Introduction

As part of the ICANN Middle East Strategy ¹ devised by the Middle East Strategy Working Group (MESWG), ICANN aims to develop and sponsor outreach programs and initiatives in partnership with national and regional stakeholders in order to stimulate the regional Internet community and ensure effective participation in regional and global Internet Governance fora.

To that end, ICANN through MESWG’s Task Force on Capacity Building and Awareness (TF-CBA) will be organizing the Middle East and Adjoining Countries School on Internet Governance (MEAC-SIG) 2016. This annual five-day event will be comprised of focused sessions tailored to fit the region's needs. These sessions will be covering a broad range of issues from technical to policy aspects of Internet Governance.

Objectives

The MEAC-SIG will help individuals from the MEAC region to better understand the global and regional Internet Governance issues, settings and processes while gaining access to comprehensive and structured knowledge on the various aspects of Internet Governance, and the actors, issues and settings surrounding it.

Format

The MEAC-SIG will offer a 5-day intensive learning course spanning five tracks. The course will cover the political, legal, economic, socio-cultural, technological and other dimensions of the Internet Governance within the context of the MEAC regional imperatives.

The program is expected to carry practical oriented workshops, round tables, and case presentations.

Future Aspects

The MEAC-SIG program intends to continue community development by creating an alumni network and have students engage in ICANN, IGF, Arab IGF and other relevant regional activities and fora. The Steering Committee of the MEAC-SIG will ensure that the event program is rotated on yearly basis to various countries of the region.

Target Audience

The target audience will be derived from the countries of the MEAC region that are expected to be comprised of students, practitioners, researchers and professionals from the following sectors:

1. Academia and Research
2. Civil Society and NGOs
3. Government and Public Sector
4. Technical Community
5. Private Sector and Business

Past MEAC-SIG Events

The first edition of the MEAC-SIG took place in Kuwait during May 25-29, 2014 with a generous invitation and host from the Kuwait Information Technology Society (KITS). More can be found at MEAC-SIG 2014.

The second edition of the MEAC-SIG took place in Tunis Gammarth, Tunisia during May 25-29, 2015 with a generous invitation and host from the ISOC Tunisia Chapter. More can be found at MEAC-SIG 2015.

Material

For further reading, folks are encouraged to read/watch content found at the following links:

• The History of Internet Governance (Video | 1 hrs 22 min)
• An Introduction to Internet Governance by Jovan Kurbalija (Several Languages)
• Governing the Internet by Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (EN)
• ICANN Handouts (EN)
• Exploring Multi-Stakeholder Internet Governance (EN)

Venue

The school will take place in Beirut, Lebanon. The venue will be announced soon.

Agenda

The agenda for MEAC-SIG 2016 will be posted in due time . 

Slides

 Slides and relevant content will be posted in due time.

Event Pictures

Event pictures will be posted in due time.

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1 The Middle East Strategy covers the 22 Arab States, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan