Members
Let me start by wishing you all a happy new year (and apologize for cross posting)
2013 saw a number Internet Governance events good, bad and worrying in no particular order. Towards the end of 2013 The leaders of organizations responsible for coordination of the Internet technical infrastructure globally also known as I* met in Montevideo,
Uruguay, to consider issues affecting the future of the Internet. The outcome of that meeting was a document now Known as the Montevideo statement
http://1net.org/posts/3.
As part of the multistakeholder approach, /1net
http://1net.org is hosting an open, global online discussion about Internet governance. Please contribute to the conversation by joining the mailing list of the movement.
I’m sending this email in my Capacity as Chair of AfriNIC as I have not seen many discussions from the African region. As a community it is now imperative that we pro-actively take our position on the global table of internet governance. After all we are
a community of over 1 billion people.
I urge the community to take time read the archives if you have not been on the list and then contribute from your perspective. We should also take 2014 as the year that we start a very active but balanced dialogue with our governments on how we integrate
the internet into our society as an enabling tool not the threat that some of our governments have been lead to believe.
Finally we need to review the thin line between the Internet Technical community and the civil society. My personal view is as longer as we believe their is a line between these two we will not get to a synergized outcome.
Let me end by Wishing you all a Prosperous new year and look forward to deep win-win based discussions over the year that will enable us all leave a legacy for the next generation as we pass on this thing called the internet in whatever form it will be then.
I say “whatever form” because we all have to accept that the internet is and will continue to change at a pace we need to keep up with.
Regards
Badru Ntege
Chairman
African Network Information Center (AfriNIC)