[AfrICANN-discuss] A brief update on the ASWG

Tue Sep 11 02:40:43 SAST 2012

Hi Pierre Lotis from ".CM",
One wise lesson I learn in my live is that I must always clean my compound before starting  to inspect  dirts into the house of my neighbour.
No more comment.
Warmest regard,
/Janvier

----- Mail Original -----
De: "Pierre Lotis NANKEP" <lnankep at yahoo.fr>
À: africann at afrinic.net
Envoyé: Dimanche 9 Septembre 2012 19h33:47 GMT +01:00 Afrique centrale - Ouest
Objet: Re: [AfrICANN-discuss] A brief update on the ASWG

Dear All, 

I pity my Africa, When the end of amateurism ? 
When will be the end of the exploitation of our activists? 
ICANN has used the same approach in other regions? 
Really, Africa continue to serve as a test laboratory. And when it suits the interest of some selfish, they can only be silent. 
Our Internet activists have become businessmen or politicians. One might even call them followshipers (fellowship experts) . 

Fortunately there are still a few honest leaders . Thank God! 

" The Icann Africa strategy Working Group held its retreat in Mauritius 
on 27-28 August. The meeting was facilitated by ICANN and AfriNIC. " 
It is absolutely necessary for AWG Experts to meet physically to produce this type of document? 
Please shared with us the questionnaires (Zip format) you have received. So we can make our own compilation. 

ICANN really need this cinema ? ICANN has really supported ? What is the relationship between " ICANN Africa Strategy" and ICANN Strategy 2012-2015 that you find here ? : http://www.icann.org/en/about/planning/strategic/strategic-plan-2012-2015-18may12-en.pdf . 

Why this initiative has not been launched before the development of the strategy of ICANN ? 

Anyway, found my comments below (in Bleu color)... 

ICANN Africa Strategy Working Group (ASWG) 
an ICANN innovation !!! ? 

Assessment of ASWG questionnaires 
05 September 2012 

>From 10 July to 20 h August the Africa Strategy working Group, which was set up by ICANN at its 44 th meeting in Prague ( Yes and no! There was cheating. The meeting, which creates the famous AWG has not occurred, or at least it has not known the participation of all Africans who were present. ) , administered a set of two questionnaires on the AfrICANN list . The pursued objective was to engage with the community on the one hand, and collect community opinions and recommendations as to the Icann Africa strategy ( Why the African Union is not involved , as it was the case with dotAfrica ? ) on the other hand. 

The questionnaires had to (two) components, each of them with subsequent sub questions : the first component sought to assess the relevance of ICANN to Africa, and also the benefits ICANN could derive from further involvement in Africa. The second component puts to test the suggestion that an ICANN's physical presence in Africa should improve the Organisation's image and activities in Africa ( Africa is part of the world. And ICANN does not need a survey to be deployed in Africa. This is an insult !) . 

A total of 18 respondents filled out the questionnaires and were from the following constituencies and countries : 

At large/Civil society/registrants : 6 
- How many for At-large? 
- How many for Civil Society? and their Names? 
- How many for Registrants (what is the impact)? 
- And non-Registrant? 

Registry/registrars : 3 
- How many Registry? and their Names? 
- How many Registrar? and their Names? 

Governments : 3 
- Governments Names? 
- What is the boundary between Registry and Government (in the case of Africa)? 

Academia : 2 
- Names? 

ND (non defined) : 4 
- They are aliens or Martians ? 

Respondents' countries included : Burkina Faso; Kenya; Nigeria; Cameroon; DRC; Tunisia; Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania , Niger, Congo and Mali. 
Provide for each country a snippet showing the category of the respondents (Civil Society, Governments, Academia, etc.) 

The following section of your document, to be used appropriately , it would be desirable to provide answers or clarifications to the above concerns . Especially shared with us the questionnaires ( zip format). That's the openness we ask every time! 

Questionnaire No1: It has been argued that ICANN can be more relevant to Africa and ICANN can benefit from increased involvement with Africa. To assist explore these please respond to the questions below 

To the question ' What has ICANN done right in the eyes of the African community?' , most respondents cited the holding of ICANN's meetings every two years on the continent , on a rotational basis and the establishment of the fellowship programme which has enabled participation of more Africans to ICANN's meetings globally. 

Also, a few of respondents believe that some of the basic principles that ICANN promotes so that Africa develops and maintains its Internet resources through for example maintaining geographic names and strings reserved for the right owner is the right thing that ICANN does. The effort made in translation, namely into the french language is also perceived as a good point. 

