AFRINIC 25
[Update] The following reports are now available:
AFRINIC 25: Setting the scene - by Mwendwa Kivuva
An update on ICANN’s Africa strategy - by Jacob Odame
Critical Internet Infrastructure in Mauritius - by Jacob Odame
Read also the Event announcement
AFRINIC 25: Setting the scene
The 25th Africa Network Information Center (AFRINIC) meeting will be held from 25 to 30 November 2016 at Sofitel Imperial hotel in Mauritius.
Tutorials will be held on Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs), IPv6 foundation training, Internet Number Resource Management, and a session on increasing participation at the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in the African Region.
The session on AFRINIC Government Working Group will explore ways of involving more African governments and multilateral organisations in Internet Governance efforts.
An interesting development will be the launch of AFRINIC’s new IPv6 testing and certification platform.
The hallmark for all Regional Internet Registry meetings is usually the Policy Discussion Working Group (PDWG). The PDWG will discuss four policies among them Inbound Transfer Policy, Soft Landing policy Overhaul, the proposal to Transfer IPv4 Resource within the AFRINIC region, and Internet Number Resources Review by AFRINIC.
The last day will have the Special general members meeting, where members will vote for Special Resolutions for AFRINIC Proposed Bylaws Changes, and elections of members for the AFRINIC Governance Committee.
Read the agenda of the meeting.
by Mwendwa Kivuva, Project Manager, AFRINIC
An update on ICANN’s Africa strategy
The session on ICANN’s Africa strategy, as part of the AFRINIC 25 Public Policy Meeting, was led by by Pierre Dandjinou, Vice-President, ICANN Stakeholder Engagement - Africa; Yaovi Atohoun, Stakeholder Engagement Operations Manager – Africa; and Bob Ochieng, Stakeholder Engagement Manager - Africa.
Dandjinou gave a brief introduction of the session and mentioned that by launching the Africa Engagement Office in Nairobi, on 24 May 2016, ICANN demonstrated commitment to foster engagement in Africa. He invited Khaled Koubaa, newly elected member of ICANN and a member of the AFRINIC community, to share his perspectives.
Atohoun presented the operations of ICANN’s strategy. He explained that ICANN Africa is focusing on two objectives. The first is to transform the Domain Names System (DNS) industry in Africa through capacity development across the region. The second is to embark on promotion and awareness, and the involvement of African constituents for better engagement in the ICANN processes.
In terms of the capacity development for the DNS industry, Atohoun explained that from the existing data for 2014, there have been 21 events reaching over 3,110 individuals. The topics covered in the events included Internet governance, ICANN processes and DNS.
Atohoun proceeded to show the significant gains achieved so far through the Africa office. These included: improved visibility of ICANN in Africa; the introduction of the DNS Forum; the introduction of multiple channels of communication; and the organisation of topical workshops.
Ochieng echoed the importance of the Africa engagement office. A key focus is on capacity development for different stakeholders including civil society, government and the private sector. For the 2017 financial year, the office will focus on capacity development for the government sector, aimed at officials from government ministries, regulators, and other bodies. He mentioned the availability of funding in partnership with governments to encourage people to participate in regional and global events.
Summarising the projects that the office is focusing on, Ochieng highlighted the following:
- Various capacity development initiative;
- The Africa Internet History project, which will chronicle the key milestones and the people who contributed in shaping the Internet on the African continent;
- The Africa Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) project aimed at bringing African languages to the internet. Here he made special mention of Ethiopia as being the first country to achieve the targets.
- Dissemination of virus alerts, advisories, vulnerability alerts on daily basis
- Awareness campaigns
- Organisation of community alerts
- Organisation of professional training
- Publications (guidelines, e-security newsletters, brochures, booklets, flyers and a dedicated cybersecurity portal
- Assistance to organisations for the implementation of information security management systems based on ISO 27001
- Conducting third party information security audits
- Carrying out technical security assessment of ICT infrastructure or organisation
- National Certs: CERT-IN, JPCERT, CC KISA, US CERT
- International Multilateral Partnership against Cyber Threats (IMPACT)
- Anti-Phishing Group (APWG)