Nairobi prepares to host international ICT meeting

A forum that will equip Kenyan ICT sector stakeholders with better understanding of Internet governance and its links to socio-economic, political and cultural development will be held at the United Nations offices in Nairobi between September 27 and 30.

The sixth annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is expected to offer Kenyan ICT sector players a chance to showcase their products and services to the international community.

IGF is an international body that is charged with ensuring security, privacy, and governments’ use of the Internet ecosystem. The forum’s theme will be Internet as a Catalyst for Change: Access, Development Freedoms and Innovation.

Capacity

The forum will also cover other topics including Internet governance for development, emerging issues, managing critical Internet resources, openness and privacy, access and diversity. Preparations for the event are under way. National and regional forums are being held with the aim of creating awareness, instituting a consensus building process to develop a common understanding of local issues, as well as building capacity in order to enable meaningful participation in the global event.

Outcomes of local deliberations will be submitted at the 2011 East Africa Internet Governance Forum to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, this month. The regional findings will subsequently be presented at the global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) meeting to be held at Gigiri.

Since its inception in 2006, the Internet Governance Forum has brought together representatives of the UN, national governments, the private sector, the civil society and NGO’s to discuss public policy issues related to Internet governance.

So far, meetings have been held in Athens, Greece (2006), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2007), Hyderabad, India (2008), and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (2009). IGF forums provide ground for both new and old stakeholders to be exposed to the experience of other countries’ corporations, NGO’s and Internet managers.