[Kictanet] from WGIG to ICANN

Wed Mar 29 03:37:45 EAT 2006

FROM WGIG TO ICANN WITH A MISSION

  When the Working Group on Internet Governance was formed after the Geneva phase of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), there was a lot of anxiety about what would happen to ICANN and its global operations.

  WGIG was formed by Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General and was tasked with giving recommendations on the way forward. Baher Esmat was a member of WGIG and has been appointed by ICANN as the Global partnership Liaison for Middle East. He discusses his experience and the new appointment.

  Q. what was your experience at WGIG?

  WGIG gave me very good experience. It was the first taskforce within the UN that incorporated civil society, private sector and governments. There were 40 members who discussed, disagreed and had consensus on some issues.

  Our role was to define Internet Governance, identify public policy issues and put forward recommendations and proposals to enhance mechanisms for IG.

  Q. What was your role in the IT sector before appointment?

  I worked at the Egyptian ministry of communication, mainly on telecomm planning and infrastructure services. I also chaired a taskforce of IPv6 set up by the minister.

  The taskforce included government officials, academia as well as private sector. Its main objective is to raise awareness on IPv6 within the community. We conduct seminars and training sessions locally and at regional level.

  Egypt has a pilot project with ISPs and institutions of higher education to upgrade networks and experiences as well as successes will prove the country is ready for IPv6.

  The taskforce is drafting a plan for infrastructure owners to have a smooth transition. 

  Q. Why transition and not migration?

  Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) and IPv4 are not so different. Transition means that IPv4 will still be operable in cases where people have not upgraded. Migration may be construed to mean that all systems will have to switch to IPv6.

  Q what is the difference between the two versions?

  IPv6 is modern, has more address spaces and has more features that can help mobile users. This means that mobile users will not lose connectivity while connecting in remote areas. Security will also be improved. It will simply improve accessibility.

  Q Expectations?

  I have vast experience working in Telecomm both in government and private sector.  It this respect, I believe am well position to participate on issues regarding country code Top Level Domains (CCTLD), Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) as well as internet Governance in genera.

  I expect Middle Eastern governments to be more involved in the process and to forge new partnerships.  Our outreach plan is getting more participation and raising awareness to ICANN’s activities and how it can respond to issues raised by various countries in the region.
  Ends 

Rebecca Wanjiku,
p.o box 33515, 
Nairobi.00600
Kenya.

Tel. 254 720 318 925

blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/
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