.nowruz Pre-Register Domain - .nowruz Domain Information

There are in excess of a hundred million of Persians worldwide. They are a disparate group, yet they are united through their core beliefs. They are a group whose origins are found several millennia in the past, their ethnicity often inextricably linked with their heritage. Hitherto, however, there has been no way to easily unify them and their common cultural, linguistic and historical heritage online. Nowruz, the Persian New Year, and the strong cultural denotation it has for Persians, is one yearly cultural event that achieves this aim offline. This unification can, for the first time, now be translated into online unity through the .NOWRUZ gTLD.
Nowrūz (meaning ʺ[The] New Dayʺ) is the name of the Persian New Year in Persian (Jalali) calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations. Nowruz is also widely referred to as the ʺPersian New Yearʺ. The word Nowruz, marks the first day of spring and is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on 21 March. It is celebrated as the beginning of the new year by more than 300 million people all around the world and has been celebrated for over 3000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions.
Today, the festival of Nowruz is celebrated in many countries that were territories of, or influenced by, the Persian Empire: Iran, Various Iranian Peoples including Kurds, Afghanistan, parts of the Middle East, as well as in the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It is also celebrated by the Zoroastrians as well by certain Iranic inhabitants in Pakistanʹs Chitralregion and Northern Areas. It is also celebrated by the Iranian immigrants from Shiraz in Zanzibar. it is called Nevruz in Turkic, Uyghurs who live in Northwestern China call it ʺNoruzʺ, and it is called Sultan Nevruz in Albanian. In Kurdish communities located in parts of western Iran, the holiday is referred to as Newroz, which is a variety of the Persian word Nowruz. The variety Nawroz is also an East Persian word and is used in the Persian speaking regions of Central Asia.
The term Nowruz first appeared in written Persian records in the 2nd century AD, but it was also an important day during the time of the Achaemenids c. 548-330 BC), where kings from different nations under the Persian empire used to bring gifts to the Emperor, also called King of Kings (Shahanshah), of Persia on Nowruz. The significance of Nowruz in the Achaemenid empire was such that the great Persian king Cambyses IIʹs appointment as the king of Babylon was legitimized only after his participation in the New Year festival (Nowruz).
Nowruz plays a significant role in strengthening the ties among peoples based on mutual respect and the ideals of peace and good neighborliness. Its traditions and rituals reflect the cultural and ancient customs of the civilizations of the East and West, which influenced those civilizations through the interchange of human values. Celebrating Nowruz means the affirmation of life in harmony with nature, awareness of the inseparable link between constructive labour and natural cycles of renewal and a solicitous and respectful attitude towards natural sources of life.
Under the agenda item of "culture of peace", the member states of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan [the Nowruz celebrating peoples] prepared and introduced a draft resolution entitled ʺInternational Day of Nowruzʺ to the ongoing 64th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations for its consideration and adoption.
In the 71st plenary meeting on 23 February 2010, The General Assembly welcomed the inclusion of Nowruz in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on 30 September 2009.
It also recognized 21 March as the International Day of Nowruz, and invited interested Member States, the United Nations, in particular its relevant specialized agencies, funds and programmes, and mainly the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and interested international and regional organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations, to participate in events organized by States where Nowruz is celebrated. Nowruz is thus a quintessential part of Persian culture, and being associated with Nowruz can effectively been seen as a synonymous with being associated with Persian heritage.
The proposed gTLD is, in fact, the name of an event common in between more than 300 million people around the word which fosters a culture of peace among different nations. While the .NOWRUZ gTLD ties back historically, linguistically and culturally to the Persian people, it also has the potential to tie together the tens of millions of people across the globe who live in territories of, or influenced by, the Old Persian Empire.
A robust gTLD has the power to bring together people across national borders in a free-flowing exchange of information and commerce. There is not a .COM or .ORG equivalent of the .NOWRUZ--a domain that has universal appeal across a common origin. ICANN is dedicated to creating more competition in the TLD space, and the introduction of those who seek to extend their interest in the Persian new year online through a .NOWRUZ gTLD does so in one simple stroke.
Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. (AGITSys) was founded by individuals of Persian origin who derive a great sense of honor and pride from their community, history and ancestry. AGITSys' founders have gathered together a team with extensive experience in Persian language on the Internet, a daunting but critical task. The team behind AGITSys, including technical advisor/member Dr. Shararam Soubitopour has taken a leading role in working toward Persian domain names (something it considers an inevitability) for more than 8 years. No entity is better suited to manage the .NOWRUZ gTLD, nor more dedicated to providing new online tools and services to facilitate the unification of those interested in .NOWRUZ online. The .NOWRUZ gTLD will increasingly open up the vast resources of the Internet and the associated global interconnectedness to those interested in this cultural event , while stimulating the introduction of more online information and resources in the Persian language - and AGITSys will be at the helm of this change.
The company is not only perfectly situated ideologically, but also physically, as is headquartered in Turkey, which ties together the global Persian population through close relations both with the citizens of Persian-speaking countries and territories of, or influenced by, the Old Persian Empire in the East, as well as the diasporas of Persian language speakers in Western nations. Turkey's geographical and political location aids it enormously in the endeavors needed for the .NOWRUZ gTLD to be a success, as it literally and figuratively sits in-between the East and West.

