[AfrICANN-discuss] ICANN's Positive Affirmation: Good News for Africa and Emerging Markets

[Anne-Rachel Inné]

 ICANN's Positive Affirmation: Good News for Africa and Emerging
Markets<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20091008_icann_affirmation_good_news_for_africa_and_emerging_markets/>

   - Oct 08, 2009 1:32 PM PDT
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http://www.circleid.com/posts/print/20091008_icann_affirmation_good_news_for_africa_and_emerging_markets/

<http://www.circleid.com/posts/print/20091008_icann_affirmation_good_news_for_africa_and_emerging_markets/>
By *Andrew Mack* <http://www.circleid.com/members/4199/>

Sometimes you get what you are asking for. And
this<http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-30sep09-en.htm#affirmation>
seems
to be one of those occasions… and the US government can give itself a pat on
the back for having listened to other stakeholder opinions.

For years the world of Internet governance has been seen as its own special
corner of the technosphere, full of arcane acronyms and quiet power deals.
Despite efforts to make ICANN and the broader Internet community more
transparent and user-friendly, many observers, including many African
governments, still saw the stage as too much of an insider's game—with the
ultimate insider being the US Department of Commerce. However, with the
announcement of new "Affirmation" between DOC and ICANN, it seems a new day
is dawning, one full of what should be good news for Africa and emerging
markets.

Notwithstanding its strange name (what is an "Affirmation" after all, when
you're talking about new policy?), there's a lot to like in the announcement
for both businesses and governments in emerging markets smile. The
Affirmation talks about the need to move forward with Internationalized
Domain Names, a major focus of the Arabic-speaking northern tier of the
continent. It re-emphasizes the crucial private sector role in running the
net, something that should give confidence to African investors and company
owners anxious to do more on line and keep the net open for business. It
expands the reporting from ICANN, so that now key information from the
organization will be open to governments around the world, not just the US,
making the governance mechanisms accountable to all governments. And in some
ways most stunningly, it gives those governments that do participate in
ICANN a much meatier role, complete with actions and powers to influence
policy—as opposed to the simple "advisory" powers in earlier agreements.

Finally and perhaps most importantly in our minds, the Affirmation walks
away from the very concept of a "report card", with short term objectives
and a short term view. The Affirmation is an agreement in perpetuity, one
that specifically addresses the concerns of the international community
(notwithstanding the opt-out clause at the end, which seemed out of keeping
with the intent and tone of the rest of the document). This is crucial
because it is the long term stability and growth of the net—and both are
key—that we are all after.

Now the challenge is to us. For years emerging markets members of the
Internet governance community have been urging ICANN and the US government
to take steps, steps just like these. ICANN has signaled a real willingness
to focus to the needs and issues of the next billion users, on IDNs, on
stability and on more and better governance. One can only hope that African
governments and private sector representatives alike will take up this new
opportunity and engage more deeply than ever before. After all the net
should belong to all, even Africa.

*This post was co-authored by Vika
Mpisane<http://www.circleid.com/members/4200/>,
Chairman of AFTLD and General Manager of the .za Domain Name Authority
and Andrew
Mack <http://www.circleid.com/members/4199>, Principal of AMGlobal
Consulting, a firm specializing in tech policy and partnerships in Emerging
Markets.*
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