Internet Society Q2 Internet Society African Community Call, 12 Jul 2022

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From YouTube: Q2 Internet Society African Community Call: Protect the Internet!

Description

Q2 Internet Society African Community Call: Protect the Internet! - July 7 2022

This call focused on discussing the issues of Splinternet, Digital Sovereignty and protecting the Internet against current and future threats.

TRANSCRIPT https://isoc.live/africa/Q2_2022_ISOC_Africa_Community_Call.pdf

Opening
00:00 Welcome: Victor Ndonnang, Community Engagement Manager - Africa
02:12 Introduction: Path to 2025: Joyce Dogniez, Vice President, Community Engagement

Working Together to Protect the Internet.
09:54 Overview of the issue of Splinternet: Natalie Campbell, Director of Advocacy and Community Organizing
23:09 Exploring of the issue of Digital Sovereignty: Verengai Mabika, Senior Policy Advisor - Africa
32:23 Comment: Nazar Nichols Kirama, ISOC Tanzania

Interactive roundtable with Community Leaders
35:31 Facilitator: Dr. Dawit Bekele, Regional Vice-President - Africa
39:45 Ithabeleng Moreke - Lesotho Chapter
40:23 Maud Ashong Elliot - Ghana Chapter
41:03 Ernest Mafuta - Affordable Internet SIG
41:53 Harold Adjaho - Benin Chapter
42:19 Emmanuel C. OGU, PhD - Nigeria Chapter
44:20 Dr. Dawit Bekele, Regional Vice-President - Africa
45:13 Ithabeleng Moreke - Lesotho Chapter
48:10 Maud Ashong Elliot - Ghana Chapter
49:41 Ernest Mafuta - Affordable Internet SIG
50:30 Harold Adjaho - Benin Chapter
51:25 Emmanuel C. OGU, PhD - Nigeria Chapter

Summary
52:25 Dr. Dawit Bekele, Regional Vice-President - Africa

Questions / Comments
53:02 Tijani Ben Jamaa, FMAI
54:28 Jackson Kaindume, Namibia
55:43 Nazar Nichols Kirama, ISOC Tanzania
56:17 Natalie Campbell, Director of Advocacy and Community Organizing
58:15 Dr. Dawit Bekele, Regional Vice-President - Africa
59:16 Tidjani MAHAMAT ADOUM, ISOC Chad
1:00:36 Hadji Mmodi ALI, ISOC Comoros
1:02:09 Bakoena Manoto, South Africa

Call to Action
1:03:03 What can you do to help protect the Internet: Lia Kiessling, Senior Director, Individual Membership and Giving

Internet Society Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and Standing Groups (SGs).
1:06:02 High level introduction and how to join: Hana Sabbagh, Community Engagement Manager – Middle East.

Wrap up and Closing
1:09:45 Victor Ndonnang, Community Engagement Manager - Africa

DOWNLOADS
VIDEO https://isoc.live/africa/Q2_2022_ISOC_Africa_Community_Call.mp4
AUDIO https://isoc.live/africa/Q2_2022_ISOC_Africa_Community_Call.mp3

FRENCH VERSION
https://youtu.be/0Ip8Ji-gGYw

CONTACT
ndonnang@isoc.org

A

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening., wherever you are joining us from, so thank you.

A

Again to all of you to join us today, for this quarterly community call. today call is a it is.

A

A very special one is, we are welcoming all our individual needs in the african region.

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Thank you very much again,. Thank you for joining us today.. We are very pleased to have you all.

A

So we have a very packed agenda today., so before I hand off to our vice president for community.

A

Engagement for the introductory remarks,, I would just like to take a moment to really welcome all.

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The new individual members,, some of you, are joining the committee call for the first time.

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So this q2, we were very happy to welcome 2289 new members to the internet society from the.

A

Africa region mentioned that so again,. Welcome to those of you who are new member who are.

A

Joining the community call for the first time., so on that I will hand over to choice for the.

A

Introductory remarks.

B

Thank you, victor., so it's always a pleasure to be here on the call with all of you.. As you.

B

Know,, the african region is very close to my heart,, all of the regions, of course,, but you.

B

Have a special place in my heart, as I see the many things that are happening in africa. now,.

B

The reason why we are here today is also because we believe in a world where the internet means.

B

Opportunity. and we care about its future., so in 2019,, in collaboration with the board of.

B

Trustees, staff and global community,, the internet society developed a five year strategy.

B

That focuses on our strategic goal to support an open, globally connected, secure and trustworthy.

B

Internet for everyone., the strategy,, the past 2025,, if you want, is centered around three.

B

Pillars,, so it's built, promote and defend.. You may have seen this in the introduction. Video as.

B

Well. now to help grow the internet, we work to close the digital divide.. We bring together the people.

B

And technology needed to give everyone the access that they need. in an increasingly.

B

Connected world,, the internet has become a critical resource,, providing those with access.

B

Virtually infinite opportunities to innovate and to work together for the collective good. and.

B

This did not happen by accident.. The internet owes its strength, its resilience and success to.

B

Its open architecture was built to be built upon,. My son would smile at that and probably.

B

Think of lego, but we are talking about the internet, today.

B

Now, to make the internet stronger,, we advocate for a secure,, trustworthy and more resilient.

B

Internet. and we defend the internet from those who could make it less secure, less resilient.

B

And less open. and as we approach the midpoint of our five year, strategy, we've gathered information about the.

B

Progress that we've made so far., so that's what I would like to share with you at a high level.

B

Today,, I will highlight some of the achievements, but I really invite you to go online and to read.

B

The full report, as it outlines the progress that we have made together the community because.

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Without you,, this would have not happened., so you were, and you are instrumental in the.

B

Progress that we made., if we look at the build -- under build,, we committed to build an extent.

B

Connectivity to 50 communities by 2025. and in 2020 and 21,, we built an extended connectivity.

B

To communities in 49 countries in total, through building or strengthening community networks., as.

B

Many of you, know, 10 of the countries, were actually in africa., and we did that as well.

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Through building or strengthening isps, internet exchange points and 12 of those were in africa.

B

Under promote, we have three main objectives., so in the first one, we set ourselves the goal to.

B

Ensure that by 2025, if the internet model of networking will be dominant,, and for this we.

B

Track four areas,, which collectively provide a view of whether the internet model of networking.

B

Is preferred. and these areas are autonomy of networks,? They are shared network reachability,.

B

Free flow of data and freedom to deploy.. The second objective is that by 2025, leading.

B

Governments of the world will have adopted policies that favor the intranet model and.

B

Improve internet connectivity. and in 2020, and 2021, a total of six leading governments with.

B

Which the internet society engaged have adopted? Policies that favor that internet model and.

B

Improve the internet connectivity. and in africa, I'm very happy to say that those.

B

Countries were kenya and zimbabwe.

B

The third objective is that by 2025, security technologies promoted by internet society will.

B

Have provided resiliency,, stability,, availability, confidentiality and integrity for.

B

Networks that want to interconnect. now,, I'm gonna go a little bit technical here and use a.

