NamesCon Europe founder Dietmar Stefitz reportedly dies

I’m very sorry to report that Dietmar Stefitz, founder of the domainer conference that would become NamesCon Europe, has died, according to social media posts.

His Facebook profile this morning filled with tributes, variously describing him as “passionate”, “kind” and “genuine”, after his niece announced his death.

Stefitz was best known in the domain industry for founding the Domaining Europe conference in 2008, which he hosted annually, typically in his home town of Valencia, Spain, for a decade.

The event was eventually merged with GoDaddy’s NamesCon to become NamesCon Europe in 2018, and Stefitz took a backseat role in its management.

I did not know Dietmar well, but I spent a enjoyable evening at his table during the inaugural NamesCon Europe and found him warm and engaging.

Eerily, Stefitz’s Twitter profile was updated this afternoon, encouraging readers to “take advantage of the little moments”, over 15 hours after his death was announced. I don’t know whether it was a time-delayed post or was posted by a relative.

While the tweeted video prominently features the character of the Grim Reaper, and it’s a Christmas advertisement for meat products, it does carry the message “Disfruta en vida”, which I believe translates as “Enjoy Life”.

Disfruta en vida y la alegría de la Navidad, aprovecha esos pequeños momentos. https://t.co/Qi6JW1YN4b #DisfruteEnVida

— Dietmar Stefitz (@bemarnet) December 4, 2020

It’s a message that, by all accounts, Stefitz lived by.

ICANN picks Madrid for next gTLD industry meeting

ICANN’s Global Domains Division has invited the domain industry to Madrid for next year’s GDD Industry Summit.

The meeting will be held at the drably named NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding hotel from May 8 to 11 2017.

The timing may be fortuitous for intercontinental travelers — it ends just a couple of days before the Domaining Europe event starts in Berlin, which is just a short flight away.

ICANN summits are intersessional meetings dedicated to particular constituencies within the ICANN community. The GDD Industry Summit caters to registries, registrars and others in the business of selling gTLD domains.

They’re less formal that ICANN’s regular public meetings, designed to enable engagement between participants and between participants and ICANN staff.

The 2016 meeting was held in Amsterdam this June, attracting about 400 attendees.

ICANN’s formal public meetings next year are slated for Copenhagen (March), Johannesburg (June) and Abu Dhabi (October).

Domaining Europe heading to Berlin next year

Next year’s Domaining Europe conference will be held in Berlin, organizers announced today.

The three-day event is slated to start May 14, 2016, at the Steigenberger Hotel, covering the usual mix of sales, development and legal issues.

“This time we are going back to the roots,” organizer Dietmar Stefitz said in an email, “the majority of the panels will discuss about monetization and Market-places.”

This year’s Domaining Europe took place in the Netherlands, after taking place for a couple of years in Spain.

Full-price tickets will be €650 (currently about $705) but there’s an early-bird discount to €350 for anyone buying before December 15.

The conference is being managed in cooperation with ECO, the Germany internet industry association.

Domaining Europe moves to the Netherlands

Domaining Europe conference will be held in the Netherlands for the first time in 2016.

Organizers say the venue will be the Grand Hotel Amrâth Kurhaus in The Hague, which is about an hour by train from Amsterdam’s Schipol airport.

Since its inception, Domaining Europe has been held in Valencia, Spain.

The plan for 2016 is to hold the conference May 29 to 31, two days after the TheNextWeb Europe conference ends in Amsterdam.