'What has ICANN not done well in Africa in the eyes of the African community within ICANN?, 

    • 
Lack of or none communication of ICANN process to Africa. 
    • 
Inclusion of Geographic names in the new gTLD programme; 
    • 
Approving of sensitive strings against all protests from African ICANN. 
    • 
There is lack of ICANN’s presence in Africa, 
    • 
Poor communication and outreach on the new gTLD programme in Africa 
    • 
Failure in working with African cctlds 

    • 
There is lack of understanding of the Continent’s economic and developmental environment by ICANN Board and staff. 
    • 
The implication of high level government members in Icann activities; 
    • 
The development of African ccTLD’s and their support; 
    • 
The cooperation with African regional organizations 

What do you wish the most for ICANN to do in interest of Africa? 

    • 
Inclusion of Africa in the activities of ICANN. 
    • 
Increase the participation of Africans in ICANN constituencies, meetings by stepping up outreach programs in the Continent thereby creating the much needed awareness among the technical and business people in Africa. 
    • 
Appointment of a VP for Africa. 
    • 
Support, train, communicate ICANN to the African Governments and create linkages with Academia. 
    • 
Build capacity for African cctlds 
    • 
develop a closer link with the AF* 
    • 
ICANN should listen more Africans' needs 
    • 
Conduct special research on the understanding of internet and ICT business in the Continent, especially the new gTLD. 
    • 
Create focus group on Africa. 
    • 
Set up an Africa bureau for ICANN 
    • 
Develop special waivers to facilitate accreditation of more registrars in Africa; 
    • 
Reorient the JAS programme so that it could benefit African registrars and help build a local domain name industry 
    • 
Promote and support sensitization campaigns, communication and training activities as related to ICANN and its programmes, using media and targeting local languages 

How can the African community in ICANN best help ICANN? 

    • 
African Community in ICANN should present ICANN to African Governments and Businesses. Participate effectively in all ICANN constituencies, Working Groups and contribute to the work of ICANN. 
    • 
Create opportunities for partnership with ICANN in Africa. 
    • 
By suggesting home grown solutions to African reality and issues, as they may rise within ICANN's processes 
    • 
develop a permanent communication plateforme on Icann policies within Africaines 
    • 
Educate African decision makers on ICANN's activities; 
    • 
Focus on ensuring that African stakeholders particularly governments have the right capacity in terms of the basic understanding of ICANN’s role and functions and how it fits within the Internet governance area more broadly so that Africa properly develops and manages its Internet resources. 
    • 
Support the expansion and growth of African ccTLDs through incentives and capacity building activities including ensuring that Africa’s and its communities’ specific needs are met. 
    • 
The introduction of the DotAfrica which is being supported by the African Union Commission and ECA is expected to create an attractive regional home for the Pan-African Internet community, as the first sponsored registry to be operating from Africa and serving the specific needs of its communities. 
    • 
Icann to better use Africa's on going national and regional fora on Internet governance to ensure its presence and contributions. 
    • 
By accessing to leadership positions in Icann; 
    • 
Improving organization participation in meetings (online meetings on topics of Icann, geographic organization and country) 

What are barriers to ICANN in Africa? 

    • 
Lack of knowledge of the work of ICANN by the Business Sector in Africa. 
    • 
Under developed ICT infrastructure; poor connectivity 
    • 
Lack of Professionals and Private Sector interest. 
    • 
Non-participation of Private Sector and Government which still are very much the driver of economic activities in Africa . 
    • 
Lack of specific programmes for building capacities on ICANN policies and procedures 
    • 
Linguistic barrier as most documents are in English 

How best to improve African participation in ICANN? 

    • 
Main streaming of internet and domain name business in all sectors of African economy. 
    • 
Proper and effective communications to the Governments of Africa. 
    • 
Organize sensitization and training for the African communities 
    • 
Pursue translation of working documents 
    • 
Propose digests for working documents 
    • 
Africans to organise strategic working groups to prepare and master issues pertaining to ICANN 

Questionnaire No2- It has been suggested that a physical presence of ICANN in Africa is important to improve ICANN presence. To contribute in shaping how this is implemented please answer the following questions 

What are the a) strengths b) weaknesses c) opportunities and d) weaknesses of ICANN in Africa? 