B

Couple of acronyms, but I'll, try to explain them or at least give you the full wording here.. So.

B

The technologies we track for this, our internet protocol version six are better known as ipv6.

B

Transport layer, security, tls, domain name system, security extension for those who know dnssec,.

B

Route, origin, authorizations, roa, and route origin validation, or called rov as well.. We.

B

Like acronyms. right. moving on to defend., we also have three main objectives.. The first one is that by 2025,.

B

Leading governments of the world have adopted policies that favor the growth of independent.

B

Networks,, which are free to interconnect and 2020 and 2021, a total of 18 leading governments.

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In countries with which the internet society engaged adopted, policies in favor of the growth.

B

Of independent networks,, which are free to interconnect.

B

The second objective is that by 2025, we counter attempts by at least three leading governments.

B

To undermine encryption. and in 2020, and 2021,, we countered attempts to undermine encryption by.

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A total of five leading governments., so we've exceeded our initial target already., and here we.

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Have seen actually, in african context,, we have seen the successful advocacy efforts.

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Specifically in mauritius. and last but not least, as I know,, this is close to many of you,.

B

We want to defend the intranet against shutdowns by increasing cross border connectivity and.

B

Resiliency. and as I mentioned, in the build objective,, we have increased resiliency by.

B

Building and extending connectivity to communities in a total of 49 countries. and.

B

Furthering in 2021,, we also began to track resiliency, capturing baseline metrics related.

B

To infrastructure, performance,, security, and market readiness in africa,, with plans to expand.

B

The tracking to all regions, globally. and so for this,. I really invite you to look at the.

B

Internet resilience index,, where we have started tracking resilience in africa., as you can see,.

B

We've made positive progress towards our 2025 goal., and none of this would have been possible.

B

Without all of you,, our chapters and members play really a critical role in moving towards.

B

Our vision of the internet being for everyone., but we're not done., so the need for an open.

B

Globally, connected internet has been amplified during the pandemic,. The threats to the internet.

B

Are actually we see that they are increasing. and therefore it's really very important and.

B

Even more important that we all unite.- and we advocate for to mobilize for the internet, that.

B

We all believe in. and lastly,. I just want to say thank you,. Thank you for your continued.

B

Engagement, for your time for your efforts., we really cannot do this alone and you, our.

B

Community,, you really play a critical role in helping us achieve an internet for everyone.

B

So, thank you very much. back to you, victor.

A

Thank you very much, joyce., so without further ado,, as you read on the invitation,, this.

A

Community call's main focus is all mobilizing working together to protect the internet, to.

A

Protect the internet against today's threats and future trends as well. so,. On that, I would like.

A

To invite my colleagues, natalie and verengai., so first starting with natalie,, she will talk.

A

About the issue of splinternet and how it may affect the internet that we all want in open.

A

Globally, connected, secure and trustworthy internet., so natalie, you have the floor.

A

Thank you so much, victor. hi everybody., I'm so glad to see so many folks here.. My name is.

C

Natalie campbell., I'm director of community, organizing and public advocacy at the internet.

C

Society., I'm really glad to see so many people here, because if there was ever a time to protect.

C

The internet, it is now the internet society has seen a lot of concerning trends lately, that.

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Could lead to a future that we don't want a dystopian future that can disrupt all of our.

C

Efforts to grow the open, globally connected, internet and the benefits that it provides to.

C

Everyone worldwide. today,, I'm going to talk about what is the splinternet?? How could this impact everyone?.

C

What are some paths that could lead to a splinternet? and what you can do to help stop.

C

It? but first, to understand what is a splinternet,. We need to understand what is the.

C

Internet,, the internet is made up of a foundation of critical properties that.

C

Altogether form the internet wave networking,, I like to think of this as the business model for.

C

The internet is what separates the internet from being another type of network like an intranet.

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Every network that wants to participate in the internet must whether they know or they're not.

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Aligned with the internet way of networking,, because this is a simple foundation that enables.

C

Us to be globally connected and collaborate easily across borders., so with that in mind,.

C

What is the splinternet? while it's pretty easy to splinternet as the opposite of the internet,.

C

At the internet society, we have a mission to make sure that the internet is for everyone.. So.

C

In that sense,, the splinternet really is our worst case. Scenario, is the idea that the open.

C

Globally, connected, secure and trustworthy internet that we all use splinters into a.

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Collection of isolated networks that are controlled by governments or corporations.

C

So why are we worried about this right, now? and why, more than ever?? That's a really good.

C

Question. today, governments, businesses and organizations are increasingly making decisions.

C

That could undermine the way the internet works., so the internet wave networking, and they might.

C

Not even know it. for instance,, one particular concern we had this year was when russia's.

C

Invasion of ukraine started. and I have to say my apologies to anyone who was touched by this,.

C

This is really awful war, and my sympathies to anyone who might have sensitivities there. from.

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An internet perspective, there was also some concerning impact.. When many countries started.

C

Rallying to support ukraine,, we got really worried when different countries and influential.

C

Internet experts started proposing to disconnect networks in russia from the internet. and.

C

Furthermore, we got concerned when we started to see that sanctions were having an impact of.

C

Disconnecting russian networks from the internet.

C

So you might ask yourself, I'm nowhere close to that.. Why does this impact me?? How could this.

C

Impact my use of the internet? the issue is,, is that if we start making political decisions.

C

About who can access the internet,? This could set a very dangerous precedent., any action that.

C

Undermines the a political nature of the internet could instigate other geopolitical.

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Attempts to disconnect networks in other parts of the world., so while you know, the target, may.

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Have been trying to disconnect networks and russia a few months back,, if that were to.

C

Happen, that could quickly shift in the target could be any other country in the world. and.

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This would eventually lead to a splinternet., and splinternet is something that would impact.

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Everyone in a world in very different ways,, which is a big concern.

C

So there might be many geographical borders between us., I'm based in canada,. My colleague.

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Dawit, for instance, is based in ethiopia.. Lia is based in geneva., but the internet has no.

C

Borders.. This is why it's so easy for us to be here today. and to talk about this really.

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Important issue., the reason a splinternet would impact everyone is that it would complicate our.

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Ability to connect with one another by fragmenting the internet into separate networks.

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That don't work so easily., so in a splinternet, I might not be able to have a zoom conversation.

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With my colleague, verengai, for instance,, so easily, or I might not be able to work on a.

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Shared document in a network in another country, for instance,, with my colleague lia without.

C

Having to pay some kind of a toll fee., that's why actions that could harm one part of the.

C

Internet,, whether it's networks in russia or anywhere else in the world could actually harm.

C

It for everyone. and if we don't protect the internet now,, this will eventually result in a.

C

Splinternet., so what are some of the causes that could lead to splinternet?? I've mentioned one before,, but.

C

I'm going to expand into three different paths that we're concerned about lately.. So there are.

C

Many, many different paths that could lead to splinternet. and a splinternet can take.

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Different forms, depending what paths we're heading down in that direction., three paths that.

