IGF
Global IGF
The Internet Governance Forum
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was set up by the United Nations following the working sessions of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The Internet Governance Forum is an annual platform for multi-stakeholder consultation for the global Internet fraternity to explore, discuss and solve crucial Internet-related issues. Since 2006, the IGF brings stakeholders together from the government sector, the Industry, and the Civil Society to discuss Internet governance issues at annual meetings.
At present, three out of the ten seats allocated to the academic and technical community are occupied by RIRs representatives on the IGF Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group (MAG).
The NRO collectively and AFRINIC individually are keen participants at the annual global IGF with workshops and expert speakers present on different panels. Get an overview of some of these contributions over the years.
Regional IGFs
The Regional Internet Governance Forums (IGF) are multi-stakeholder platforms focusing on Internet governance issues such as access, cybersecurity, critical internet resources and Internet governance for development (IG4D) specific to each sub-region. The outcome of these forums is shared at the Global IGF.
AFRINIC supports the African sub-regional IGFs through the content building, and by providing financial and technical support.
African IGF (AF-IGF)
Internet Governance in Africa was very active during the WSIS process with regional meetings held from 2002 to 2005 in Bamako, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Johannesburg, Douala and Tunis. The AF-IGF forum includes representatives from governments, businesses and non-governmental organisations and addresses Internet Governance issues in the continent to provide substantive input to the global IGF process. Further, within the IGF global initiative, Africa has already hosted two Global IGFs - Egypt (2009) and in Kenya (2011).
Arab IGF
This multi-stakeholder forum consists of 22 Arab nations. The Arab IGF was launched in 2012 following the endorsement of the outcome of the Conference and Public Consultations, jointly organised by LAS and ESCWA in Beirut, to establish the Arab IGF.
Click here to learn more about these issues.
East Africa Internet Governance Forum (EAIGF)
The EAIGF regroups East African stakeholders to build a common understanding of East Africa Internet governance issues to enable meaningful participation in global Internet policy, governance and development. The participating nations are Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Read more on the East Africa Internet Governance Forum (EAIGF)
Forum de gouvernance de l'internet en Afrique centrale (FGI-CA)
This multi-stakeholder forum tackles several ICT related themes and Internet governance issues in the Central African region. The participating nations are Cameroun, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, DR Congo, Central Africa Republic and Chad.
West Africa Internet Governance Forum (WAIGF)
The West Africa Internet Governance Forum (WAIGF) aims to promote Internet Governance issues in West Africa through a multi-stakeholder process. It is run by a consortium led by the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA). Other members of the consortium include AFRINIC, Panos West Africa, the IISD, APC, ISOC and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The Member states participating in these forums are Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Southern Africa Internet Governance Forum
The SA-IGF acknowledges the importance of Internet Governance and the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) as captured in the 2005 Tunis Agenda for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
North Africa Internet Governance Forum
The first North Africa Internet Governance Forum took place in Hammamet, Tunisia, in September 2012.
AF*
AF* are organisations that constitute the African Internet ecosystem. The idea to set up the AF* regrouping organisations supporting Internet development in Africa dates back to December 1998. A meeting held in Cotonou, Benin was organised where African Internet pioneers debated on the theme of Internet Governance in Africa. This was the first global meeting on Internet governance to discuss Internet governance issues in the African region.
At this meeting, Dr Nii Quaynor, the first African recipient of the John Postel Award highlighted the need to set up technical institutions to support Internet growth and to unite the African Technical community.
These organisations today constitute the ecosystem of the African Internet. They cover the following areas: Numbers (AFRINIC), Security ( AfGWG, AfricaCERT ), Community and Policy (AIG, AfGWG), Capacity building (All AF*), Research and Education (AfREN), Infrastructure (AFPIF), Names (AfTLD). Other organisations in Africa are emerging within the ecosystem.
