Activities
Consultation on the Ethiopian Telecommunication Sector Liberalization
The Internet Society contributed to the consultation on the Ethiopian Telecommunication Sector liberalization together with APC, A4Ai, the Network for Digital Rights for Ethiopia and Bahir Dar ICT4D Research Center on November 22, 2019. The submission is available here.
African Digital Transformation Strategy
The Internet Society provided input to the African Digital Transformation strategy being developed by the African Union Commission (AUC).
IoT Security Project in Senegal
The Internet Society Africa Regional Bureau (ARB) met with the ARTP (Senegal’s Telecom regulator) and the Ministry of Telecommunication’s Chief of Staff and Director of ICT to discuss the future of the IoT Security project in Senegal. Both committed to support the project in 2020. The Steering Committee of the project also met and discussed the plan for the project.
SADC Capacity Building Workshop on Regional and National IXPs
The ARB in partnership with PCH and AF-IX facilitated a 4 day IXP capacity building workshop for policy makers from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). The workshop was attended by 47 delegates from 6 SADC member states. There was agreement that interconnecting IXPs was not a sustainable approach to cross-border interconnection and this required a substantial discussion with Ministers in 2020
Community Engagement Updates
This month, our community member Alain Aina won the 2019 Jonathan B. Postel Service Award. Congratulations to Alain!
ISOC Kenya Chapter: The Community Engagement Manager for Africa, paid a working visit to ISOC Kenya Chapter from 21-23 November 2019. This is part of the overall effort to build and strengthen relationships with our chapters. The visit was an occasion to discuss the chapter’s opportunities and challenges and better ways of collaboration with the Internet Society in 2020 and beyond. It also helped to strengthen the relationships between the chapter and its local partners (KICTANET, AIESEC, QUAVA-Tel etc.). The Community Engagement Manager for Africa took the opportunity to pay a visit to TunePandaNet, a Community Network funded by the Internet Society Beyond the Net Funding Programme.
ISOC Tanzania Chapter: Hosted the Community Engagement Manager for Africa from 24-26 November 2019. The visit was an opportunity to meet with the chapter members, discuss the opportunities and challenges of the Chapter and to strengthen the relationships between the chapter and its local partners (Dar Es Salam City Council, TISPA etc.).
ISOC Togo Chapter: Organized the 1st Togo Youth IGF in Lomé, Togo.
Three projects selected from the Africa region: The projects were selected by the Internet Society Foundation Beyond the Net Medium and Large Grant Selection Committee. Congratulations to ISOC Madagascar, Mali and South Africa Gauteng Chapters.
Upcoming Events
20 December 2019: Celebrations of IoT Encryption Day and ISOC Ghana Pioneers, Accra, Ghana
March 2020: ISOC together with other organizations to organize an Internet Development Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
10-12 December 2019: African Union Commission Cyber Security Experts Group inaugural meeting, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
In the News
Passion and Dedication at the 4th Summit on Community Networks in Africa