The benefits of the .NOWRUZ gTLD will be manifold, not just to registrants but also to myriad Persian internet users, as well as many others with an interest in or curiosity regarding Persia and its celebratory heritage, as well as the active celebration of Nowruz and the infrastructure around it. The presence of a Nowruz-specific gTLD will increase the volume of online resources for those wanting to connect with, plan for or study the history of the festival - alongside providing a useful resource for businesses associated with it. Existing website registrants will be able to extend their presence to that audience with new .NOWRUZ sites, while new registrants will emerge from those Persian populations brought together by the .NOWRUZ gTLD, adding to the value of the Internet, and Nowruz-related services, in ways not currently possible.
The .NOWRUZ gTLD is flexible, and is thus capable of being used for sites focused on ecommerce, information dissemination, charitable endeavors and many more functions among Persians and Nowruz enthusiasts. A transformation in competition is anticipated for web sites within .NOWRUZ, allowing them to depart from conventional methods of attracting new customers in this expanding market. This is because it will encourage competitors, targeting the extensive and diverse collection of global Persian Internet users and others interested in celebrating Nowruz. This incentive doesnʹt currently exist in an online space devoid of the .NOWRUZ gTLD, where competition amongst the already saturated existing TLDs pertaining to the festival is stagnant.
In terms of goals in the areas of specialty, service levels, and reputation for the proposed .NOWRUZ gTLD, Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. (AGITSys) is committed to offering choice in top level domain extensions among those Persians seeking an online extension of, or aide to, the Nowruz festival. AGITSys is therefore prepared to utilize its home market of Turkey as a leading source of registrants and sites, while incorporating the power of the web to connect with myriad other registrants and Internet users beyond Turkey. Further, we intend to adopt and follow the highest standards in registry operations exceeding service levels and expectations and thus producing a consistent reputation.
AGITSys is committed to bringing top-level domain registration services to registrants. To this end, AGITSys has contracted CoCCA Registry Services (NZ) Limited ("CoCCA") to provide hosted Registry Services for the .NOWRUZ gTLD. CoCCA has over nine years experience authoring open source registry software systems and providing TLD registry support services. CoCCA was originally incorporated in Australia in 2003 as CoCCA Registry Services Limited, in January 2009 CoCCA re-located to New Zealand and trades as CoCCA Registry Services (NZ) Limited. CoCCA is a privately held NZ company.
CoCCA's clients are managers of county code top level domains (ccTLDs) as of 31 March 2012, 33 national country code top level domains ("ccTLDs") have selected CoCCA's SRS technology or services to manage their critical infrastructure. Several other ccTLDs have committed to migration to CoCCA's "pamoja" EPP Shared Registry System ("SRS") in 2012 pending the outcome of re-delegations.
CoCCA's pamoja SRS is the most widely deployed, field-tested SRS in use today. CoCCA's SRS is a mature product that has grown organically over the past decade as new standards have been developed and published. It is doubtful any other Registry Services provider has accumulated CoCCA's level of experience operating multiple small to medium sized TLDs efficiently and securely.
AGITSys' team is well-known in the ICANN community as a selfless champion of the interests of Persians around the world, including communities tied to the Persian heritage and its celebrations. We also have a long history of advising the Turkish internet industry. Our reputation is solid, and we have every incentive to maintain that reputation as we roll out the .NOWRUZ gTLD.
Under the shepherding of AGITSys, the .NOWRUZ gTLD will increase competition, provide more online differentiation for customers and consumers, while driving digital innovation. The addition of the .NOWRUZ gTLD will create new competition for names within the domain name space. Not only will the offering of .NOWRUZ domains create competition within content providers offering Nowruz specific content, but it is also expected that competition will be marginally enhanced among the varying service providers that users require to deploy said content.
As it is rolled out, the .NOWRUZ gTLD will rapidly develop as the gTLD of choice for those looking to promote or find Nowruz-related services and information - among them Persians in all countries as well those who live in territories of, or influenced by, the Old Persian Empire. The demand for cultural content from this group isn't and wonʹt be specifically satisfied by .COM or .ORG offerings within the current gTLDs and in fact has hampered collaboration and innovation. The Persian people desire content that is tailored to their own unique Nowruz-specific needs and wants, under the umbrella of a dedicated gTLD. As stated in 18(a) above, as cultural-content sites increasingly seek to differentiate themselves to consumers, and registrants seek to differentiate themselves to acquirers of second-level domains, the power to differentiate will come from innovative approaches to customer service and the creation of a trusted online environment - even if it is a relatively small one.
Because of its dedication to the Norwruz celebration y and the .NOWRUZ gTLD which is intended to serve it, AGITSys will implement protection measures for registrations to ensure an abuse free environment whilst maintaining choice. This will be accomplished with Registration safeguards, wildcard alerts, name selection polices, all governed by an Acceptable Use Policy and post registration protections via Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy and Uniform Rapid Suspension. More details on these policies can be found in answer to Questions 28 and 29.
The privacy offered will be total, within the rules and procedures provided by ICANN. These policies will be transparent and rigorous, modeled after successful policies implemented by currently delegated TLDs and accompanied by vigilant processes and technologies to prevent unauthorized access to information. This is a manifestation of the larger goal of the .NOWRUZ gTLD, that of a trusted source of safe online transactions, as stipulated in 18(a).
Privacy and security will be key elements of our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). The AUP will govern how a registrant may use its registered name, with a specific focus on protecting Internet users. AUP language would specifically address privacy by prohibiting a registrant from using a domain for any activity that violates the privacy or publicity rights of another person or entity, or breaches any duty of confidentiality owed to any other person or entity. The AUP also would prohibit spam or other unsolicited bulk email, or computer or network hacking or cracking, as well as the installation of any viruses, worms, bugs, Trojan horses or other code, files or programs designed to, or capable of, disrupting, damaging or limiting the functionality of any software or hardware. We would maintain complete enforcement rights over the use of the domain name. Should a registrant find itself in breach of the AUP, we would reserve the right to revoke, suspend, terminate, cancel or otherwise modify their rights to the domain name.
In terms outreach by the .NOWRUZ gTLD, it is expected that the momentum around .NOWRUZ will build quickly, given the pent-up demand for a specific forum for this crucially important celebration - demand that has been building for years within the ranks of the Persian people. AGITSys, as its champion in gTLD discussions, knows full well how popular this service will be.
Augmenting this, AGITSys is also active in the business community within Turkey and Middle Eastern countries, and interconnected across the spectrum of the Persian people due to its promotional efforts with ICANN and elsewhere. It will leverage that network to spread the word of the .NOWRUZ gTLD in order to promote adoption. The best steps AGITSys can take to ensure the gTLDʹs adoption and growth, however, are to ensure a system encouraging robust, safe and dynamic second-level domain sites.

Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. (AGITSys) will endeavor to the utmost in order to minimize the social costs to registrants of a .NOWRUZ second-level domain, not least because AGITSys has every incentive to encourage the adoption and growth of the .NOWRUZ domain. AGITSys has chosen to adopt CoCCA's tested acceptable use based policy matrix, recommendations for minimizing harm in TLDs, and subject the TLD to the CoCCA Complaint Resolution Service ("CRS").
The CoCCA Best practice policy matrix has been developed over a decade and has currently been adopted by 16 TLDs. It was developed for (and by) ccTLDs managers that desired to operate an efficient standards-based SRS system complemented by a policy environment that addressed a registrant's use of a string as well as the more traditional gTLD emphasis rights to string.
A key element of CoCCA's policy matrix is that it provides for registry-level suspensions where there is evidence of AUP violations. The TLD will join other TLDs that utilize the CoCCA's single-desk CRS. The CRS provides a framework for the public, law enforcement, regulatory bodies and intellectual property owners to swiftly address concerns regarding the use of domains, and the COCCA network. The AUP can be used to address concerns regarding a domain or any other resource record that appears in the zone.
The CRS procedure provides an effective alternative to the court system while allowing for Complaints against domains to be handled in a way treats each complaint in a fair and equal manor and allows for all affected parties to present evidence and arguments in a constructive forum.

