APNIC Overhauls Conference Host and Location Selection Process for Greater Transparency — Internet, networks and telecom

APNIC has revised its selection process for stand-alone conferences to provide clearer guidance to prospective hosts and ensure a more transparent decision-making framework, reflecting the significant growth in event scale since 1995.

APNIC has updated its host and location selection process for stand-alone conferences to address the increasing scale and complexity of its events. The organization aims to offer prospective hosts clearer guidance earlier in the planning cycle while making the assessment and decision-making processes more transparent. These conferences serve as a vital platform for members, technical experts, partners, and internet stakeholders to engage in governance activities, including policy development and Executive Council elections, while sharing operational best practices to strengthen regional internet infrastructure.

Since the first conference was held in Bangkok in 1995 with 82 attendees, APNIC stand-alone events have grown to regularly attract approximately six times that number. This expansion underscores the continued relevance of these gatherings for the broader internet community. The events maintain a community-led approach where a Program Committee leads the agenda, while a local host organizes the event and fosters local engagement. Hosting provides an opportunity for local organizations to showcase their economic internet development, build relationships with stakeholders, and lower participation barriers for local engineers, policymakers, academics, and students.

Stand-alone APNIC conferences follow an established sub-regional rotation across East Asia, South Asia, and Oceania to maintain proximity to communities throughout the region. The upcoming schedule includes Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in 2027; Oceania in 2028 and 2031; South Asia in 2029 and 2032; and East Asia in 2030. Separately, conferences held as part of the APRICOT Summit are governed by the APNOG board, which has indicated that these events will largely remain in South East Asia without rotating to different subregions.

The updated selection process introduces a standard Expression of Interest (EoI) procedure, a clearer assessment framework, and a consistent timeline for identifying future locations. The EoI process will open approximately 30 months before each stand-alone conference, allowing prospective hosts six months to prepare proposals. For instance, the EoI period for the September 2029 South Asia conference is scheduled to run from March to September 2027.

Following the closure of the EoI period, the APNIC Secretariat will evaluate submissions against a published assessment framework covering venue suitability, accessibility, local host capability, financial viability, and risk. The Executive Council will then select the host and location based on this assessment, with the decision and supporting information published by the Secretariat. While the standard rotation is the norm, the framework allows for controlled exceptions if key milestones cannot be reasonably followed, requiring documentation to ensure accountability. The first EoI under this new process opens in March 2027 for the 2029 South Asia conference.

Sources: APNIC Blog.