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Middle East and Adjoining Countries School on Internet Governance 2021 Virtual (MEAC-SIG 2021v)

4-8 July 2021

Virtual

The MEAC-SIG offers a 5-day intensive program covering core Internet governance issues. This program integrates political, legal, economic, socio-cultural, and technological dimensions of Internet governance into a coherent curriculum, focusing on regional imperatives critical to the Middle East. Structurally, the program provides a pragmatic mix of theoretical foundations, presentation skills, and practical participant engagement skills and activities. The MEAC-SIG faculty includes experts from academia, civil society, business, the technical community, and government 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

stakeholder groups.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 held virtually using ZOOM. The dates are 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

Agenda Topics

The agenda for

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)
    1. Introduction to ICANN,
    2. DNS Fundamentals, and
    3. 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)SessionDescriptionFaculty

Sunday 4 July

08.00 - 08.15 UTC

Opening Remarks

(recording)

The organizers of MEAC-SIG 2021v will
cover the following topics:
share some opening remarks, and officially start the SIG.

Nermine El-Saadany

and

Chafic Chaya

and

Baher Esmat

Sunday 4 July

08.15 - 09.45 UTC

The History of the Internet and Internet Governance

(recording)

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

(recording | slides)

The session will talk about Internet Governance, its definition, importance, its different pillars, and the different stakeholder groups.

Nermine El-Saadany

Monday 5 July

8.00 - 9.00 UTC

ICANN, Policy Development, and the Domain Name System

(recording | slides)

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.

Baher Esmat

and

Fahd Batayneh

Monday 5 July

9.15 - 10.15 UTC

Introduction to Regional Internet Registries and RIPE NCC

(recording | slides)

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)

(recording | slides [OK, NBA])

Internet Policy Development Processes
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.

Olaf Kolkman

and

Nabil Benamar

Tuesday 6 July

8.00 - 9.00 UTC

National, Regional, and Global IGFs and SIGs

  • Cybersecurity & Encryption
  • Internet and Privacy
  • (recording | slides)

    The session will talk about the Global IGF, regional IGFs, national IGF, and the different schools on IG.

    Anriette Esterhuysen

    and

    Anja Gengo

    Tuesday 6 July

    9.15 - 10.15 UTC

    Internet Policy Development Processes

    (recording | slides [RD, MS])

    The session will talk about Internet policy development by sharing two real life examples from two different Internet organizations on two different topics.

    Rafik Dammak

    and

    Marco Schmidt

    Wednesday 7 July

    8.00 - 9.00 UTC

    Cybersecurity and Encryption

    (recording | slides [AH, HK])

    The session will talk about both cybersecurity and encryption in cyberspace.

    Amin Hasbini

    and

    Hanna Kreitem

    Wednesday 7 July

    9.15 - 10.15 UTC

    Internet and Privacy

    (recordingslides)

    The session will talk about the ever growing battle for privacy in cyberspace.

    Robin Wilton

    Wednesday 7 July

    10.30 - 11.30 UTC

    Fragmentation and role of national governments in IG

    (recording | slides)

    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.

    Milton Muller

    Thursday 8 July

    8.00 - 9.00 UTC

    Internet Governance and Economic Development

    (recording | slides | research)

    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

    Chafic Chaya

    Thursday 8 July

    9.15 - 10.15 UTC

    Content Regulation and Platforms

    (recording)

    This session will talk about how content is regulated over some of the online platforms widely used today.

    Marwa Fatafta

    and

    George Salama

    Thursday 8 July

    10.30 - 11.00 UTC

    Feedback Session

    (recording)

    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.

    Past MEAC-SIG Editions