The AIS is host to the AFRINIC Government Working Group (AfGWG) set up at the initiative of AFRINIC to work with African governments and regulators from the ICT sector to address general Internet governance challenges in Africa. The first AfGWG Meeting was held in January 2010.
The AFRINIC Government Working Group (AfGWG) was set up to provide a platform for open and interactive discussions between AFRINIC and African governments and ICT regulators. Collaboration between African ICT stakeholders is important in view of the steady growth of the Internet and its impact on the socio-economic development in the region. The rapid growth and development of the Internet in Africa calls for an enhanced collaboration between ICT policy makers on issues of critical interest to the continent.
This collaboration provides the African competent authorities including ICT regulators an insight into the management of IP resources in the region.
Objectives of the Working Group
1. To strengthen the collaboration between AFRINIC and African Governments and Regulators to promote sustainable and secure Internet development in Africa
2. To address collaboratively the general Internet governance challenges faced within the region, in particular those related to Internet number resources.
AfGWG meetings
The first meeting launched the AfGWG in 2010 in Ebene, Mauritius, subsequently, five more meetings have been held back to back with AFRINIC public policy meetings:
- Rwanda, Kigali – June 2010
- South Africa, Johannesburg – November 2010
- Tanzania, Dar es Salaam – June 2011
- Cameroon, Yaoundé – November 2011
- The Gambia, Serekunda – May 2012
- Zambia, Lusaka - June 2013
- Côte D'Ivoire, Abidjan - November 2013
The AfGWG meetings are an opportunity for Governments and Regulators to take stock of current and new activities/initiatives (IPv6 deployment, capacity and training programmes) as well as outcomes of important meetings and negotiations at both regional and international levels. The meetings also enable the sharing of regional/international best practices and help, inter alia, in the establishment of appropriate ICT programmes to address African needs in terms of IP resources.
Additional information on the AfGWG is available at: http://meeting.afrinic.net/afgwg
For more information, please contact us via afgwg [@] afrinic.net