    • 
Strength is its population, willingness to develop and catch with the rest of the world, Government support when properly informed. 
    • 
Weakness is lack of knowledge by Governments, poverty, weak ICT infrastructure and communication gaps/linkages in the different sectors of the economy and ICT ecosystem. 
    • 
The opportunities are the untapped market, young populations and upcoming entrepreneurs, conversion of African economic mangers to embrace ICT and e-businesses. 
    • 
The threats are unstable political economy, opposition of Governments to the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance. High government control of internet and ICT businesses resulting in double taxation, harsh operating environment, etc. 

Which countries in Africa would you recommend to be headquarters of ICANN and why? 

Opinions are diverse : 

It should be located in Nigeria, says one respondent. The fastest growing e-business economy in Africa. Most populous nation of Africa, willingness of the Government of Nigeria to provide financial support and the necessary facilities for the operation of ICANN office, cheap labor and wireless environment including communication satellite launch (NigcomSat). There is a strong presence of Multi-national businesses and Global Institutions in Nigeria. Her neighbors are all French speaking, currently headquartering the ECOWAS and playing the big brother role in Africa. Four undersea marine cable landing, over 100million mobile users with 3g/mobile broadband capabilities and services. 

Another suggestion is Ghana, which, as per the respondent, has all it takes to host ICANN office for Africa. Ease of operation, political stability, prosperity and conducive atmosphere.Ghana could be potentially appropriate location due to its pioneering role on the development of the Internet on the continent, its infrastructure, its open policy and favourable ICT environment, its good governance, etc. Accra could also be seen as a bridge between francophone and Anglophone countries due to its proximity to both groups. 

Ethiopia could be potentially appropriate location due to the presence of the ECA and the AUC, which has attracted all UN institutions and a big number of other international organizations. This could facilitate face to face interactions with these organizations. Also Ethiopia benefits from a large network of international airlines. 

. Nairobi , Kenya because of ease of access from West , North Southern Africa and Europe 

Cameroun because of cultural diversity and political stability; openness to sea; good connectivity; existence of three submarine cables; political willingness to move the ICT sector; geographical situation. A policy on cybersecurity and criminality, a regular participant to ICANN's meetings. 

South Africa for its good infrastructure, strong support to ICT, and proven leadership in the industry 

Senegal for its good infrastructure, a proactive support of ICT, and a democratic country. Other cited countries are Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritius. 

Other comments : 
ICANN already committed to an office in Kenya. I guess this question becomes irrelevant, unless of course my understanding that ICANN already chose Kenya is wrong. 

Of the eighteen respondents, one in particular is not convinced of having to open a physical office in one country. Rather, he thinks needs to employ a diverse team from Africa that meets all the number 7 criteria: regions, language, culture. As he puts it :'I really don’t think the need for a physical office is justified. Rather, ICANN should have a team located in different countries in Africa or that is able to effectively relate to Africa’s major cultures, languages & regions.' 

A good number of respondents insisted on a set of criteria to be developed prior to selection of a host country; these are : 

    • 
An IT infrastructure well developed and allowing fast and secure connectivity 
    • 
A democratic governance which does not favour red taping 
    • 
A simple and free entry Visa facility; 
    • 
Secure and pleasant social life 
    • 
A fluid air trafic conditions 

Other important elements to consider should be the presence and proximity of UN Agencies such as UNECA and AUC, and AfriNIC 
. 

Overall Comments 

While majority of respondents suggest a physical bureau should be established in Africa (with potential hosting countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Senegal and Mauritius), a small number insist that strict criteria should be developed in order to select such a host country. One respondent does not see any reason for a bureau in Africa, but instead, suggest there be closer links with Af* on the one hand, and that there be established points of contacts in the regions. 

CONCLUSION 

Although the number of received questionnaires are far from meeting expectations, they certainly provide an insight on the community's perception of icann's role in Africa. Indeed, all respondents agree that Africa should deserve a special treatment and that ICANN is in a position to contribute to the development of an indigenous industry on Internet and most specifically, the domain name services. The working group will obviously have to engage more with the community, through fine tuning parts of the questionnaires and sample interviewing of specific constituencies. A few strategic objectives should be retained from further outreach and with the corresponding strategic projects, the group should be in a position to elaborate on its recommendations. 

