica’s Philharmonic National Orchestra.

Costa Rica is one of the greenest nations in the world and those who were fortunate enough to adventure out to the country were in awe of its natural beauty.  This made for a perfect setting during the week for DotGreen to highlight all the exciting plans it has for the .green TLD.

The week started with DotGreen and Neustar co-sponsoring a rainforest tree restoration effort and class 4 whitewater river rafting trip thru the rainforest with Rios Tropicales, an organization that has spent years  focusing on sustaining the Costa Rican rainforest and local economy.  More than 50 Internet delegates from the ICANN community around the world joined in the day]s activity, planting more than a hundred trees and creating incredible memories for all.

Dotgreen had a very busy week as it met with local Costa Rican officials, the press and future partners receiving very positive feedback on the .green initiative.  A few of the ICANN key and “lively” Internet policy discussion topics during the week included the New gTLD batching process, WHOIS and the Registrar Accreditation Agreement.  One noteworthy observation was the sense of cooperation and open communication between two very important groups in the multi-stakeholder process – the GNSO and the GAC.   

DotGreen returns from this incredible week and “green country” more energized than ever to advance the .green initiative!      

San Jose, Costa Rica, ICANN 43 – On March 12, 2012, the President of the Republic of Costa Rica, Mrs. Laura Chinchilla Miranda, was well received at ICANN meeting 43.

Chinchilla is the first woman President of the remarkable country with no army and where its people and the environment are at the top of the agenda. She delivered a stunning speech instilling hope that perhaps other nations of our world may be able to focus their priorities as clearly.

Since 1869, Costa Rica has understood and protected the value of knowledge and has maintained a public and free education system for all. In addition, health care for all people is accessible with a hospital in every region. Costa Rica has a 40 year history of protecting nature and an impressive goal of becoming carbon neutral.

The President extended a warm welcome in Spanish to a record ICANN attendance in Latin America, with more than 1700 attendees registered plus many more logging on to participate from cyberspace. She described her country as “This land of peace, freedom, and exuberant nature in Central America.”

Also presenting at the opening ceremony of ICANN’s 43 meetings was the Minister of Science and Technology, Alejandro Cruz, who DotGreen later had the honor to meet; Gabriel Macaya, President of the National Academy of Sciences; and Guy de la Teramond, known as the founding father of the Internet in Costa Rica. Their speeches were very informative and supportive of both the Internet and its multi-stakeholder process of governance through the ICANN model. Chairman of the ICANN Board Dr. Stephen Crocker, ICANN President and CEO Mr. Rod Beckstrom, LACNIC CEO Mr. Raul Echeberria, and LACNIC Director Mr. Hartmut Glaser were also opening ceremony speakers.

ICANN video of Costa Rica President’s Speech www.ICANN.org/

English Translation Transcript by ICANN  www.ICANN.org/

ICANN 43 – San Jose, Costa Rica, March 12, 2012 Speech delivered by the President of the Republic of Costa Rica, Mrs. Laura Chinchilla Miranda.

Good morning, Minister of Science and Technology, Alejandro Cruz; Gabriel Macaya, President of the National Academy of Sciences; Dr. Stephen Crocker, Chairman of the ICANN board; Mr. Rod Beckstrom, ICANN President and CEO; Mr. Raul Echeberria, LACNIC CEO; Mr. Hartmut Glaser, LACNIC’s director; and Guy de la Teramond, the founding father of the Internet in our country, thank you for your initiative and your persistence.

Dear friends, to those of you here today and to those of you connected in cyberspace, please feel warmly welcomed to ICANN’s 43rd public meeting that takes place in this exceptional country that is Costa Rica. This land of peace, freedom, and exuberant nature in Central America feels grateful for being chosen for this important event. We have been longing for this for quite a long time because there is a symbolism between what ICANN represents and promotes and the values enshrined by my people.

You are one of the communities that best understands the significance of knowledge to human progress, and it is thanks to this knowledge that is always evolving that we have witnessed one of the most important revolutions in humanity. That is, the digital revolution.

In my country, we, early on, understood the value of knowledge, and since then we have been cultivating that. We decreed that education should be public and free of charge, and that has been so since 1869. We were pioneers in Latin America. We did so even before England or the United States of America. It is thanks to this investment in human capital that today we are the largest technology exporter in the region, and we are far ahead in terms of innovation.

You are the most revolutionary global community because you uphold the values of freedom and democratic access to cyberspace. One of your models is the construction of a bottom-up Internet. My country was also — or is also the result of a bottom-up process. We were born as a small farming community that successfully contributed to a political, social, and economic democracy.

