[Community-Discuss] AFRINIC Board meets the ICANN Board

[Sunday Folayan]

Dear Community,

I bring you greetings from the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesbourg.

This afternoon, I was privileged to lead the AfriNIC board members to 
meet with the ICANN Board, led by Steve Crocker at the ongoing ICANN 
meeting. The meeting centered on the efforts of the AfriNIC Board at 
learning best practices, with a view to improving our processes and 
accountability to the community.

The Agenda of the meeting specifically was:
1. Limits of Board Transparency and Board Confidentiality
2. Management of open Board Meetings.

The interaction was open, engaging and interesting. I note in no 
particular order, the takeaways from the meeting as:
1. ICANN membership is different from AFRINIC membership
2. The multi-stakeholder model works
3. Trust must be built. It does not just come
4. It is important to engage in a structured way
5. Accountability is key
6. Resources are needed to stay ahead of the curve
7. AFRINIC has made good progress since inception and there is room for 
improvement

This engagement is following on the heels of us also meeting the APNIC 
Board at the recently concluded AIS'17 meeting in Nairobi.

The Board is committed to ensuring that the organization is responsive 
and accountable, and we do request the cooperation of the community as 
we seek ways to improve the Board/membership/Community interactions. We 
seek your continued support in this regard.

Our appreciation to Pierre Dandjinou, Khaled Koubaa and Mike Silber for 
their respective roles in the engaging meeting.

Best Regards,

Sunday Folayan
Chair, AFRINIC Board