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We've noticed as of late, that are somewhat trends of particular. Concern are as follows. so.

C

First internet shutdowns. obviously, when a government tries to disconnect networks from.

C

Within its own borders, from the global internet,, it has serious consequences for.

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Citizens. and the more governments try to give themselves this power,, the more it drives a.

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Wedge between those networks in that region and the internet., this is something if it gains.

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Popularity,, it leads us towards the splinternet. secondly,, as we saw with the case of the war in.

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Ukraine, politicized to say, decisions about internet access and infrastructure undermines a.

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Political nature of the internet., so when governments and businesses make politically.

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Motivated decisions that could disconnect networks and other countries, from the internet.

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Infrastructure,, this could lead us towards the splinternet,, because it could cause precedent.

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That could be replicated in virtually any other part of the world.

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And finally, third,, broader category of threats that could lead towards the splinternet is when.

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Policies and business decisions, don't protect the internet. and when I say, don't protect the.

C

Internet,, I specifically mean they don't protect the internet way of networking, the internet's.

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Business model,, it might not be a single decision that causes a global splinternet., but.

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Just like, every raindrop contributes to a flood, every time a government decision or.

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Business decision chooses not to protect the internet way of networking.. This contributes to.

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The path towards the splinternet that could lead to our that worst case, scenario.

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So why does this matter?, as I mentioned, before,, the internet is simple, and it makes our online.

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Experiences seamless., you don't have to negotiate with gatekeepers before sending an.

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Email, or shopping online., if you're among those who are lucky to have fast,, affordable or.

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Reliable internet access, we can just simply go online and do it., regardless of where we're.

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Trying to access online, is splinternet makes things way more complicated,. It would literally.

C

Shattered decade's worth of global connectivity, efforts,, which were not easy to achieve. and the.

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Many networks that make up the internet today would no longer work together, so easily. and.

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This could alter our daily experiences online, and restrict access to who can contribute to.

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This global resource., this ultimately -- while it would affect our daily experiences, online,.

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Whether it's trying to send an email,, potentially web browsing using social media --.

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This has a knock on effect that would significantly impact things like trade,, national.

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Economies, innovation, the free flow of information,, even international humanitarian.

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Efforts, and much, much more., so how can we stop the splinternet?? So what I'm going to share with you now is the internet.

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Society playbook joyce had mentioned earlier about some of the initiatives that we are doing.

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To protect and defend the global internet., but we have our own playbook about how we approach.

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This from an advocacy perspective.- and there is an opportunity for you as a member- to join us in.

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These efforts., because, as joyce mentioned,, we are stronger together,, we need you, we need.

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Members in our community to expand our reach, and to expand our impact.

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So what is our playbook,, the fast model of advocacy, essentially,, our approach to advocacy.

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Can be broken down into four steps., we flag issues that can either threaten or opportunities.

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To protect the internet., we analyze these issues and understand: how could these potential threats.

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Impact what the internet needs to exist and thrive and by what the internet needs to exist,.

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I'm again referring to the internet way of networking,, because it's really important to.

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Understand how something could undermine the internet's business model to be able to.

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Communicate that with the decision makers, so that they understand how that could impact the.

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Global internet.

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third, is forming a strategy once we understand how an issue can impact the internet,, and we.

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Decide to take it on as part of an advocacy goal., we form a goal on how to mitigate this.

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Threat or how to support this opportunity to protect the internet., and we form a strategy on.

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How to achieve that goal. and finally, again,? We are stronger together and so we're always.

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Thinking about how can we work together among our community with our community to expand our.

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Reach, extend our impact so that we can all of us together, cover more ground and protect the.

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Internet worldwide., so there are opportunities for community to get involved in every one of.

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These steps., we use this playbook of the internet, society.

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But it is critical for us to work alongside our community in this playbook because we are.

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Stronger together., so, whether with flag for instance,, anyone is welcome to to flag an issue.

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That could impact the internet. and a lot of our community members are increasingly starting to.

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Do this., if you spot a regional decision in your community that you think might have an impact on.

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The internet, you're always welcome to let us know. and we're happy to advise on what this.

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Potential impact could be and how you might want to pursue this and an advocacy opportunity.

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Regionally. likewise,, you can help us in analysis,. We have a number of chapters that.

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We're working with that have flagged issues and that are using our internet impact assessment.

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Toolkit to analyze how these issues could impact the internet. and as forms are really good basis.

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For their own regional advocacy efforts, in knowing exactly how to educate decision makers.

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On what it takes to protect the internet. in that instance,, there are members any member can.

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Either join into our existing strategy or advocacy efforts,, which we have many there,.

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Protect the internet, or, if you flagged, an issue, you're, welcome to form your own strategy.

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On how to mitigate a potential threat or on how to make use of an opportunity to support and.

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Protect with the internet needs to exist in your region.

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And finally,, then this is the easiest one to get involved is mobilizing community amplifier.

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Impact, whether that's amplifying our existing campaigns to broaden awareness about the.

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Splinternet. or to bring this to a regional level and talk about specific issues., there are.

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Infinite opportunities for you to get involved into amplify our campaigns and our impact.

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Article, amplify your own campaigns on regional issues., so this is a high level glimpse of what.

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Is a splinternet. why it matters to everyone worldwide,? Why we all need to work together to.

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Protect the internet and a view of our playbook and how you can get involved., I'm really happy.

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To see here today and to see your interest in getting involved because it will take all of us.

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To stop the splinternet and to make sure that we're headed towards a path that promotes and.

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Champions an open globally, connected,, secure and trustworthy internet for all.

C

Thank you so much, everyone.

A

Thank you very much natalie.. Most of you now can understand why we are talking about protecting.

A

The internet, because of the growing issue of splinternet., but there is another issue that is.

A

Digital sovereignty and the way people understand it or can approach. It can also lead.

A

To de splinternet. and on that I would like to invite my colleague, verengai, to talk a little.

A

Bit more about digital sovereignty., so verengai, you have the floor.

D

Thank you, victor. and let me introduce myself. greetings again,, my colleagues, friends and.

D

Comrades,, I see quite a lot of familiar names and lots of friends., so it's a pleasure again,.

D

To connect with you. and again, you having these discussions quite important in the growth of the.

D

Internet and protecting the internet., so it's quite a pleasure to connect with you once again.

D

My name once again is vaerengai mabika., I'm senior policy advisor for africa, and connecting.

D

D

Today, I will briefly talk about another phenomenon that we are following very closely.

D

That is the potential to further issues that my colleague natalie mentioned, splinternet., just.

D

To recap,, I think natalie mentioned that increasingly we are seeing local governments,.

D

Quite a number of governments,, sometimes businesses,, as well as organizations across the.

D

World, making decisions that could undermine the way the internet works today. in the end,. I.

D

Think this is quite important for our community for us to keep our eyes wide open and a look for.

D

All those things that happen across the world so that we can continue to protect the internet way.

D

Of networking., so this year, we started the research oriented a project called the digital sovereignty. and I'd.