AF* Brochure
AFNOG
AfNOG is a forum for the exchange of Internet-related technical information. The forum engages in issues like implementation of new networks through community participation. Workshops and meetings allow network service providers to gather and discuss how to provide a stable service to end-users. The first AFNOG meeting was held from 30 April to 6 May 2000.
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AFREN
The African research and education networking (AfREN) is a forum for building an all-inclusive African Research and Education community that addresses collectively issues like collaboration, access to bandwidth and other critical resources, capacity building and content development.
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AFRICA Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT)
The Africa CERT programme is an initiative to fight cybercrime in Africa. AFRINIC, AFNOG and the Africa Asia Forum on Network Research & Engineering have been actively involved in promoting and supporting the CERT programme following the Declaration of Kigali to create a Computer Emergency Response Team. CERT Training sessions were held during AfNOG-11/AFRINIC-12 in Rwanda, AFRINIC-13 in South Africa, AFNOG-12/AFRINIC-14 in Tanzania, AFRINIC-15 in Cameroon and AFNOG-13/AFRINIC-16 in The Gambia.
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AfTLD
AfTLD is the ICANN recognised representative of Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) managers from the African region. AfTLD was established and registered in 2002 to act as a focal point for African ccTLD managers in coordinating, formulating, developing and presenting a unified approach to issues related to the Domain Name System. AfTLD also provides a platform for technical capacity development, information exchange, ccTLD Best practices and Research & Development
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AfGWG
The AFRINIC Government Working Group (AfGWG) was set up at the initiative of AFRINIC to work with African governments and regulators to address general Internet governance challenges in Africa.
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AfPIF
The African Peering and Interconnection Forum is a multi-stakeholder platform that addresses Interconnection, Peering, and Traffic Exchange issues in Africa and provides participants with insights and opportunities which help grow Internet infrastructure and services in Africa.
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NRO
On 24 October 2003, the four existing RIRs – APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC, and RIPE NCC – entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ICANN to form the Number Resource Organization (NRO).
The NRO is a coordinating body for the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) that manage the distribution of Internet number resources including IP addresses and Autonomous System Numbers. Each RIR consists of the Internet community in its region.
Following its incorporation in April 2005, AFRINIC signed an MoU with the NRO.
The NRO also acts as the ICANN Address Supporting Organization (ASO), formed to review and develop recommendations on IP address policy and to advise the ICANN Board. An elected body called the NRO Number Council (NRO NC) serves as the ASO Address Council (ASO AC), overseeing recommendations on IP address policy, including the management of policy development activities, and appoint members to the ICANN Board of Directors.
Each of the RIRs appoints three members of the ASO Address Council. Two members are selected by the regional policy forum of each of the RIRs and one member is appointed from the Executive Board of each RIR.
WTDC
World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) 2014 – AFRINIC’s way forward in capacity building
ITU's sixth World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) in the United Arab Emirates came to a close last week in Dubai. WTDC-14’s theme was “Broadband for Sustainable Development".
The objective of WTDC-14 is to establish work programmes and guidelines for defining telecommunication development questions and priorities and to provide direction and guidance for the work programme of the Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) over the coming four-year period.
AFRINIC participated in the discussions both regionally and at the WTDC-14 as we believe that the final 45 resolutions approved in the Dubai Action Plan will likely have an IP flavour in the end as they touch upon Over The Top (OTT) mobile services, machine-to-machine networks or e-education and health.
Of direct concern to the AFRINIC community, Resolution 63 on “IP address allocation and facilitating the transition to IPv6 in the developing countries” shows the need for continued IPv6 information sharing, training and capacity building. The resolution invites the Member States to engage with relevant parties, such as the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), for technical guidance and information based on shared experiences.
To help strengthen the above goal, the five RIRs – AFRINIC, APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC and the RIPE NCC - hosted a lunch event during the first week of the conference, inviting Member State representatives to speak with RIR staff about their various development and capacity building efforts. The discussion touched on cooperative public-private sector initiatives, community-building activities (such as support for network operator groups) and award programmes like the Fund for Internet Research and Education (FIRE), Regional Fund for Digital Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean (FRIDA) and the Information Society Innovation Fund (ISIF). ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré also joined the lunch and spoke for several minutes on the complementary work done by the ITU and the RIRs.
Study Group 1 of ITU-D ("Enabling environment, cybersecurity, ICT applications and Internet-related issues") will also see a new study question (COM3/DD) that looks at the policy, regulatory and technical aspects of IPv6 adoption. AFRINIC will work with its regional community and with SG1 to help shape existing or future regulatory frameworks.
The Dubai meeting helped AFRINIC to get a lot more visibility among the newest Member States of the region, including South Sudan, whose minister was very interested to hear about the areas in which AFRINIC can help her young country take off in terms of networking and capacity building AFRINIC has a stellar IPv6 training programme that is geared towards both technical and Decision Makers/C-level executives (learn.afrinic.net).
Other exchanges with Member States, the ITU and the ATU as well as industry (GSM Association, SAMENA Telecommunications Council, Intelsat etc.) reinforced the need for AFRINIC, in our capacity as the RIR for the African region, to be part of the implementation of regional initiatives that our community took to WTDC-14 and that were embedded in the final ITU-D objectives for the 2014-2018 cycle.
The WTDC14 final objectives are:
- Foster international cooperation on telecommunication/ICT development issues.
- Foster an enabling environment conducive to ICT development and foster the deployment of telecommunication/ICT networks.
- Enhance confidence and security in the roll-out and the safe use of telecommunications/ICTs.
- Build human and institutional capacity, promote digital inclusion and provide concentrated assistance to countries in special need.
- Enhance climate change responses and disaster management efforts through telecommunication/ICTs.
AFRINIC’s next step will be working with our industry partners as well as the public sector on a series of technical and less technical training as requested by most of the delegations we met at WTDC 14.
AFRINIC will participle in the last preparatory meeting of the ITUPP14, which is taking place in conjunction with ATU’s Plenipotentiary meeting next July in Harare. As a sector member of the ITU-D attending the ITU Plenipotentiary 2014 conference to be held in Busan, South Korea, later this year, AFRINIC is interested in the updating of resolutions that touch the Internet and have been discussed at ITU events for some time now:http://www.itu.int/osg/csd/intgov/
- Resolutions 101, 102, 130, 133 and 140 (Rev. Guadalajara 2010)
- Resolutions 174, 178, 179, 180 and 181 (Guadalajara 2010)
- ITU Council Resolution 1282 (Mod. 2008), Resolution 1305 (2009), Resolution 1336 (2011), Resolution 1344 (2012)
- WTSA Resolutions 47, 48, 50, 52, 59, 64, 69, 75 (Rev. Dubai, 2012)
- WTDC Programme 2, Resolutions 20, 30, 45 and 63 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010)
The upcoming Africa Internet Summit (AIS) 2014 that takes place in Djibouti from 25 May – 6 June will enable AFRINIC to discuss more of our involvement in the above events/discussions with the African community during the Internet governance sessions.
Other Stakeholders
AFRINIC works in collaboration with a wide range of institutions namely governments and other related organisations with an interest in Internet governance issues on a global level.
/1net
/1net is a platform that provides an inclusive and open venue supporting discussion of Internet governance matters for all those interested (individuals, governments, civil societies, technicians, etc.) and delivers the results of those discussions to the agendas of established and developing Internet governance institutions. It is vital that the voices of all contributors be heard and carried forward to help shape the future of the Internet’s governance. AFRINIC is one of the founding members of /1net.
Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)
The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) is a forum for policy dialogue. One of the principles underlying ADEA's philosophy is that the responsibility of education rests with the governments of Africa. ADEA is concerned with fostering a process that empowers African ministries of education and makes development agencies more responsive to the concept of national ownership. ADEA created its ICT task force in 2011.
