AFRINIC-17 Fellows in Khartoum, Sudan

The AFRINIC Fellowship Programme provides opportunities for those individuals from African countries who have an interest in Internet operations and governance to participate in the AFRINIC public policy meetings. Since 2012, 33 people from 23 different countries have attended an AFRINIC Meeting as a Fellow. AFRINIC holds two open public policy meetings every year in various locations throughout its service region. 

The Meetings provide a unique opportunity for Internet-related individuals and organisations to gather to discuss the policies governing Internet number resource distribution in the African region, to share technical knowledge, and to attend workshops and tutorials.

Who can apply?

The AFRINIC Fellowship is for individuals representing small organisations, universities, and media outlets that are actively involved in Internet operations, Internet infrastructure development, Internet access, Internet governance or ICT policy development in their countries and respective communities. To qualify for an AFRINIC Fellowship, you:

• Must be a resident of an African/Indian Ocean economy (as defined in the list of economies in the AFRINIC service region)
• Don't need to be an AFRINIC member
• Should have a technical (IT, Computer Science) background or be actively involved in Internet governance and/or ICT policy development
• Must not have not benefited from previous AFRINIC fellowships

Applicants from Francophone, Lusophone, isolated communities, women and those from marginalised sectors of society are actively encouraged to apply.

What does the Fellowship entail?

The Fellowship provides basic financial assistance to the selected applicants, which usually covers the travel costs, hotel accommodation and basic daily living expenses associated with attending an AFRINIC Meeting. Fellows are invited to attend the full meeting week and may also attend any of the associated workshops, seminars and training courses that they are eligible for. 

Benefits

The Fellowship enables those who would otherwise be unable to travel to AFRINIC Meetings due to financial constraints the opportunity to attend an event in person. Fellows can take advantage of:

• Training courses and workshops.
• Knowledge-share.
• Meeting their peers in person.
• Networking with the African and global Internet community.
• Witnessing first hand how the AFRINIC Policy Development Process works.
• Meeting with AFRINIC staff and the AFRINIC community. 

Don't just take our word for it! Read this great blog post from AFRINIC-23 Fellow Bonface Witaba about his experience.  

Expectations

AFRINIC Fellows are expected to actively contribute to IP address management awareness, policy development, Internet governance and/or infrastructure development in the region prior, during and after the meeting. Fellows are expected to attend every session, particularly the Policy Development sessions and will be required to provide reports on how the Fellowship has benefited them, their organisation and community within an agreed time frame after the event.

How you can apply

We open the call for applications around three months before each AFRINIC Meeting and we inform the community via our mailing lists and through social media. The current call for applications for the AFRINIC-24 Fellowship is now open and will close on 2 April 2016.