Annex 1 

A SWOT Analysis of ICANN perception from Africa derived from the questionnaires 

Strengths 	
Weaknesses 	
Opportunities 	
Threats 

Icann's meetings in Africa every two years and its rotational basis 

The fellowship programme which ensures African participation to Icann's meetings 

Bottom up approach in policy development 

Multistakeholders mechanisms for engaging with the community 	
Lack of communications/ 

Poor perception of Icann's activities 

Poor outreach to African governments 

Lack of a physical presence in Africa 

Partial linguistic coverage of the continent 

No impact on growth of the domain name industry 

Poor relashionships with African ccTLDs 

No clear link with the AF* 

Poor representation of Africans on the Board 	
Current outstanding growth of the mobile telephony implies majority of next Internet users will be from Africa; thus, a need for specific projects for Africa 

Africa as one of highest GDPs 

Icann's image and perception to be increased through contribution to the growth of a continental Internet economy 

Icann's legitimacy to grow with more participation from African communities, namely at GAC level 

Develop IDN to boost content in Africa 

Poor reach out to African communities 

Lack or Poor financial commitment to an Africa Internet Agenda 

Poor or inadequate representation of ICANN in Africa 

ICANN really need this cinema ? 

-- 

Pierre Lotis NANKEP 
IT Engineer / ANTIC 
Web : http://www.antic.cm 
Email (Pro) : pierre.nankep at antic.cm 
GSM : +237 77 66 10 07 

De : Dandjinou Pierre <pdandjinou at gmail.com> 
À : africann at afrinic.net 
Envoyé le : Samedi 8 septembre 2012 23h43 
Objet : [AfrICANN-discuss] A brief update on the ASWG 

Dear Listers, 

(NB : version francaise ci- dessous) 

The Icann Africa strategy Working Group held its retreat in Mauritius 
on 27-28 August. The meeting was facilitated by ICANN and AfriNIC. 

The Group of 9 (4 initial core members + 5 Reps from regions and 
Constituencies) had a fruitful gathering and will be posting its 
working documents on a dedicated website to facilitate public access. 
The community will then have 15 days for its further comments and 
submissions before the group finalizes its recommendations. 

The public website should be available early next week. Meanwhile, the 
Group wishes to thank all those who took the effort to complete the 
questionnaires. The evaluation of the questionnaires and primary 
discussions with representatives of the constituencies (Governments, 
Registries, registrars, registrants, ALAC, Academia..etc) allowed the 
group to brainstorm on strategic objectives, projects and measures of 
impact. A key decision of the group is to conduct further 
consultations and the website is going to be the conduit. You are 
therefore kindly requested to provide your feedback, once the site is 
up and running as of next week!. 

We are also attaching an evaluation of the questionnaires, for your information. 

Best regards 
Pierre on behalf of the ASWG 

NB : Group members : Maimouna Diop; Palesa Banda Legozi , Nii Quaynor 
(Chair), Barrack Otieno; Alice Munyua; Mouhamet Diop; Tijani Benjemaa; 
Michel Tchonang Linze; Pierre Dandjinou 

La retraite du Groupe de travail pour la strategie africaine de 
l'ICANN a eu lieu a Maurice du 27 au 28 Aout 2012. Elle a ete 
facilitee par l'ICANN et AfriNIC. 

Le Groupe de 9 personnes (4 initiaux et 5 autres representants les 
regions et constituantes de l'ICANN) a eu une rencontre fructueuse et 
les documents de travail generes seront postes sur un site des la 
semaine prochaine.La communaute disposera alors de 15 jours pour ses 
commentaires et propositions, avant que le groupe ne finalise ses 
recommandations. 

Le Groupe remercie ceux qui ont pri sur eux de remplir les 
questionnaires. Sur la base de l'evaluation des questionnaires, et des 
discussions tenues avec des representants de diveres constituantes 
(Gouvernements, registres, registraires, registrants,ALAC et autres), 
a pu mener ses discussions et retenir quelques objectifs strateiques, 
des idees de projets ainsi que des criteres d'evaluation..Une decision 
majeure du groupe est de poursuivre l'engagement avec la communaute 
par le biais du site web. Merci donc de le visiter des la semaine 
prochaine et d'y apporter vos remarques et suggestions. 

Enfin, pour votre information, nous attachons l'evaluation des 
questionnaires recus. 

Sinceres salutations 

Pierre pour le ASWG 

NB : membre du Groupe : Maimouna Diop; Palesa Banda Legozi , Nii 
Quaynor (Chair), Barrack Otieno; Alice Munyua; Mouhamet Diop; Tijani 
Benjemaa; Michel Tchonang Linze; Pierre Dandjinou 

_______________________________________________ 
AfrICANN mailing list 
AfrICANN at afrinic.net 
https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann 

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AfrICANN mailing list
AfrICANN at afrinic.net
https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann