Help Us Shape The Internet's Future

ICANN At-Large (Individual Internet User Community) Workshop

Date: 
1 January 2005

2:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Tuesday, 1st February 2005
Accra International Conference Center , Conference Room 1 (CR1)
Accra , Ghana

All individuals and groups concerned with individual Internet users’ interests are cordially invited to participate in the ICANN At-Large (Internet User Community) Workshop, which is being held in Accra, Ghana on 1st February 2005 in conjunction with the Africa Regional Preparatory Conference for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN’s) At-Large Advisory Committee has organized this outreach workshop to promote effective participation of Africa’s individual Internet user groups and civil society organizations in the governing of the Internet. The workshop will feature international and regional experts, and audience discussions, addressing a range of issues critical to the African user community, including:

 

  • Technical and infrastructure advances that affect how individuals in Africa use the Internet;
  • How resources are allocated to ensure the Internet’s stability and security;
  • How ICANN, which is responsible for coordinating the global Internet’s systems of domain names and numeric addresses, carries out its functions;
  • How Internet users and other stakeholders worldwide are involved in ICANN;
  • How Africa’s Internet user groups and civil society organizations can get involved in ICANN and in many other global ICT/Internet decision making fora; and
  • Other issues that participants may consider crucial to Internet adoption and penetration in Africa.

 

The Workshop will be held at the Accra International Conference Center, Conference Room 1 (CR1), on Tuesday, 1 February 2005, from 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm. Admission is free and no prior registration is required. The Workshop agenda is included below.

Also in conjunction with Preparatory Conference, ICANN/At-Large will have a booth at the WSIS Conference Exhibition, 31 January – 4 February at the Accra International Conference Center, to provide information and answer questions about ICANN and At-Large.

Please email questions regarding this announcement to <committee@alac.icann.org>.

Programme

Session 1 : The Internet: Technology and the Resources

Chairman: Professor Francis Allotey, Former Chairman, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Director General, Institute of Mathematical Science and Senior Research Fellow of INIIT

Time Topic Speaker
2.00 – 2.05 pm
Chairman’s Opening Remarks
 
2.05 – 2.20 pm
The Internet as a Global Communications Delivery Platform: The Basics
Mouhamet Diop (Member, ICANN Board)
2.20 – 2.50 pm
The Fundamentals of the Domain Name System (DNS): Allocating and Managing the Resources of the Internet – The Numbers and the Names

Axel Pawlik (RIPE): The Role of the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) – The Numbers (The IP Addresses)

William Tevie (Board Member of GhNIC): The Role of the National Information Centers (NICs) – The Names (The Domain Names)

2.50 – 3.05 pm
A Briefing on ICANN- What it Does and its Role in the Internet Space
Kierran Baker (General Manager, Communications and Public Participation, ICANN)
3.05 – 3.20 pm
Discussion
 
3.20 – 3.45 pm
Break
 

Session 2: Facilitating Effective Participation in the Governing of the Internet: Defining and Enhancing the Role of the At-Large – The Internet User Community

Chairman: Professor Samuel Agyepong, Vice Chancellor, Methodist University of Ghana and Former Vice Chancellor, University of Cape Coast and Board Member Africa Virtual University

Time Topic Speaker
3.45 – 3.50 pm
Chairman’s Opening Remarks
 
3.50 – 4.05 pm
Governing the Internet: Making the Case and Setting the Scene
Dr. Nii Narku Quaynor (Former ICANN Board Member, Chairman of the GhNIC Board and Direct, Enterprise Africa)
4.05 – 4.20 pm
Enhancing Africa’s Participation in the Global ICT/Internet Policy and Decision Making Fora and the Wider Internet Governance Space and Process

Professor Clement Dzidonu (Vice Chairman, ALAC – The At-Large Advisory Committee of ICANN, President, Global Village University (GVU))

4.20 – 4.35 pm

ICANN At Large-Promoting Effective Participation in the ICANN Process: Tracing the History and Explaining the Proposed Internet User Community Participatory Structure

Pierre Dandjinou (Member, ALAC and Chairman AfriNIC Board of Trustees)
4.35 – 4.50 pm
Becoming an At-Large Structure (ALS): The Process and the Modalities
Sunday Folayan (Member, ALAC; Member, AfriNIC Board)
4.50 – 5.20 pm
Promoting Effective Participation -The Way the Internet User Community Sees It; Contributions from Internet User Community Organizations and Prospective At-Large Structures on How to Promote Effective Public Participation in the ICANN Process and Other National, Regional and Global Internet Governance Organizations and Institutions
Leopold Armah (Africa Youth Initiative (AYI))

Albert Opoku Fokuo (Valley View University Computer Science Association)

Emmanuel Laryea (Association of Computer Instructor (ACI))

Representative from an Accredited African At-Large Structure

5.20 – 5.50 pm
Open Microphone Contributions and Discussion
 
5.50 – 6.00 pm
Chairman’s Summary and Closing Remarks
 
6.00 pm
End of Workshop