Nairobi gets the green light to host internet conference

Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Conference Centre has been confirmed as the venue for the upcoming Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) conference in March.

Security concerns had cast doubt over whether the international event would be held in Nairobi, forcing a special meeting of the board of directors of ICANN - the most influential body in the internet industry. The board resolved that despite the fears it would be holding the meeting in Nairobi after all.

“We reached out to the Kenyan government. The consistent feedback was that the overall risk assessment of Nairobi had not changed.

Accordingly, the ICANN Board has approved moving ahead with the ICANN Nairobi meeting,” said Rod Beckstrom, CEO and President, ICANN.

Concerted efforts undertaken by the government and key stakeholders in the tourism and ICT industries resulted in the decision made by the ICANN board last Friday, which will see Nairobi hosting the crucial meeting where the governance of the internet will be discussed.

Over the last month, the fate of the landmark forum which will be held in March, hung in the balance after a section of delegates expressed fears that the country was insecure.

The government mounted an aggressive campaign to assure conference organisers that the venue was safe enough for the over 1,500 delegates expected to take part in the event.

“We are very encouraged with the news. International interest has been significant, we are now encouraging more local players in the ICT sector to register for the event,” said Joseph Kiragu, administrative manager at KENIC, the local organisation that is hosting the event.

Initially, fears centred around the harsh advisories by countries like the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand that urging their citizens to avoid all but necessary travel to Kenya.

Concerns were amplified by the recent violent protests against the arrest of radical Jamaican cleric Abdullah al-Faisal which resulted in wide-spread destruction to property in downtown Nairobi and disruption of business activities.

Accordingly, ICANN staff and the board have reexamined the situation and said it would be counting on the government to beef up security for the delegates besides its own security arrangements for the event.

ICANN said it had explored the possibility of moving the event out of the downtown Nairobi area to a suburb, but determined that no suitable venue was available.

Sources told Business Daily that the body was considering moving the event to either the UN operation in Gigiri or to the Safari Park hotel along Thika Road.

Tourism stakeholders are likely to view the development as a significant image booster, as it comes at a time when the industry is hoping to cash in on the country’s budding conferencing market.

Various venues in the CBD have won the rights to host several events in the coming quarter, with the majority being in the ICT sector.

AITEC’s Mobile Money conference, Mobile Web East Africa, the landmark Pan Africa Media Conference in March, and ICANN’s conference round out a list of meetings that will bring together over 7,000 delegates from around the world.

According to the UNWTO Confidence Index, the outlook for the African tourism circuit will be upbeat this year as spend on travel returns to levels seen before the global economic downturn.

UNWTO’s confidence index reveals Africa was the only market in the world to record growth last year, returning a rate of 4 per cent last year which is seen as positive given the current environment.