D

Also like to invite colleagues here to follow this project closely and possibly contribute.

D

Your thoughts., because we believe that there could be aspects that could lead to the.

D

Splinternet in the name of digital sovereignty,, I think many of you might have hidden things or.

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You know, certain discussions, action being taken by governments in the name of digital.

D

Sovereignty., so we are seeing this quite a lot,, especially in our region. In africa,, we see quite a lot of.

D

Political statements for more ministers,, sometimes from our governments,, that they really.

D

Want to make policies that protect,, or at least that pursue the idea of digital sovereignty. and.

D

This idea, actually,, we have also been following it quite closely.. I think in china, in the last.

D

Decade or so, or two decades, we've been following also,, you know, discussions around.

D

Cyber sovereignty manifesting in what they're calling up the great firewall,. I think some of.

D

You probably have been following this, and some policies and measures that are trying to promote.

D

This. in recent years., also, in other regions in europe, or in africa,, we are also seeing in.

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Regional strategies that are coming up for for region in africa.

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Quite recently,, in fact, two years ago, the african union came with the digital.

D

Transformation strategy,, which is a 10 year plan from 2020 to 2030., and there is also mention of.

D

Digital sovereignty in this strategy, quite explicitly., so we are seeing a growing interest.

D

In discussing these issues or discussing this particular concept,, which we think we may need.

D

As a community to follow very closely., so sometimes you may see that digital sovereignty.

D

May manifest itself in policies as efforts to do or to improve at the local level. sometimes,.

D

Data localization, for example, could be some of those policies that come in the spirit of.

D

Digital sovereignty. in other places, it may be infrastructure sharing. in other places,. It may.

D

Also be improving competition,, especially for local firms.,.

D

So we really want to put our minds together and evaluate these kind of policies and strategies.

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That our governments are bringing in, and to check if they may not have the potential to.

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Affect the internet way of networking, and possibly maybe moving us towards the splinternet.

D

That natalie talked about., so we are looking very closely to the trends that are happening in.

D

The region. and in this research focused projects,. We are currently focusing on just.

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Three regions, asia and pacific,. We are also focusing on a europe, is a region, and africa is a.

D

Region., so I would just like to share with you some of our initial things that we're observing in this.

D

Project., so firstly,, what we are noticing is that digital sovereignty is being defined very.

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Differently by different stakeholders. and in our focus in this project,, we are going to be.

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Focusing on digital sovereignty, as it is asserted by the state or by the government., but.

D

You you will notice that you probably come across other names, such as check, sovereignity,.

D

For information, sovereignty, internet sovereignty,, cyber sovereignty,- those are some.

D

Of the words that you possibly come across., but, like I mentioned, that in most of the cases, it.

D

Manifests itself in in policies and measures that either target or involve internet, in some.

D

Jurisdictions,, and especially in africa,, even though they are not so many policies, yet,, we.

D

Are noticing that a lot of our ministers,, our presidents, are really enjoying using this word.

D

Recently,, I think last year, or if I'm not mistaken,, the senegalese president mentioned.

D

That they will be moving all the country's data to a local data center, because they do want to.

D

Promote digital sovereignty., so what we're seeing is that for africa,, it looks like this concept is more of an extension.

D

Of national sovereignty. yeah,, I think this doesn't really come as a surprise to most of us.

D

Most of our countries were colonized, except ethiopia., and I think the need to maintain the.

D

Independence in the sort of sovereignty is is quite key for quite a number of governments., so.

D

You'd see that this concept, it takes a trend of territorial control, and that the internet.

D

Should be under the jurisdiction of governments., so we really need to be checking if this is a.

D

Good thing or a bad thing,, because once this affect the fundamental principles of the.

D

Internet,, we are likely going to have some challenges in future.

D

So we are looking at this discussion with the lens of the internet, way of networking that my.

D

Colleague, natalie mentioned,, I think some of you might have gone through this., so primarily,. We.

D

Are checking if all these decisions or this policies that are coming together, that are being.

D

Proposed, may not impact the internet. The way we see globally, connected, again, open,, trustworthy.

D

And secure internet,, which is,, of course our mission., so this is an important discussion. We.

D

Need to keep in mind.. Maybe let me also share briefly with you some of the policy trends that we're seeing across.

D

Regions and what we terming themes or archetypes of digital sovereignity, with the preliminary.

D

Research that we're doing, we're noticing that governments- sometimes they are talking about.

D

Digital sovereignty, in the spirit and proposal,, these four things that you can see in the.

D

Presentation., so, firstly is sometimes it comes, is protecting the economy or at least getting.

D

More competition,, especially from law firms, local interviewers., so governments may make.

D

Policies that are trying to promote competition,, but in that it may be affecting the general.

D

Trend or general stability of the internet, itself. and then in other countries in our.

D

Region, we're also seeing law enforcement that are coming in, in different ways.. Sometimes it.

D

Comes as tax., sometimes the law enforcement that is a bit stringent, enforcing tech companies to.

D

Follow certain policy or certain requirements. I wouldn't want to preempt,, because I know some of.

D

My colleagues are going to share some examples of this. in nigeria, in mauritius, we're seeing.

D

Some of these things coming together., and sometimes it's also discussed, with the.

D

Motivation of wanting to protect users or protecting the citizens., so the idea of national.

D

Security and cyber security also comes into play when the issues of digital sovereignty are being.

D

Discussed., so we really need to put our mind and also keep checking, and also following all these.

D

Discussions, because they might have a potential to affect the way we we know the internet today.

D

So I think, just to segue into the discussion for the day, that is, in summary,, we are seeing.

D

Governments justifying the need to control the internet for the reasons that I mentioned. and.

D

They are saying this is in the spirit and purpose of digital sovereignty., so we definitely.

D

Need to be wary of those developments. and lastly, just like to invite you, again,. We.

D

Really value your contributions., and if you really want to learn more about this project,, we.

D

Certainly invite you to give some comments and things that you think could be the dynamics.

D

Around digital sovereignty from your country., so I hope this gives a little bit of insight into.

D

What we are also working on in relation to digital sovereignty and splinternet.

D

Thank you. and back to you, victor.

A

Yes,, thank you very much., very good. and thank you, again, ntalie for introducing these two.

A

Topics. nazar,, you have a question?.

E

Yes., I just wanted to make a quick comment regarding the splinternet and the digital.

E

Sovereignty., I think the concept of digital sovereignty emanates more from the point of what.

E

Is it that is it in terms of global internet?? What is in it for the government?, and I think in.

E

My opinion,, that is, where the issue of looking at how the local communities, in terms of their.

E

Government, how they can be able to benefit our have their citizens benefit from the global.

E

Internet. so in itself,, not very bad., unless it goes above board, and begin to eat into the.

E

Splinternet, in terms of thinking that,, you know,, you can now cut yourself from the rest of.

E

The internet in terms of building your own infrastructure, and so on, and so forth.

E

For example, in the last few years,, we are talking about local content. Development. and we.

