Dear Colleagues,
It is my hope that you are keeping safe. Below are the AFRINIC Activities Updates for the month of April 2021.
AFRINIC Q1 Activities
In the first quarter of 2021, we endeavoured to host and coordinate a total of six webinars and one IPv6 Deployathon. Out of these webinars, one was a community consultative webinar that saw 68 Community members take part. During quarter one, we signed digital development MoUs with the Ministry of Digital Economy of Benin (MND) to collaborate on the development of a resilient digital economy infrastructure in their Benin and one with the African Telecommunication Union to undertake research and build the capacity of African Governments and ICT regulators for effective Internet development in Africa. Other collaborations include partnerships with Facebook, Southern Africa Telecommunication Association (SATA), Smart Africa and Autorité de Regulation de la Poste et de Telecommunication du Congo (ARPTC-DRC).
New Co-chairs of the PDP
I would like to congratulate Mr Vincent Ngundi and Mr Darwin Da Costa on their selection and appointment as PDWG Co-chairs effective 10th April 2021 to serve a two-year term and one-year term respectively. I wish them well in their new position and call on all of us to give them the support that they might require. The replacement of the PDWG Co-chairs was an experience and we recently published the recap and the lessons learnt while facilitating the discussions of replacing the PDWG Co-Chair.
Application for Injunction - Cloud Innovation
In addition to the existing two pending cases before the Hon. Judge of the Mauritius Supreme Court (i.e Afri Holdings & Others vs AFRINIC (2020); and Logic Web Inc vs AFRINIC (2021)), it has recently come to Management’s knowledge that Cloud Innovation Ltd has lodged an application for an injunction against AFRINIC before the Mauritius Supreme Court. Due to the national lockdown pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic, AFRINIC is yet to officially receive the relevant court documents. Accordingly, we have requested the attorney of Cloud Innovation Ltd to do the needful so that we receive the relevant documents before AFRINIC may take a stand in the matter.
The Africa Internet Summit 2021 Online (AIS’21 Online) / AFRINIC-33
The annual, regional, multi-stakeholder ICT conference, AIS’21 Online is set to take place from 31st May to 4th June 2021. Delegate registration for this meeting is ongoing and delegates are requested to register before 21st May 2021. This edition of AIS Online hosted by the Internet Service Providers Association of the Democratic Republic of Congo (ISPA-DRC) as our Virtual Host.
AIS’21 Online is also calling on members of our community to share their innovation and projects during the summit through presentation proposals. We have provided an opportunity to submit presentations and the presentation proposals guide is available on the AIS’21 Online meeting website. The Call for AIS’21 Online Sponsors is now open. We are calling on African ISPs to take advantage of this opportunity and support the regional meeting. African ISPs are entitled to a 15% discount on the daily rate category of the AIS’21 Online Sponsorship Package.
For the first time, we have included a session on Inclusion and diversity in the African Internet Ecosystem in the AIS’21 Online Program. This comes in the wake of the need to enhance decent exchange while safeguarding and ensuring we have a strong African community. There is a need to better onboard our youth and make sure that their contributions help us build the future of the digital economy in Africa and adheres to the code of conduct set by the veteran community members. The session will include presentations and panel discussions around fostering a safe and inclusive environment for youth, people living with disability and women, in the African Internet tech space will be highlighted.
Thank You.
Kind Regards,
Eddy Kayihura,
Chief Executive Officer,
African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC)