In 1948, we decided to consolidate the best of our civil values and we became the first nation worldwide that has no armed forces. Unlike other nations in our environment, we decided to resolve our disputes through the ballot and not with weapons. We decided to invest in books, schools, teachers, but not in weapons, barracks, and soldiers. This track record means that we are now the most stable and long-standing democracy in Latin America.You are also, by promoting virtual international meetings, contributing to mitigating the carbon footprint that we human beings leave anytime we move or travel among our nations.

Costa Rica, as the host country of this ICANN meeting, feels this recognition to its profound love of nature. In 0.3% of the world’s territory, we host nearly 5% of the world’s biodiversity. For more than 40 years now — or more than 40 years ago we decided to preserve this natural richness by devoting about 30% of our territory to special environmental protection programs. As a result, today we rank fifth in the environmental protection ranks of nations, and we want to become carbon-neutral.

But you are also the most demanding technological community on a global scale. We knew that the designation of Costa Rica as the host country for this meeting was the result of a thorough examination of our digital and technological capabilities, and your trust resulted in our commitment to guaranteeing the best access and traffic of information from this venue where we are today.

As we speak, we have two connections. We have interoceanic connections that lead connections and information through the Caribbean sea and the Pacific Ocean. Costa Rica is the nation with the highest level of connectivity in the region. We have five accesses to international networks: Maya, Arcos, Global Crossing, the Pan-American Connection, and satellite access.

We promote cloud-based solutions, and we are completing the construction of the second Tier 4 certified datacenter. In fact, we aspire to become the network access point of the digital economy in Central America and the Caribbean. However, we Costa Ricans are not satisfied with a good worldwide connection. We want to feel connected among ourselves as best we can.

Therefore, a year ago, I posted a challenge to my nation. Together with the social covenant for peace and the social covenant for nature, we should also subscribe a social digital covenant. This is an agreement that will enable Costa Rican men and women alike to make a quantum leap in our development, turning into an economy based on innovation.

An agreement that, in a few years’ time, will enable us to develop a broadband structure — really broadband structure — so as to overcome the 50% penetration barrier in our region and become one of the countries with the highest level of connectivity in Latin America.

This agreement, thanks to the collaborative approach that we are promoting, will enable the bridging of the digital gaps by guaranteeing free-of-charge broadband access to the less privileged sectors of our population and to 100% of our education institutions.

It is fair enough to admit that we are not starting from scratch thanks to the strong investment of our country, more than two decades ago. Costa Rica is now enjoying advancements in digital technologies.

The initiatives so far in our country have been recognized by the World Economic Forum by highlighting that Costa Rica is among the ten nations worldwide with the best prepared population in order to use digital technology.

My administration is also using the Internet to transform the way in which the government interacts with companies and citizens alike by simplifying the provision of services and massifying the use of the digital signature.

Costa Rica is fully integrated into the international movement that works towards the achievement of e- government, seeking an improvement in the quality of life, and seeking a more competitive state that will improve the productivity of our companies and attract for interesting investment.

Dear friends, ICANN’s 43rd meeting takes place in a special moment in Internet’s history. We are reaching a turning point, not only in terms of numbers and addresses but also in terms of Internet governance. From a technological standpoint, we are in the process of starting the transition to the IPv6 protocol. This will resolve the early depletion of I.P. addresses.

Also, IPv6 has inbuilt mobility and security features that are the main transformation that the digital world is undergoing.

Finally, it will enable the migration of analog and digital I.P. technologies such as TV on the Internet and this project will be completed in 2017.

We also see the possibility of enlarging the domain name system allowing for a better individual identification. You have the full support of our country to develop and implement these changes that will impact positively on the development of the digital world.

The core topics that bring us together are political, ethical, and regulatory. We are in the transition towards the 2.0 Web that entails new Internet applications that will enable the sharing of information, will enable interoperability, and user-based design and collaboration.

This evolution will change radically the way in which we communicate, reduce and train and educate our people. The potential for transformation is so huge that as a counterpart, it resulted in a series of attempts to regulate the network among which we have the Stop Online Piracy Act seeking protection of intellectual property by restrictions on the addressing or directions and the Protect Intellectual Property Act seeking to extend some national jurisdictional toward the entire cyberspace.

We are concerned by both of them, and we would like online protection and enforcement of digital trade act alternatives that do not seek restrictions and controls on cyberspace but rather focus on tracking and limiting payments to illegitimate Web sites without limiting the social transformation potential offered by Internet 2.0.

In the field of security, our priority should be to protect children. I’m honored to be the sponsor and the godmother of the program sponsored by the ITU known as Child Online Protection. Thanks to this program, cyberspace risks are identified and children worldwide are protected, awareness is raised, and experiences are shared. Also, effective protection tools are designed.

