[rpd] AFRINIC-38 Public Policy Meeting-Cape Town, South Africa, 18 November 2026

Fri Aug 28 15:16:26 UTC 2026

I fully agree to have IETF meetings also in Africa. I always advocated for that, same as I did for the LACNIC region and actually proposed venues that I knew can possibly hold the meeting. In fact, there are some candidate venues in Africa being considered right now.

However, if Afrinic doesn’t respect avoiding the clashes, it is difficult to continue advocating for an IETF meeting in the region, absolutely on the contrary.

As I said before, community meetings (RIRs, IETF, ISOC, ICANN, etc.) avoiding clashes is sacred (never mind there is no a contractual obligation). It is the bigger lack of respect AFRINIC can show towards people participating.

It makes no sense even to continue participating in policy discussion if you can’t be there because AFRINIC took a decision contra-natura of what is a PPM.

Regarding the visas, it is a very different problem. This happened just a few days ago and according to what you said, this AFRINIC meeting was already planned I guess several weeks or even months ago, right?. In addition to that, I would expect that someone willing to attend the meeting in SF has already process the visa several months ago. Why you waited so much if the meeting was announce *years* ago? no sense, specially with US.

Regards,
Jordi

@jordipalet

> El 28 ago 2026, a las 16:58, Andrew Alston <aa at alstonnetworks.net> escribió:
> 
> Just to add to this,
> 
> It would be remiss of me to not point out that there were a flood of complaints and concerns about the IETF holding a meeting in the U.S. under the current political climate, and the fact that it was excluding a large segment of regular participants.  I fully understand why the IETF could not move the meeting (as they did during trumps first term with the travel bans) - but it’s hardly fair to complain that AfriNIC does not move a meeting to fall in line with IETF scheduling when such concerns have gone unaddressed.  I also believe that it’s high time the IETF hosted a meeting in Africa - which has also never happened.
> 
> There needs to be support for Africa from the IETF as much as their needs to be support for the IETF from African institutions - it goes both ways, and right now it’s extremely one sided.
> 
> So now we are in a situation where the IETF is holding a meeting in a location that is extremely hostile to so many groups of people - and at the same time asking those same people to accommodate their scheduling. Doesn’t work that way
> 
> Andrew 
> 
> On Fri, Aug 28, 2026 at 15:45, Andrew Alston <aa at alstonnetworks.net <mailto:aa at alstonnetworks.net>> wrote:
>> Actually I care very much - but I am also aware that the dates of this PDP meeting coincide with other major tech events that are held in Cape Town - and as a result the dates set will maximize attendence at AfriNIC amongst African attendees because of those dates.
>> 
>> If we have to balance that with the fact that African participation in the ietf is sadly abysmal - it’s in my view more important from an African perspective to hold a meeting that maximises African participation - which this does.
>> 
>> Andrew 
>> 
>> On Fri, Aug 28, 2026 at 15:40, jordi.palet--- via RPD <rpd at afrinic.net <mailto:rpd at afrinic.net>> wrote:
>>> Hi Andrew,
>>> 
>>> The community is not only from Africa, we must not forget that. And also you can always participate remotely. But this is not the point, the point is the respect to the rules that we had for many years among all the RIRs, IETF, etc. It shows you don’t care about people contributing, as said in my previous email.
>>> 
>>> Regard,
>>> Jordi
>>> 
>>> @jordipalet
>>> 
>>>> El 28 ago 2026, a las 16:00, Andrew Alston <aa at alstonnetworks.net <mailto:aa at alstonnetworks.net>> escribió:
>>>> 
>>>> Hi Jordi,
>>>> 
>>>> While I would normally agree with this 100%, considering the clash is with the San Francisco meeting - which many people in Africa will not be able to attend due to massive problems getting US visas at the moment (Multi-month wait times just to get an appointment for a tourist visa and huge deposits, etc.)—I see it as less of a problem than if this were an IETF meeting held elsewhere.
>>>> 
>>>> Andrew
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Fri, Aug 28, 2026 at 1:57 PM jordi.palet--- via RPD <rpd at afrinic.net <mailto:rpd at afrinic.net>> wrote:
>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>> 
>>>>> There is an agreement among all the RIRs, IETF, ICANN, ISOC, etc. to avoid clashes in their meetings.
>>>>> 
>>>>> This is being organized the SAME week as the IETF in San Francisco. This was fixed many years ago.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Clearly the AFRINIC MUST change the dates for this meeting.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Regards,
>>>>> Jordi
>>>>> 
>>>>> @jordipalet
>>>>> 
>>>>>> El 28 ago 2026, a las 13:51, AFRINIC Communication via RPD <rpd at afrinic.net <mailto:rpd at afrinic.net>> escribió:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> [Version en français au bas]
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Dear Colleagues,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> We are pleased to announce that the AFRINIC-38 Public Policy Meeting (PPM) will be held on Wednesday, 18 November 2026, in Cape Town, South Africa.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> AFRINIC-38 will be held in a hybrid format, enabling participants from across Africa and around the world to discuss and review Internet number resource policies that guide the management and distribution of Internet number resources within the AFRINIC service region.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Your participation is important, as the outcomes of these discussions contribute to shaping policies that affect the Internet ecosystem, businesses, and digital development across Africa. We therefore encourage AFRINIC members and the wider Internet community to participate, share their perspectives, and contribute to an open and inclusive Policy Development Process.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Further details, including the programme, registration process, venue, and participation arrangements, will be communicated in due course.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> We look forward to welcoming you to AFRINIC-38 in Cape Town.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Kind Regards,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> AFRINIC Communication
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> ……………………………………
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Chers membres de la communauté,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Nous avons le plaisir de vous annoncer que la Réunion de politique publique AFRINIC-38 (PPM) se tiendra le mercredi 18 novembre 2026 à Cape Town, en Afrique du Sud.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> AFRINIC-38 se déroulera en format hybride, permettant aux participants de toute l’Afrique et du reste du monde de discuter et d’examiner les politiques relatives aux ressources numériques Internet qui encadrent la gestion et la distribution de ces ressources dans la région de service d’AFRINIC.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Votre participation est importante, car les resultats de ces discussions contribuent à façonner des politiques qui ont un impact sur l’écosystème Internet, les entreprises et le développement numérique en Afrique. Nous encourageons donc les membres d’AFRINIC ainsi que l’ensemble de la communauté Internet à participer, à partager leurs points de vue et à contribuer à un processus d’élaboration des politiques ouvert et inclusif.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> De plus amples informations, notamment sur le programme, les modalités d’inscription, le lieu et les conditions de participation, seront communiquées prochainement.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Nous nous réjouissons de vous accueillir à AFRINIC-38 à Cape Town.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Cordialement,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Communication AFRINIC
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> RPD mailing list
>>>>>> RPD at afrinic.net <mailto:RPD at afrinic.net>
>>>>>> https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/rpd
>>>>> 
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This electronic message contains information which may be privileged or confidential. The information is intended to be for the exclusive use of the individual(s) named above and further non-explicilty authorized disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information, even if partially, including attached files, is strictly prohibited and will be considered a criminal offense. If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information, even if partially, including attached files, is strictly prohibited, will be considered a criminal offense, so you must reply to the original sender to inform about this communication and delete it.

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