E

Saw the traffic that was actually coming from the world to africa, was on the ratio of 20% to.

E

80%,, meaning the local traffic that was coming to africa for us, was coming from the rest of the.

E

World to africa, was around 80%.. So if you flip that 80/20 in terms of of, of traffic,, that is.

E

Where the concept of digital sovereignty, I think,, comes from.

E

However,, the issue of splinternet is where policies and issues and discussions, centers.

E

Around cutting yourself off from the rest of the internet, and build your own infrastructure for.

E

Your own use and your own data, and so on and so forth.

E

So I think to say a simple sentence, is that both of the issues are we need to integrate and.

E

Engage the policymakers,, the members of parliament from our national parliaments and.

E

National assemblies, to ensure that they not only engage in terms of these issues, but also.

E

They become sort of permanent structures that we can use for future issues to ensure that we.

E

Protect the internet and avoid the issues of splinternet.ca, because most of the policymakers.

E

Actually operate from the point of ignorance when it comes to technical issues.. So if we use.

E

Our muscle as internet society to engage and inform and educate members of parliament's and.

E

Other section of the policymakers, who will be in a far better position to continue to defend the.

E

Internet, and internet way of networking, as well, as you know,, lead to the standard that the.

E

Framers of internet wanted from the beginning.

E

That will be my comment, victor, thank you.

A

Thank you very much., nazar., so dawit, over to you.

F

Thank you, victor. thank you, everyone, for participating to this very important call. and.

F

Thank you also for natalie, and verengai, for the very enlightening presentations.. The next.

F

Session will be about a discussion around those topics.. We'll have participants from the.

F

Community., this is a call to discuss with us issues.. This is the very important part of this.

F

Call. we have among the panelists --. I think we have five panelists.. The first one is ithabeleng.

F

Moreke. and she is president of the lesotho chapter. and she's- been working with isoc for.

F

Quite some time. the second,, and I'm very glad that we have ladies well represented today on.

F

The panel, is also very capable person who have been working with us for quite some time.. Her.

F

Name is maud ashong elliot.. She is vice president of the ghana, chapter. and she's. Also.

F

Lecturer at the it department at the university of professional studies,, accra, ghana., the third.

F

One is ernest mafuta, who is chair of affordable internet access, special interest group.. He is.

F

Also, an expert member of the gambia ict regulatory authority.. The fourth panelist is.

F

Harold adjaho,, who is president of internet society, benin chapter.? He is a software.

F

Engineer, and it consultant for the past 10 years. last but not least,, emmanuel ogu is an.

F

Active member of isoc nigeria chapter, and also a chartered it professional,, a trained computer.

F

Scientist and advocate for digital rights and freedom. and I'm happy to say that we have been.

F

Working with emmanuel on some issues that are very relevant to the discussion, today.

F

So maybe before starting the discussion with the panel,, I would like to add a few things about.

F

What natalie and veronica have said. very often,? There are many things that we consider for.

F

Granted. for example,, you have water,, you have electricity,. You think that you'll always have.

F

Water, you'll always have electricity,. You will always have fuel at the gas pump until you don't.

F

Have, and in africa we know that very well. for example,, I'm sure if I asked among the.

F

Participants,, how many of you have electricity problem or water problem?? I think many of you.

F

Have it., but did you really think about that, before you had it? before you had it,, you think.

F

It will never happen., but it happened. and the same thing with the internet, we have today. We.

F

Have a global internet,, we can seamlessly talk to each other until the date,. We want to be able.

F

To do that., and it will be very difficult to change things once they have happened.

F

That's why at the internet society,, we believe that we need to prevent it,. We need to make sure.

F

That it doesn't happen and not try to reverse something that has happened, because once it's.

F

Happened,, it's very difficult to reverse., so I think that's why it's not only isoc as an.

F

Organization, but the whole community has to work together, because the internet is something.

F

That really is important in our lives.. We want an internet that you know works the way we have.

F

Seen it work in the last decades, for the next decade and also for the generations who will be.

F

Cut off- and that is very important., so without further ado,. Let me call upon the panelists so that they say a few words so that.

F

They can talk about this and then we'll have questions and answers.. Let me start with.

F

G

Hi,, thank you very much for having me. splintered internet.. It's very worrying factor.

G

And with such a small country,, we have had so much political turmoil in the past recent years,.

G

Which nearly led to the government wanting to censor and to moderate access to the internet,.

G

And what people can post on social media and what people can access. so yes,? It's a quite a.

G

Real effect for us as well, and needs to be included in this discussion. thanks.

F

Thank you., next, maud.

H

Thank you very much., alright. good afternoon, everyone., happy to be here for us to discuss the.

H

Topic of splinternet. for me,- this might not have really started with my country., but there's.

H

A saying that there's no smoke without fire, so far as it is coming up, we should deal with it.

H

Before it becomes a canker. thus,, I think it's very good for us to start a discussion, and then.

H

Deal with it now.. Thank you very much.,.

F

Thank you. next, ernest., hello, everyone. well, for me,. I do believe that this is a global issue in as much as it has not.

I

Reached my country., but I believe we all have a role to play for us to keep before it spreads.. I.

I

Remember, for example, last year during election for the first time were the restriction to the.

I

Internet, and that was a very, very,, very new experience for me and my fellow youth around the.

I

Country. so, we ensure that such a process do not happen again.. I think these meetings are.

I

Meant for systems like this., so I'm very happy that, today,. We can talk about this issue and.

I

Find the common resolution and how we can keep the internet. thank you.

F

Thank you., harold?.

J

Good evening, everyone., my name is harold,. Allow me to speak in french., so we are happy to be.

J

Part of this initiative, and to discuss today the situation over the internet and africa.. We.

J

Want to share our experience in this regard in order to prevent internet shutdowns. thank you.

F

Finally, emmanuel. good afternoon from nigeria., so the issue of splinternet and digital sovereignty is one that.

K

Has been a front burner issue on the nigerian scene in the last 12 to 18 months., some of the.

K

Community members may remember the infamous twitter ban of last year,, which lasted about.

K

Seven months, up to january this year. and then recently, over the past two weeks, we've had.

K

Another emergence of a code of practice by nigeria's information technology, development.

K

Authority in nigeria, and through the lens of these regulatory policy attempts and digital.

K

Sovereignty., it is easy to empathize with the concerns the government has around these issues.

K

I mean, the issues of disinformation and child safety,, digital rights,, hate, speech, and radical.

K

Extremism that the country has had to grapple with over the past few years., very critical.

K

Concerns. and with only a few months on to the next general elections,, it is evident that these.

K

Are issues that would greatly endanger the democratic future of a country like nigeria., so.

K

It's easy to understand why the government is taking very decisive regulatory approaches on.

K

Digital sovereignty., but then, the bigger challenge is the approach which they have often followed, has been seen to.

K

Not be very multistakeholder inclusive, and which has also been seen to endanger the.

K

Internet way of networking in ways that could result in a splinternet, and balkanized the.

K

Frameworks that has made the internet that open and globally connected infrastructure that we.