AGITSys is also currently developing procedures for competition resolution regarding multiple registrations for the same second-level domain in addition to offering the required Sunrise offerings through general availability. AGITSys will model these procedures after the techniques and approaches that have succeeded best to date.
In terms of cost, benefits, and incentives to registrants, AGITSys will offer fair and competitive pricing campaigns. Competitive pricing and/or discounts will be used and adjusted accordingly to ensure the right incentive matches the phase of operation and business goals. AGITSys' business plan increases our confidence in offerings that will encourage growing adoption of the .NOWRUZ gTLD.
Each year, AGITSys will review its financial goals versus actual performance of registry operations. Output from the analysis will include the consideration of pricing versus demand for registrations. As with any for-profit entity, adequate cash flow and predictable revenue streams are essential to successful operations. As such, AGITSys may adjust pricing of domain registrations to align with evolving business goals. Adjustments can include not only price increases, but perhaps price decreases, but only current market analysis will dictate change. Therefore, AGITSys will document in the Registrant Agreement domain price change procedures and how they can be expect to learn about changes through our communications platform. In the end, serving the Persians interested in Nowruz through Internet technologies remains our first priority.

Protection of Geographic Names
Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. has chosen CoCCA Registry Services (NZ) Limited (CoCCA) as their registry services provider. CoCCA has over 12 years of experience in authoring registry software and providing registry support services. With 35 national TLDs relying on CoCCA's technology to manage critical infrastructure, the CoCCA EPP Shared Registry System (SRS) is the most widely deployed, field-tested SRS in use today. In many respects new niche market gTLDs are predicted to more closely resemble existing ccTLD name spaces than the current gTLD ones. CoCCAʹs commercial model and technology enables TLD Sponsoring Organizations to focus on operating the front end portion of the registry including sales, marketing and community relations while leaving the operational aspects to the proven team at CoCCA.
In addition to technology CoCCA has a considered and tested set of leading - practice policies designed to address security, stability, rights protection, abuse mitigation, privacy and other issues, CoCCA is a trusted partner for Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. to operate the .nowruz in a manner that is fully compliant with all ICANN rules and regulations.

CoCCA, on behalf of the Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti., intends to implement the following measures to protect geographical names at the second and at all other levels within the TLD:

Reservation Measures for Geographical Names
Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. will adhere to Specification 5 of the proposed Registry Agreement, "Schedule of Reserved Names at the Second Level in gTLD Registries" / section 5 titled "Country and Territory Names." The geographic names listed in the following internationally approved documents will be reserved at the second level within the TLD and at all other levels where registrations occur:
(1.i.1) the short form (in English) of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166- 1 list, as updated from time to time, including the European Union, which is exceptionally reserved on the ISO 3166-1 list, and its scope extended in August 1999 to any application needing to represent the name European Union
(1.i.2) the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names, Part III Names of Countries of the World; and
(1.i.3) the list of United Nations member states in 6 official United Nations languages prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.

Potential Release of Geographical Names
Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. is committed to working with governments and other stakeholders that may have a concern regarding the registration of names with national or geographic significance at the second level. If Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. decides to release reserved geographical names, Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. will abide by the process outlined in Specification 5 of the Registry Agreement by seeking agreement from the applicable government(s). Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. understands that any release of the geographical names may be subject to Governmental Advisory Committee review and approval by ICANN.

Review, Audit, and Updates to Policies
Policy management is dynamic in nature requiring continual management. The Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. in conjunction with CoCCA's assistance will be engaged in policy development efforts in general and with respect to protections of geographical domain names. Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. will review and consider suggestions or concerns from government, public authorities or IGOʹs regarding this policy. And as with all required policies, Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. will perform openly and transparent should updates to existing policy or the creation of new policy be required. Further, Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti.ʹ internal process continually reviews and manages its reserve lists as one part of the abuse prevention mechanisms described in greater detail within question 28, "Abuse Prevention and Mitigation."