ArabMIG Meeting
The Middle East Strategy Working Group presented at the Arab Multi-stakeholder Internet Governance Meeting that took place in Dubai on 4-5 March 2013. The meeting was held as part of the Arab IGF Open Consultations, and was an opportunity to inform community of work underway in relation to the Middle East engagement strategy and get feedback.
Summary of feedback:
- Localizing the multi-stakeholder model to suit the region is very important; it will help develop strong policy development processes at national and regional levels; it is an ongoing process that requires efforts by all stakeholders;
- Arab IGF can play a stimulating role in bringing everyone around the table; support from ICANN, ISOC and the RIRs will help the Arab IGF develop and reach out to the larger community;
- Capacity building is essential; organizations such as ISOC and Diplo Foundation play key role in this area;
- Such regional meetings help people understand the role of ICANN; not many people from the region go to ICANN meetings; continuity in participation is also a challenge;
- ICANN should expand its presence in the region; there is a need for more awareness and outreach activities at regional and country level to explain role of ICANN and how to get engaged; different stakeholders may require different outreach approach;
- Engaging private sector from the region in Internet governance processes, and in ICANN, is a challenge; ISPs and operators do not see their role in ICANN; there are very few registrars and domain name dispute resolution providers in the region;
- Need for enabling environments within countries to foster DNS industry; ccTLD operators can contribute to building this industry;
- Need for identifying local partners from the region; this would further extend the outreach and maintain long-term sustainability.