K

Have relied on over the past few years,, particularly since the pandemic.

K

So yeah, these are critical issues that we have dealt with in the nigerian space. and we.

K

Continue to deal with and we continue to pursue more broad, based and more inclusive approaches.

K

To dealing with these concerns, and interests in regulating digital sovereignty and regulation of.

K

The digital space., so that the internet way of networking is not endangered at all.

K

Thank you. thank you.. Now my next question is,. How would splinternet , if it happens, for.

F

Example, tomorrow, impact your community or your communities?, and are there any things that you.

F

Think might lead toward the splinternet that might happen at the local level?.

F

So two questions to which I would like you to answer what would be the impact of a splinternet.

F

If it happened, tomorrow, the impact on your community and is there anything local that might.

F

Contribute to making the splinternet a reality? ithabeleng?, can you start, and then maud,.

F

Ernest, harold, and emmanuel.

G

Thank you. for us in lesotho,, we're still on a journey to get locals to appreciate what we can.

G

Gain from the internet., so should we come upon this splinternet,? This would cause us to go.

G

Backwards. because the people that we're bringing on board, the people that are yet to be.

G

Connected to the internet,, they will not find what you're trying to sell,. They will not find.

G

The internet that we are trying to say, this is what you can get from the internet. for.

G

Instance, during the covid pandemic,, there are many businesses that went online. and that's.

G

Selling their services online. and some even started operating from that time.. So if we, in.

G

This point in time get to where our internet been censored and restricted,. This will cause.

G

That that people have to not be a full fledged internet experience. and for a country where.

G

Many organizations that are trying to push the internet are yet to realize the benefits,. This.

G

Will put us back, but it will take down or it will discourage stakeholders that are trying to.

G

Build or that are trying to push internet penetration,, trying to get educators and.

G

Educational institutions, to get the benefit and to train and adopt is in the internet. Access to.

G

Expand education,, which was quite a challenge during the covid lockdowns.

G

So should this be censored,, this will cut down on the effort that we have already made in.

G

Trying to get educators, education institutions, to appreciate how much we can achieve on using.

G

The internet. so from a country that are very far behind on using a benefiting from the open.

G

Internet,, this would cut down our efforts and introduction.

G

On the second question on what could potentially bring us here, or bring us the splinternet,, it's.

G

Political influence mostly. in the past few years, we've had a lot of political.

G

Disturbances, which affected many aspects of us., and it came to a point where the government.

G

Wanted to censor social media,, they wanted to censor access to the internet,. They want to shut.

G

Down. well,, we didn't get there., but we have upcoming elections. and my fear is that the.

G

Government in place could try and get hold of control of the internet, to ensure that they.

G

Have the upper hand, to ensure that they censor, information, or people can only get access to.

G

What they want to say., that is mostly what could impact or what could lead to a splinternet.. I.

G

Hope it doesn't happen,, because elections are coming in the next few months,, but that is the.

G

Greatest threat to the open, internet. thanks.

F

Thank you so much., so maud, please,.

H

For me,, a splinternet is a fragmented, mini internet., so with this,, if there are breaks, I.

H

The way the internet works, definitely we will all be at a disadvantage.. You ask the question,.

H

What are some of the activities that might, you know, sort of show that there is splinternet?.

H

For splinternet,, if there are many activities and where also power is also taken away from.

H

You, one major thing: I see that countries might end up going into splinternet, or digital.

H

Sovereignty, could be during the election period,, where maybe the ruling government might.

H

Decide that they will not want some info to get to other people,, it has to only be about them.

H

So that could also happen.and also during splinternet,. Definitely they'll have disruption.

H

In communications all over the place., so information definitely will not get to the right.

H

People, or it prevent information to get to the people, we don't want them to get to.

H

We also realize that there will be some issues with interoperability in businesses.. You realize.

H

That, now businesses want to connect to make things easier,. All these things would happen.

H

When splinternet is involved.- and I guess this is a time to make sure we talk about it, and.

H

Then we deal with it. thank you.

F

Thank you., earnest, you're next.

I

Alright, so coming from the country that is not a digitally transformed, like zambia, on the.

I

Aspect of community,, if splinternet would happen,, I would say for us this would be a step.

I

Backwards because number one,, when it comes to the splinternet,, we have got people who don't.

I

Know even about the splinternet,, and we have people who are already in businesses, who.

I

Already are in community using the internet., so if that would happen,, it would really disrupt.

I

The operation and also data flows. for example,, I think one of the major issues, that would.

I

Impact on us, is the issue of data.. Allow me to say that data is the most important asset in the.

I

World., we all know that. the people who can control data,. They control our future,. They.

I

Control our humanity.

F

Yeah. harold,, can you continue?

F

yes, thank you., so in benin, we have progressed and we also have implemented reforms,, especially.

J

For the economic development of our country.we have several public policies that we have.

J

Implemented., we also have companies, local companies, that are using the internet., so we.

J

Have this interoperability with internet in our country,, several companies that are working with.

J

The providers from abroad., so if this splinternet actually happens in our country,, we.

J

Might regress and lose 10 years of progress in our country., and our objective is to make sure.

J

That the policies,, the regulatory policies that are implemented,, actually promote or build the.

J

F

Merci., emmanuel? yes, thank you.. So what are the most current threats to the internet in nigeria?? I would say.

K

The regulatory attempts of governments to take hold of digital sovereignty concerns within the.

K

Space are the most obvious threats, and how can these impact on the community? first of all,.

K

There is the issue of high cost of internet access. during the twitter ban of last year,.

K

There was the concern of trying to purchase and subscribe to vpns to be able to access the.

K

Internet. and so when you add this to an already substantial cost of internet access,, there's a.

K

Danger that the internet could become an elitist commodity for those who are rich enough to.

K

Afford cost of data connection and the costs of bypassing mechanisms to be able to access.

K

Certain resources on the internet. and there's also the impact to businesses to manage the.

K

Impact to the economy as well, in terms of,, you know, revenue,, that is lost, tax revenue and.

K

Advertising revenue that is lost when the internet is down,, especially around social media,.

K

Ecosystems. yeah, thank you.

F

Thank you very much., well, in summary,. I think the impact on africa will be very high and very.

F

Negative.- and there are already some real concerns that might lead to the splinternet. so.

F

I think there are already some worrying signs, and some work that we all have to do at global.

F

Level, but also local level.,.

A

Thank you very much.. I see some hands up,. Maybe some participants may have some comment to.

A

Share. I see tijani, and jackson., so tijani first.

L

Thank you very much,, victor., coming back to the digital sovereignty. yes, you're right. interest.

L

Of any user of internet is the unicity of internet, and operability., but there is another.

L

Side that you have to look at it. their life,, their data,, their sovereignty,, even that country.

L

Are in danger, sometimes., so that's why there is a tendency, or this trend of digital.

L

Sovereignty. we have to look at it in this way. and we have to try as a society to try to find.

L

Ways to influence so that this will not happen in the future. and that, in the future,. We may.