The legitimate concerns on the field of privacy, security, and protection of intellectual property should not become an excuse to justify trends seeking to exercise highly restrictive controls on cyberspace. We advocate a model that will guarantee privacy and security within universal access schemes or models. We advocate governance that will reinforce the most salient characteristic of the Internet, and that is that the Internet exponentials of growth should address the diverse and multiple nature of people surfing cyberspace; that is, effective surveillance that will not curtail Internet’s potential, which is democratic access.

Internet belongs to us all, and we should all participate in the discussion on the rules that should govern the Internet. The design of Internet governance should be based on a multistakeholder approach with — regardless of our political, corporate, financial power. We can participate in a process of reciprocal trust that will reinforce coordination and organization mechanisms in a democratic way. Internet is the great opportunity that we have in history, so as to not repeat our past errors that led to the creation of international governance institutions that are vertical, closed and bureaucratic.

Internet should not be conceived as a threat but rather as a hope. Internet is the hope of an integrated world without frontiers, a common world without controlling owners, a world of opportunities and equality. This is a utopia that we have been dreaming about that is a world in which each and every one of us are protagonists of a destiny that we have in our hands. Thank you very much.

As ICANN 43 begins, a world of excitement awaits. Traveling from around the globe, 1700 people are uniting to collaborate and discuss the future of the Internet in San Jose. A gathering in the beautiful rainforest of Costa Rica, seemed an opportune time for the DotGreen team and friends to learn about this important natural resource.

Before the ICANN conference began, fifty Internet delegates jumped on a bus and headed East for the opportunity to connect on a personal level to the stunning rainforest which is vital to our world’s ecosystem. Along the journey, we learned about Costa Rica and its beautiful people, ecosystem, democratic government and environmental goal of becoming carbon neutral. A tractor ride and steep hike led us deep into the rainforest to an abandoned pasture. Together, we participated in the reforestation project, planting more than 100 trees with Rios Tropicales, a environmentally responsible outfitter which also leads various local environmental efforts.

When we reached the bottom of the canyon, we met the Pacuare River. Divided into teams of four to six per boat, each with an expert guide, we rafted and paddled through exciting class 2, 3, and 4 whitewater rapids. Twenty miles of unspoiled rainforest unveiled remarkable butterflies of all colors, egrets, kingfishers, orioles, iguanas, frogs and more.

Ken Hansen, Senior Director of Business Development at NeuStar

Back at the Ramada Plaza Herradura Conference Center in San Jose, ICANN meetings are well underway. Yet during coffee breaks and in the halls, many continue to relive their rainforest adventure and environmental compassion through the sharing of their personal tales with the ICANN community. DotGreen greatly appreciates the support of Neustar, for helping to make this memorable experience possible. Neustar, our back-end technical registry services provider joined DotGreen in co-sponsoring this successful “People and Planet Event” where international ICANN delegates will return home with memories shared of the world’s valuable and gorgeous resource, the Costa Rican rainforest.

Annalisa Roger, CEO of DotGreen, Leo Rojas, caretaker of the Rios Tropicales Forest, Rafael Gallo, Founder of Rios Tropicales, Pito, caretaker of the Rios Tropicales Forest, and Jennifer Bullock, Director of Productions at DotGreen

About Rios Tropicales Rios Tropicales began purchasing land and restoring forest alongside the Pacuare River in 1989. Today, Rios Tropicales has acquired nearly 2,000 acres of land, and the organization has planted and maintained more than 50,000 trees, reviving the native forest that was once stripped for pasture land and agriculture. Rios Tropicales employs the local residents who have given up farming for training and employment in the eco-tourism business. At the core of its mission is a commitment to collaborate with the surrounding community to further environmental protection and reforestation knowledge in local residents and visitors alike. For this reason, Rios not only protects local forests and animal populations, but actively works to spread knowledge through its operations. Dedicated educational programs ensure that the mission reaches leaders of tomorrow and builds a generation of environmentally conscious individuals. For a fabulous experience of your own learn more at: www.riostropicales.com

New Roots for People & Planet

Pacuare River, Costa Rica: Sixty Internet Delegates from every region of the world will gather on the banks of the Pacuare River with expert river guides from Rios Tropicales to learn about the lungs of the planet deep in the heart of the rainforest. “Responsible travel, sustainable development, ecotourism, geo tourism, they’re all about people travelling and doing something about our beautiful planet.” said Fernando Esquivel co-founder of Rios Tropicales. The Internet’s policy makers and stakeholders will explore the Costa Rican interior and its ecosystem on a river rafting expedition, and take action with the globally recognized NGO, Fundacion Rios Tropicales, to plant more than 100 trees and create new roots for the benefit of People and Planet.

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