Two weeks ago the Internet Society was in São Tomé and Príncipe conducting its 27th Technical Aspects workshop, under the AXIS project, in collaboration with the Regulatory Authority (Autoridade Geral de Regulação) of São Tomé. The workshop equipped experts with the information they needed to connect to and manage an Internet Exchange Point (IXPs).
This week, together with the African Union Commission, the Internet Society is back in another Lusophone African country to extend support and provide a 5-day technical training mainly focusing on setting up, operating and administering IXPs.
Located off the coast of Western Africa, the Republic of Cape Verde, an island spanning an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands, has been successfully able to kick start the workshop, despite the recent volcano eruption in the island. Hosted by the National Communication Agency of Cape Verde, the workshop is a follow up of the Best Practices Capacity Building workshop, which had been conducted by the Internet Society from 28-29 May 2014.
Attended by approximately 20 network Engineers from the telecommunication and Internet sectors, this workshop being offered in Portuguese by experts from Brazil, is expected to have a positive impact on the future establishments and efficient management of IXPs in Cape Verde and other Lusophone African countries and serve as good example of inter-region cooperation.
With the goal of building technical expertise, helping improve traffic exchange and interconnection, and improving the Internet infrastructure within the continent, these workshops serve as an important way forward in creating the requisite local technical expertise to support the IXP interconnections and operations within each country.