The Internet Society will support thirteen fellows to attend the 8th African Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF), scheduled for 22 – 24 August, 2017 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
The AfPIF fellowship program is designed to offer opportunities for qualified applicants to attend the event. The fellows come from: Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ghana, Gambia, Mauritius, Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco, Togo, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Lesotho, and Sudan. The annual event brings together governments, policy makers, technical experts and business leaders to discuss African Internet infrastructure challenges, including capacity, regional and national Internet Exchange Point (IXP) development, local content development, and connectivity.
“The AfPIF Fellowship is an important program that gives the opportunity to many to participate in the Forum and gain insights on how Africa can maximize opportunities for increased interconnection and peering. I would like to thank our sponsors and the Fellowship Committee who make this happen every year,” said Dawit Bekele, Africa Regional Bureau Director for the Internet Society.
The fellows will have a chance to:
- Share experiences on ways to improve running and administering of a new or existing IXP
- Use the business opportunity to meet potential IXP members
- Promote public awareness and evangelism of IXPs and peering in general at the national and regional level
- Advance and influence national/regional policies on peering and cross-border Internet interconnection
- Provide a face-to-face networking opportunity for peers and experts
The 2017 AfPIF Fellows are:
- Abdulie Sowe (Gambia), Administrator, Serekunda Internet Exchange Point (SIXP)
- Alassane G. Blaise DIAGNE (Senegal), Director General, State Information Technology Agency (ADIE)
- Alkhansa Mohamed (Sudan), Quantum for Advance Business
- Cedrick Adrien MBEYET (Mauritius), System Engineer, AFRINIC
- Damnam Kanlanfei Bagolibe (Togo), TGIX
- Emmanuel Kwarteng (Ghana), GIX
- Frank Habicht (Tanzania), TISPA
- Ghislain Nkeramugaba (Rwanda), RICTA/RINEX
- Islam Abou El Ata (Morocco), CAS-IX
- Kiemde Wênden tôe fâa (Burkina Faso), Burkina Faso Internet EXchange Point (BFIX)
- Kyle Spencer (Uganda), Uganda Internet eXchange Point
- Nico Tshintu Bakajika (Democratic Republic of Congo), ISPA-DRC/KINIX
- Tumelo Mosito (Lesotho), IT operations manager, Econet Lesotho
Read more about AfPIF-2017 fellows, register for AfPIF, or view the Livestream.