Hi Listers

After an  attempt that aborted in 2008, ICANN came  full throttle  into Nairobi  and after 6 action packed days it was time to  park the bags and leave– they did and they are gone heading for Brussels!

Will Nairobi be remembered  or put it differently will Nairobi  remember ICANN. What’s the impact both ways? My take is that the  impact was both ways – Nairobi provided a fertile  ground for Board action and  ICANN event  affirmed the local ICT sector   and raised high to a pedestal  for the world to see.

Nairobi was a watershed for gTLDs .  Being held  in a developing  country, it provided a fertile  groundswell for   consideration  that resulted in at least two resolutions. EOI      was thrown  out by the Board for good reason - the criteria would have worked against the developing countries and small entities. This however is a short term reprieve and should only be a breather. Nairobi also provided a fertile  moral ground  to persuade the Board to pass a resolution supporting the formation of  a working group to develop a sustainable approach to providing support to applicants requiring assistance in applying for and operating new gTLDs. These  provide a lifeline for  developing countries  to  participate meaningfully in the new space to be unleashed by the new gTLDs. It is a challenge thrown to us.

ICANN more than affirmed the maturity of the ICT sector , the challenge is to build on this . A large number of ICANNers did not come to Nairobi  courtesy of the mishandled security  issues. This was a blessing in disguise for the  ICT sector. The scribes did their work, transcribing live from California,  some board members, presenters , and other   participants   participated fully – no latency .  ICANN confirmed beyond doubt that our ICT infrastructure is world class and beyond reproach. In the main conference hall, I estimated over 200 devices all online and most streaming  and the wireless internet speeds were incredible, the cellular networks were incredible  and according to one staffer of ICANN,  bandwidth capacity and quality was no different from any developed world country!!  He thought the best thing should have been to stream the Carnivore Gala live to those who didn’t come. Our ICT system has come of age and fully confirmed by ICANN.   If scribes can sit in California  and do their thing ,  the converse is true, we can offer first class scribing to world.  This is an item we should  shout loudly when marketing  the BPO sector  . Secondly, ICANN did official business on audio and  video conferencing , is there any reason where we should not aggressively use audio and video conferencing in government , private sector  and even social   engagements?

Finally, ICANN provided a stepping stone  and great credentials to bring IGF to kenya  next year .

Media was caught unawares  and never could catch up with the biggest event on internet that ever landed in Kenya . coverage of the opening day was a whimper and subsequent   coverage tacked away  in obscure pages.

Cheers

Muriuki Mureithi