L

Find very good tools for data protection, for business protection,, for everything that now are.

L

Unfortunately, used not in the right way.. Thank you very much..

F

Thank you very much, tijani., and I think you raised a very relevant point,. The governments,.

F

And people, have real concerns. we're not saying that everything that the government is doing is.

F

Without any reason. they do have good reasons., but while doing that,, they should also not break.

F

The internet. they should find a solution that solves their problem without breaking the.

F

Internet. that what we're saying., I think, nazar and jackson, very, very quickly., less than one.

F

Minute each,, if possible.

M

Greetings, everyone., my name is jackson., I'm from namibia.. I have very short questions.. The.

M

First, one is, can search engines contribute to splinternetting the internet? for example, a lot.

M

Of people,, they don't know that google is not the internet. when you give them a web. Address,.

M

The first thing they do is they use the google search, and when the website does not show up,.

M

Then that's all., so can search engines contribute to splinternet? and then the last one.

M

Is,, can we use mesh networks maybe to solve a lot of these digital sovereignity and.

M

Splinternet issues? thank you., yeah, well,. There are risks that proprietary, companies, and so on, create walled garden,.

F

And nazar, you had your hand up.

F

Where you think that you see the internet,, but you see just part of it., so that has always.

F

Yes. I have a question. for natalie.. We have the splinternet program,, as she has mentioned. to.

F

Existed and it exists. yes,, it is one of the concerns that we have, and we don't want a.

F

Walled garden internet,: we want an internet that is open for everyone.

E

Which extent is our strategy to counter splinternet, engaging the governments,, the.

E

Policymakers, especially, number one. number two,. We have the upcoming global internet.

E

Governance forum in ethiopia, this year,, what strategy are you going to employ to engage the.

E

Communities that are going to congregate in ethiopia? those will be my two questions to.

E

Natalie. thank you.

C

So, with regards to protecting the internet,, we have both proactive and reactive side to our.

C

Strategy., the reactive side is that when we do spot threats, when we flagged threats,, like I.

C

Mentioned with our playbook strategy before,- and it's really important for us to understand what.

C

The impact of these threats could be on the internet, so that we can determine case by case,.

C

How do we go about mitigating this threat,, whether it's a matter of discussing with.

C

Governments and helping them understand what the impact of their decisions could be, or whether.

C

It's talking with businesses that could be making these decisions that could have a.

C

Negative impact on the internet.

C

for the most part,. We really rely on community to let us know when these issues come up in our.

C

Regions. we're a global organization,, but the reality is, we don't have presence in every.

C

Country in the world., and so that's why we really rely on our members or chapters, our.

C

Community, to flag threats, and let us know what's happening. if there are threats that pop.

C

Up,, we encourage them to use our internet impact assessment toolkit to take on some of this.

C

Analysis and strategy in order to do advocacy in a regionally relevant way in your region,.

C

Because our community are the regional experts.

C

I would say that the proactive side of our advocacy is to really help governments.

C

Understand that there is a tool that exists to help prevent making decisions that impact the.

C

Internet, and that's the internet impact assessment toolkit.. So when we go about our.

C

General engagement with governments that we do have relationships with, we promote using the.

C

Internet impact assessment to help themselves do their due diligence, to make sure that what.

C

They're proposing the decisions or the regulations that they're making don't harm the.

C

Internet, and especially, don't harm it in a way that could lead to a splinternet.

C

Dawit,, I don't know if you want to add anything to that.

C

thank you.. Just to add to that, for internet society,. Defending the internet has become a.

F

Number one priority.: if you don't have the internet,, then everything else is secondary.. So.

F

It is a priority. and wherever we go, it's going to be something that we'll be talking about. It.

F

We are going to talk about it.. We have a session at the african igf in malawi.. We have a proposal.

F

With other organizations on this issue at the igf in addis ababa. and everywhere, we go, we.

F

Will have something about it. and we also hope that you will talk about it everywhere in your country,, because, as you say,.

F

The threat is not only global,, the threat is also local. what happens in benin, or tanzania,.

F

Will have an impact on the global internet., so we want you to be the ambassadors of the.

F

Internet society at the local level. thank you.

N

I just want to say something about this subject,, because this subject should be in the minds of.

N

All africans., the splinternet is something that we experiment here in mali,, because there is an.

N

Embargo of our regional organization and the international organization,, the malians are not.

N

Free of their movement,, they are not free of the interactions they can have.. So the fragmentation.

N

Or the splinternet is something that is a risk that is real. and it's also a challenge for us,.

N

Those who defend the internet way of doing things, and we have to reflect on that together,.

N

And reflect on what kind of response we can bring. as dawit said,, how the government's are.

N

Doing it,, what are the reasons, should be known,, but it should not be the right solution of the.

N

Interrogations that they have., so we have to help them, find some solutions to let them not to.

N

Go to the splinternet., so we have to make our contribution to find some solutions to the.

N

Challenge to help. thank you,, tidjani. haji., haji, ali?.

F

Thank you, dawit. thank you, victor.. This is a real pleasure to be with you and to discuss with.

N

You., what I would say is before before covid-19 some governments were thinking of cutting the.

N

Internet because they were not aware of how much the internet was useful., but because of covid,.

N

Now everybody knows the importance of the internet., so we have to change our strategy,. How.

N

We plead to governments, to the decision makers, what internet can bring, you know, today that.

N

The internet is a necessity to our lives.. I don't have the ideal solution., but we should not.

N

Anymore, be on the defensive side,. We have to be offensive when there are elections, or when you.

N

Have some events. in some countries, you know,, the internet is cut., so we have to be really on.

N

The attack side, and to plead for not cutting internet.. I don't maybe have the ideal solution,.

N

But we can find some concrete, solutions, real solutions, to not have these cuttings.. Thank.

N

You., we need to be active and not just passive and wait for things to happen., and this is for all.

F

Of us. bakoena?, and that will be the last one.

F

hi, thank you.. I just wanted to touch on the issue of social media companies and the role.

O

That they're playing in digital sovereignty., I was hoping the panelist or anyone from the.

O

Society can just touch on how social media are sometimes the cause of digital sovereignty., like.

O

We saw in nigeria, twitter got banned after twitter, banned the president, and can also talk.

O

About facebook during the arab spring, and how the role they play can also lead to internet.

O

Been cut off in our countries. thank you.

F

Thank you very much., I think with that,. I would like to thank all the panelists. and thank you.

F

Also for the participants,, it's exciting to see the interest coming from everyone.

F

So I would let lia continue so that you can hear also from her,, because she has very important.

F

Things to say. thank you., hi, everyone. great, to see everybody. and thanks for hanging on for this extra time,.

P

What I'm going to talk? About,, it's just five things that you can do right now to help protect.

P

The internet and stop the splinternet.

P

visual always helps me. So that's why I wanted to make this slide.. So if you're wondering, gosh,.

P

There's so much,, I'm not sure, even where to start,, I often can feel like that,. Here's five.

P

Simple things that you can do now.

