Summary

  • The GAC's 26 October Bali communiqué says budget constraints have made further sign-language interpretation at ICANN meetings temporarily dependent on host-country willingness and support.
  • A GAC feasibility survey received 146 replies from 1,569 invitees; 11 respondents said they could benefit themselves, and 39 knew someone who could. The next decision is a funded service plan with a chosen sign language and sessions.

An international meeting can book a ballroom, microphones and six spoken-language channels. Its sign-language interpreter has a less settled booking method: find a willing host. That is the state recorded by ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee in its 26 October Bali communiqué. The GAC's Human Rights and International Law Working Group still wants sign-language interpretation at public meetings, but says budget constraints have made further implementation dependent on host countries, at least for now.

The service is about taking part, not merely receiving a transcript afterwards. In the GAC's 2024 feasibility work, deaf community representatives described the speed of live captions and the loss of body language. An interpreter would also let a participant intervene in a session using sign language. The working group's questionnaire drew 146 responses from 1,569 recipients. Eleven respondents identified their own potential need; 39 identified someone they knew. Forty-nine rated interpretation very important to their understanding and participation, with another 36 rating it fairly important or important.

Those are recorded answers, and they give the budget question a real audience.

Language choice has an operating cost too. The feasibility report found interest in the sign language used where the meeting takes place, so local deaf communities can join a meeting in their own city. Its respondents did not ask for one universal signing track. A programme that changes countries three times a year therefore needs to decide the language, interpreter supply, video placement and which sessions receive service. Some survey respondents chose particular sessions; others wanted the full meeting. An equipment booking alone settles none of those choices.

ICANN's published language-services policy already specifies spoken-language interpretation in six ICANN languages for main plenaries and adds Portuguese in the GAC room. The September 2026 HRILWG agenda listed a proposed sign-language test at ICANN87. The Bali communiqué reports the subsequent funding position, without a delivered pilot or booked next service. ICANN's host-selection criteria count local financial support in choosing a venue; they do not assign sign-language provision as a standard host duty. A willing host could help. The durable decision still belongs in a funded meeting plan with an accountable ICANN owner.

ICANN88 is scheduled for Lisbon, 13–18 March 2027. Its public service schedule will show the practical answer: a named sign language, named sessions, a way to follow and participate, and a payer. The conference badge is already part of the machinery. The interpreter should not have to wait for an unmarked budget envelope.

Original records: GAC Bali communiqué; GAC feasibility report; September HRILWG agenda; ICANN language-services policy; meeting-host criteria; meeting calendar.