Middle East and Adjoining Countries School on Internet Governance 2021 Virtual (MEAC-SIG 2021v)
4-8 July 2021
Virtual
Organizers
The Internet has become a fundamental component in the economic, social, and political spheres around the globe. It currently connects close to four billion people. The stable and flexible functioning of the Internet is therefore increasingly important for developed, emerging, and developing countries and their citizens.
The governance of the Internet Ecosystem has long been the concern of a selected group of stakeholders, but the number of interested parties, both state and non-state stakeholders, is increasing as global connectivity spreads.
Internet Governance is a contested topic, where the Middle East and Adjoining Countries School on Internet Governance (MEAC-SIG) will try to offer understanding, framing, and actions to be taken in this Internet governance environment. It will offer potential governance scenarios and analyse its international, regional, and national implications at the political, economical and technical levels.
Objective
As Middle East stakeholders are under-represented in Internet governance deliberations, the objective of the Middle East and Adjoining Countries School of Internet Governance (MEAC-SIG) is to address this problem.
MEAC-SIG is one of the few Internet governance education platforms in the Middle East. It provides a rare opportunity for regional stakeholders to learn about and participate in deliberations on Internet governance issues. MEAC-SIG prepares them to take part in governance processes, empowering them to become advocates of important local issues in global Internet governance fora.
MEAC-SIG is one of the few tools available in the Middle East to introduce the various stakeholders groups, especially youth, to an independent perspective on Internet governance. We also believe that the MEAC-SIG will greatly benefit the region by disseminating the principles of openness, collaboration, and inclusiveness upon which the Internet’s success has been based.
MEAC-SIG 2021v
The 2021 edition of MEAC-SIG will be conducted in English. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 edition will be held entirely virtual using ZOOM. Compared to previous editions, the 2021 edition will be condensed, and successful participants will have to conduct more offline work.
MEAC-SIG 2021v will take place on 4-8 July 2021, and the time for the sessions on each day is 08.00 - 11.30 AM UTC. Prior to the start of the SIG, participants will be requested to read some material and enroll in some online courses.
MEAC-SIG 2021v is organized by ICANN, ISOC, and the RIPE NCC.
MEAC-SIG 2021v Pre-Work
Participants are requested to fulfill some pre-work before the start of the MEAC-SIG 2021v on 4 April. This pre-work includes:
- What is Internet Governance | Internet Governance Project (webpage)
- The History of Internet Governance | Wolfgang Kleinwächter (video)
- 3 ICANN Learn Courses (ICANN Learn)
- Introduction to ICANN,
- DNS Fundamentals, and
- Policy Development Fundamentals
Optional Reading
- An Introduction to Internet Governance (webpage)
- Internet Governance at the Point of No Return (webpage)
MEAC-SIG 2021v Agenda
| Date/Time (UTC) | Session | Description | Faculty |
|---|---|---|---|
Sunday 4 July 08.00 - 08.15 UTC | Opening Remarks | The organizers of MEAC-SIG 2021v will share some opening remarks, and officially start the SIG. | and and |
Sunday 4 July 08.15 - 09.45 UTC | The History of the Internet and Internet Governance | The lecture goes through the history of the Internet from the 1960s to the 2020s. It explains the specifics of a "Network Society" and its political, economic, social and legal implications. It covers today´s geo-strategic conflicts and the efforts by the United Nations to strengthen the stability and security of the Internet. | Wolfgang Kleinwächter |
Sunday 4 July 10.00 - 11.00 UTC | Introduction to Internet Governance and its Stakeholders | The session will talk about Internet Governance, its definition, importance, its different pillars, and the different stakeholder groups. | |
Monday 5 July 8.00 - 9.00 UTC | ICANN, Policy Development, and the Domain Name System | The session will give an introduction to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and then talk about domain names and its underlying system. | and |
Monday 5 July 9.15 - 10.15 UTC | Introduction to Regional Internet Registries and RIPE NCC | The session will talk about the work of the regional Internet registries, and zoom in on one such organization; the RIPE NCC. | Gergana Petrova |
Monday 5 July 10.30 - 11.30 UTC | Standards and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) | The session will talk about the Internet Engineering Task Force and its work on standards, and why it is important for the evolution of the technical underlyings of the Internet. | and |
Tuesday 6 July 8.00 - 9.00 UTC | National, Regional, and Global IGFs and SIGs | The session will talk about the Global IGF, regional IGFs, national IGF, and the different schools on IG. | and |
Tuesday 6 July 9.15 - 10.15 UTC | Internet Policy Development Processes | The session will talk about Internet policy development by sharing two real life examples from two different Internet organizations on two different topics. | and |
Wednesday 7 July 8.00 - 9.00 UTC | Cybersecurity and Encryption | The session will talk about both cybersecurity and encryption in cyberspace. | and |
Wednesday 7 July 9.15 - 10.15 UTC | Internet and Privacy | The session will talk about the ever growing battle for privacy in cyberspace. | |
Wednesday 7 July 10.30 - 11.30 UTC | Fragmentation and role of national governments in IG | There is a mismatch between the territorial jurisdiction of national governments and the globally interconnected cyberspace created by the internet. The conflict caused by that mismatch is a major driver of internet governance. This talk explores the tension between national and transnational internet governance. | |
Thursday 8 July 8.00 - 9.00 UTC | Internet Governance and Economic Development | With the advancement of multistakeholderism as a governance model in Internet governance, determining which governance model is appropriate will be a challenge. However, the stronger the Multistakeholder Internet Governance structure is, the better the Internet and economic performance will be. This session examines the impact of Internet and its governance on country’s economic development and growth | |
Thursday 8 July 9.15 - 10.15 UTC | Content Regulation and Platforms | This session will talk about how content is regulated over some of the online platforms widely used today. | and |
Thursday 8 July 10.30 - 11.00 UTC | Feedback Session | Participants of MEAC-SIG 2021v will share their feedback in a candid manner. The purpose of this session is to improve on future MEAC-SIG editions. | Moderated by Fahd Batayneh |
All times above are in UTC.
