Celebrating a Milestone With Something NewElizabeth Field

In April 2025, I celebrated six months as ICANN Ombuds. My six-month milestone coincided with the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, which feels like an appropriate time for sharing with you my first report on the ICANN Office of the Ombuds' activities and cases.

This report covers 'spring growth' in the Office: a new strategic framework, a new case management categorization system, and a refreshed Ombuds website. This growth emerges from well-established roots, which I have been tending as the Office continues to receive and manage cases from across the ICANN ecosystem.

My overarching priority since taking up the ICANN Ombuds role in October 2024 has been to develop the Office's infrastructure and systems to ensure that the Office of the Ombuds enhances efficiency, transparency, and accountability.

The ICANN Work Stream 2 recommendations highlight the importance of the Office reporting on its activities, as well as statistics and trends from case management data. As I continue in my role as ICANN Ombuds, I am committed to sharing information that helps enhance transparency and accountability to the community.

In terms of complexity, this six-month report, covering 1 October 2024 to 31 March 2025, is a snapshot and less detailed than the Annual Report, which I will publish after the close of the fiscal year.

As always, I welcome your feedback. Is the report of interest or value to you? How could it be improved? Please let me know your thoughts by emailing [email protected]or [email protected].

In Other News…ICANN83: An Opportunity to Engage

ICANN83 in June 2025 will be my third ICANN Public Meeting and my first Policy Forum. I will have an office at the meeting and will be joined by Linda Mainville, the Adjunct Ombuds. We hope to have active engagement with community members, and we invite you to visit the Office.

We want to hear from you on topics such as:

• How can the Office serve your needs better?
• Do you have any questions or suggestions about improving transparency and accountability to the community?

As always, if you have any concerns or questions, please get in touch. We are here to help.