P

one is, lots of people have talked about it on this call,. You can assess the impact.. If you see.

P

A threat to the internet, or suspect there may be one,, you can start to learn and use the.

P

Internet impact assessment toolkit., I know isoc,. Nigeria did some great job doing that and.

P

Flagging a threat up to natalie and her team., and thank you very much for that, emmanuel.. You.

P

Can ask governments to protect the internet, and share our explainer about the toolkit and what.

P

That means., a really great time to do that, and victor will talk about it, is the upcoming.

P

Plenipotentiary conference. and that's something just to keep in mind, it's a great moment to do.

P

Something like this., innovate. Always., I love this.. This is one of my favorite things to do with anyone, innovate,.

P

Come up with new ideas, new approaches, new ways to get the word out, to build the internet, to.

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Make it more secure, and develop a new solution? Together. many of you are active on our members.

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Platform to solve problems, and that's connect., so many of you are there,, so keep it up.. That's.

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Exactly what that platform is there to build solutions and solve problems? Together.

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You can upskill,, you can take a course, apply for a fellowship,, keep asking questions. that.

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Part, I always do,, I ask a ton of questions. just keep building your skills and your knowledge.

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And if you're on social media,, you can spread the word using the #protecttheinternet hashtag.

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So those are some five simple things you can do now., and that is all I have to say. Except,.

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Lovely to see you, and I can't wait to see you all again,, hopefully in person soon.

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Thank you very much.. I think this was a very engaging spotlight.. Thank you very much.. I don't.

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Know, dawit,, if you want to add anything else before I...,.

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No, thank you.. Lia was spot on. thank you.

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Thank you very much. and thank you, again, lia,, for mentioning our connect community,, because.

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Most of the questions,, the conversation that we started, here, can continue. Online, can continue.

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On these communities, so that we all mobilize,, we all strategize, to really defend and protect.

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The internet., so we have one more item on the agenda. Today. you know,. We have special interest groups., so.

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Every two year during our action plan development,, we call to our community to select.

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Some issue that they would like to work on as a community, and those issue becomes what we call.

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Special interest groups. so, on that,. I would like to just give us a few minutes to just share.

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What we have as special interest group and standing group, so that you can also participate.

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And join other, like minded members there to share ideas. so, hana,, you have the floor?.

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Thank you,, victor, and hello everyone,. I will try to be very quick and very brief. for those.

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Who are not familiar with the changes that took place? Last year,, we have a new interest group.

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Model. and the new model includes two different types. As victor just said,, we have the standing.

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Groups where topics are more permanent in nature and remain active as long as they provide value.

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To the members., the second type is special interest group topic,. Where topics are selected.

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By popular vote, every two years by the community., the special interest groups and the.

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Standing groups are global in nature and are open to all,. So if you are a global member,, a.

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Chapter member, organization, member,, you are all welcome and encouraged to join any or all of.

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These groups., it's open to everyone and it's global.

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In quarter, one of this year,, the standing groups and special interest groups conducted their.

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Elections. in quarter two,, they, the leaders that were elected, did work on their planning for the.

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Year. and now in quarter three and beyond,, they will start implementing the plans that they came.

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Up with., so just very briefly,. I will give you an idea about these groups.. The three standing groups.

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That we have now are the accessibility standing group, that promotes and advocates the digital.

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Inclusion of persons with disabilities by providing support strategies and mechanisms that.

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Enable us to access our digital rights., the gender standing group, is working towards an.

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Internet that can be inclusive,, accessible,, open,, safe and a tool for women and gender.

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Diverse people to reach their goals, through community networking, capacity, building,.

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Advocating for policies in their favor., the last standing group is the isoc youth standing group.

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That supports and promotes youth involvement from the regions and mainstream internet.

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Governance discussions, and works towards achieving the internet,, the youth one,, which is.

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A more equitable and accessible one., the special interest groups are five for this year.. We have five topics, basically.. We have.

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The affordable internet, access, cybersecurity, internet for eeducation,, the internet of things,.

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And the online safety. very briefly,, the affordable internet access special interest.

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Group seeks to establish an end-to-end approach to the issue of affordable access,, ranging from.

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Infrastructure device, availability, policy and regulatory enablement., we have the cybersecurity.

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That promotes secure internet accessible to everyone.. The group educate, of course, develop.

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And collaborate to further develop the internet, security, community. and the internet for.

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Education envisions a world where one global internet ensures inclusive and equitable quality.

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Education and promotes lifelong learning for all. the last two groups,, the internet of things.

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Seeks to bring awareness to world of internet of things by training,, collaboration, and knowledge.

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Sharing. internet for human is being transformed as internet of things gradually. As a group.- the.

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Online safety special interest group seeks to ensure internet end. Users are equipped with.

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Necessary skills and knowledge in order to stay safe online.. This is very brief about the.

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Groups, and our colleague kyle shulman, is the person in charge of the special interest groups.

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Thank you very much.,.

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Thank you very much., and one more thing,. Our upcoming community engagement opportunities,. So.

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That you are aware of, and then you can do a calendar for upcoming opportunity for us to get.

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Together, online. so,, our upcoming event, community week., most of you participated in the last year edition,. It.

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Was the first one., so we are redoing another one this year. That will happen on the 6th and 7th of.

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September. so look out for the announcement that is coming, and all the other information,. The.

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Link to register, and learn more on what we will celebrate, and what we share online during the.

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2022 community week.

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and you also know the internet society will be celebrating its 30th anniversary. This year. the.

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Internet society was founded in 1992., it has been 30 years,, so that will be an opportunity.

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Also for us to get online all together to celebrate that anniversary.

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Our 2022 isoc fundamentals program, the program that we designed to give our members, all of.

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You,, to have fundamental knowledge about the issues that we are working on.. The program was.

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Closed on the 30th of june, but, because of the demand,, we have decided to let it open until the.

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End of the year., you can go to e-learning platform, and you will find the program called.

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Isoc, fundamentals: 2022, and then you can participate. and the idea is for you to learn.

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About this issues, and see what you can do at the local level, and share what you did with the.

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Community,, so that you can inspire others.

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And sawit mentioned the itu plenipotentary meeting that is coming., so we're going to be.

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Having a special community call to talk more about that., I think natalie mentioned the.

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Importance to talk to policymakers, and so we'll discuss that during that special call to see how.

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You can engage with your country representative to the itu, so that we all have to not let.

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Policy that can affect the internet negatively happen., so you look out for the invite on that.

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So, on that,, thank you, again, very much.. Thank you to all our community members. thank you,.

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Ithabeleng, maude, earnest, harold. thank you, emmanuel, for joining us today to share your.

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Thoughts.. and thank you to all of you, the participants.. Thank you natalie,. Thank you.

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Dawit., thank you to all the colleagues who supported me to make this call happen and it.

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Won't be a success without your participation. so, thank you, again,, all for taking time to be.

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Online with us. and hopefully we'll have an opportunity to meet face to face in a very.

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Upcoming future., so thank you. Again.