Empowering the regional Internet community is at the core of all of the Middle East bureau’s activities.

Currently, the Middle East region counts 5 Internet Society Chapters and more than 4000 individual members. The Chapters are located in Bahrain, Lebanon, Palestine, UAE and Yemen. The greater Middle East region also includes Chapters in Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia. We are also working with various groups interested in forming additional Chapters.

Internet Society Chapters in the region typically engage in capacity building and awareness raising activities.

At least once a year, we bring them together on the occasion of a Chapter meeting. In April, 2017, Chapter leaders from the Middle East and North Africa met in Muscat, Oman, alongside MENOG.

Read more about Internet Society Middle East Chapters Meeting 2017.

Read more about Beirut IXP Workshop.

The Internet infrastructure relies on many operational technologies and standards such as DNS, DNSSEC, RPKI, IP, IPv6…  Our technical activities include organizing trainings and supporting the development of the Internet infrastructure. Our focus is Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), Communities Networks, and supporting Network Operators’ Groups (NOGs).

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)
IXPs are traffic exchanges that let networks interconnect directly instead of making the data travel long distances internationally. IXPs, help to keep traffic local or regional, lowering costs, and improve network resilience. Internet service providers (ISPs) and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) typically exchange Internet traffic between their networks at IXPs.

Community Networks
Half of the world’s population is not yet connected to the Internet. After more than 25 years of Internet development, traditional business models are slow to reach remote, rural, and underserved areas. Community Networks provide alternative forms of access and break the one-way, monolithic access prerogative.

Network Operators’ Groups (NOGs)
Internet Network Operators’ Groups (NOGs) are informal, country-based, or regional groups that exist to provide forums for Internet network operators to discuss matters of mutual interest, usually through a combination of mailing lists and annual conferences. MENOG is the Middle East Network Operators group and convenes once a year.

Based on wide ranging consultations with the region’s Internet community, the following policies have been identified as being particularly relevant for the region:

• Digital economy: Job Creation, Innovation, and entrepreneurship
• Education and online learning
• Development of Local Content

The Internet Society’s Middle East bureau thus made it its mandate to focus on these policy areas going forward. Together with a group of representatives from the regional Internet community, the bureau is in the process of finalizing a booklet that provides context, background and recommendations in view of enabling the region to make use of the great social and economic digital opportunity. The booklet will be published later in 2017.