CEO's Monthly Updates

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Dear Colleagues,

 

It is my hope that you are keeping safe. Below are the AFRINIC Activities Updates for the month of April 2021.

 

AFRINIC Q1 Activities

In the first quarter of 2021, we endeavoured to host and coordinate a total of six webinars and one IPv6 Deployathon. Out of these webinars, one was a community consultative webinar that saw 68 Community members take part. During quarter one, we signed digital development MoUs with the Ministry of Digital Economy of Benin (MND) to collaborate on the development of a resilient digital economy infrastructure in their Benin and one with the African Telecommunication Union to undertake research and build the capacity of African Governments and ICT regulators for effective Internet development in Africa. Other collaborations include partnerships with Facebook, Southern Africa Telecommunication Association (SATA), Smart Africa and Autorité de Regulation de la Poste et de Telecommunication du Congo (ARPTC-DRC).

 

New Co-chairs of the PDP

I would like to congratulate Mr Vincent Ngundi and Mr Darwin Da Costa on their selection and appointment as PDWG Co-chairs effective 10th April 2021 to serve a two-year term and one-year term respectively. I wish them well in their new position and call on all of us to give them the support that they might require. The replacement of the PDWG Co-chairs was an experience and we recently published the recap and the lessons learnt while facilitating the discussions of replacing the PDWG Co-Chair.

 

Application for Injunction - Cloud Innovation

In addition to the existing two pending cases before the Hon. Judge of the Mauritius Supreme Court (i.e Afri Holdings & Others vs AFRINIC (2020); and Logic Web Inc vs AFRINIC (2021)), it has recently come to Management’s knowledge that Cloud Innovation Ltd has lodged an application for an injunction against AFRINIC before the Mauritius Supreme Court. Due to the national lockdown pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic, AFRINIC is yet to officially receive the relevant court documents. Accordingly, we have requested the attorney of Cloud Innovation Ltd to do the needful so that we receive the relevant documents before AFRINIC may take a stand in the matter.

 

The Africa Internet Summit 2021 Online (AIS’21 Online) / AFRINIC-33

The annual, regional, multi-stakeholder ICT conference, AIS’21 Online is set to take place from 31st May to 4th June 2021. Delegate registration for this meeting is ongoing and delegates are requested to register before 21st May 2021. This edition of AIS Online hosted by the Internet Service Providers Association of the Democratic Republic of Congo (ISPA-DRC) as our Virtual Host.

AIS’21 Online is also calling on members of our community to share their innovation and projects during the summit through presentation proposals. We have provided an opportunity to submit presentations and the presentation proposals guide is available on the AIS’21 Online meeting website. The Call for AIS’21 Online Sponsors is now open. We are calling on African ISPs to take advantage of this opportunity and support the regional meeting. African ISPs are entitled to a 15% discount on the daily rate category of the AIS’21 Online Sponsorship Package.

For the first time, we have included a session on Inclusion and diversity in the African Internet Ecosystem in the AIS’21 Online Program. This comes in the wake of the need to enhance decent exchange while safeguarding and ensuring we have a strong African community. There is a need to better onboard our youth and make sure that their contributions help us build the future of the digital economy in Africa and adheres to the code of conduct set by the veteran community members. The session will include presentations and panel discussions around fostering a safe and inclusive environment for youth, people living with disability and women, in the African Internet tech space will be highlighted.

 

Thank You.

 

Kind Regards,

Eddy Kayihura,
Chief Executive Officer,
African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC)

 

 

 

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Dear Colleagues,

 

I hope you are keeping well. Please find below updates detailing AFRINIC activities in March 2021.

 

Community Consultative webinar

I would like to thank our community members who attended the “Public Persecution vs. Constructive Criticism on AFRINIC Mailing lists” Community Consultative Webinar. We had a total of 68 participants in the webinar. The AFRINIC mailing list is an essential avenue for policy building and continuous dialogue - our community’s heartbeat, where we engage in open, respectful discussions, on matters of importance to the African Internet community. From this webinar, we understood your perspective and we now pave the way for other such-like webinars where we listen to the views of our community.

This webinar showed the sense of goodwill from our community, the desire for teamwork in our community, and the trust you have for AFRINIC. I wish to assure our community that we will make sure to address the concerns raised in the shortest time possible to see us get to a point where it is safe to contribute to discussions on the mailing list. We want to ensure that we create an environment that is conducive enough and helpful for everyone to participate freely and where people are safe to contribute. An executive summary for the webinar has been published.

 

AIS’21 Online

The African Internet Summit (AIS’21) Online / AFRINIC 33 will take place on 31st May- 4th June 2021. Registration for this meeting is now open, and delegates are requested to register before 21st May 2021.

The virtual session will follow the tentative program below:

  • 31 May 2021 - AfNOG Technical Session
  • 1 June 2021 - Af* Meeting
  • 2-3 June 2021 - AFRINIC-33 Public Policy Meeting
  • 4 June 2021 - Annual General Members Meeting (AGMM).

 

Updates on the Mailing list clean up Exercise

To safeguard the community from being subject to inappropriate behaviours, we have developed mechanisms to verify and authenticate the mailing lists’ users. The terms of use are now approved and we are working on its implementation starting with the community-discuss mailing list

 

AFRINIC Office Closure

There has been another wave of COVID-19 infections in Mauritius. The Mauritian authorities have announced a countrywide lockdown in the next two weeks. For our staff’s safety and to comply with the government directives, the AFRINIC office will remain closed for any walk-in services during this time. We have put in place measures to ensure that all our services are available, albeit online and the AFRINIC Team is in a position to provide services.

 

Appreciation to all Volunteers in the African Internet Community

Our community is backed up by men and women who have given their time and even expertise towards various projects and in different groups and I would not end this update without appreciating our community members who double up as volunteers engaging in discussions on the mailing lists. Moreover, they take time out of their busy schedules to participate in consultative sessions whenever they are called upon. I think it is only fair that I acknowledge these groups: The Board Members, the members of all working groups and our volunteer translators. Thank you for your service.

 

I wish you well as we pursue our common goals and aspirations.

 

Thank You.

 

Kind Regards,

Eddy Kayihura,
Chief Executive Officer,
African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC)

 

 

 

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