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African Telecommunications Union (ATU)
The African Union consists of several specialised bodies and several of them deal with ICT issues.
The African Telecommunications Union (ATU) is a specialized agency of the African Union that works towards the development of the ICT sector in Africa. The ATU is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya
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International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
The ITU is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies.
The ITU allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develop the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strive to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide. ITU activities also include Internet Policy and Governance.
ITU membership includes Member States (governments), ICT regulators, leading academic institutions and private companies
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NETmundial
In the same year that the World Wide Web celebrates 25 years, Brazil hosted NETmundial – the Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance. The meeting was organised in a partnership between the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) and /1Net, a forum that gathers international entities of the various stakeholders involved with Internet governance. AFRINIC was heavily involved in this meeting.
The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)
The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is a programme of the African Union (AU) adopted in Lusaka, Zambia in 2001. NEPAD's objective is to enhance Africa's growth, development and participation in the global economy.
Find out more on NEPAD's e-Africa programme.
The Organisation Internationale de la francophonie was created in 1970. Its mission is to embody the active solidarity between its 75 member states and governments (56 members and 19 observers), which together represent over one-third of the United Nations' member states and account for a population of over 890 million people, including 220 million French speakers.
The OIF has an active global ICT programme.
The Organisation for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD)
The Internet Technical Advisory Committee (ITAC) to the OECD brings together the counsel and technical expertise of technically focused organisations, in a decentralised networked approach to policy formulation for the Internet economy.
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The Regional African Satellite Communication Organisation (RASCOM)
In the context of the present lack of telecommunication infrastructure, and recognising that investment in telecommunications can considerably increase productivity, effectiveness and quality of life in almost all socio-economic sectors in Africa, African leaders decided, following several consultations, to combine their efforts to provide the continent with telecommunications infrastructure capable of ensuring the sustainable development of telecommunications in each African country, with special emphasis on service to rural areas.
RASCOM is an intergovernmental commercially-run organisation whose capital is open to the private sector.
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World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT)
ITU convened the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 3-14 December 2012. This landmark conference reviewed the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), which serve as the binding global treaty designed to facilitate international interconnection and interoperability of information and communication services, as well as ensuring their efficiency and widespread public usefulness and availability.
World Telecommunications Development Conference (WTDC)
The International Telecommunication Union, through the Telecommunication Development Bureau, organizes a World Telecommunication Development Conference every four years and a number of Regional Preparatory Meetings within that same period. The Telecommunication Development Conferences serve as forums for free discussion by all concerned with the Development Sector. In addition, they review the numerous programmes and projects of the Sector and BDT. Results are reported and new projects are launched. The World Conferences set the agenda and the guidelines for the following four-year cycle, while the Regional Conferences review "work-in-progress" towards the overall objectives and ensure that goals are met.
World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly (WTSA)
WTSA is held every four years and defines the work program for the ITU-Telecommunications Standardization Sector (ITU-T). At each WTSA:
- The overall work program, structure, and processes for the ITU-T is determined
- Resolutions are adopted that define the scope of the ITU-T work program
- Recommendations (Standards) are revised and approved
- Study Groups and Questions are created and structured, Chairmen are elected and the scope of each Study Group's work is adopted
A one-day Global Standards Symposium (GSS) was held the day before WTSA.
Preparations for WTSA-12 took place throughout 2012, notably in regional preparatory meetings leading up to the WTSA that will take place mid-November in Dubai. The previous WTSA was held in 2008 in South Africa.
AFRINIC participated in the WSTA preparatory meetings (African and Arab states) to support the member states with providing technical advice and feedback, at their request. It is the Member States who will be making the final decisions on all the proposed changes at the WSTA meeting held in Dubai.
AFRINIC solicits the African community at large participation to become more familiar with current discussions and to advocate your country's or organisation's or even personal position through the proper channels (http://www.itu.int/GlobalDirectory/search.html) to guarantee that all opinions and positions are taken into consideration at the WSTA-12 meeting.
