The first exchange in the Virtual Peering Series – Africa looks at the Effects of the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the African Internet space. COVID-19 took the world by surprise and has significantly impacted almost every aspect of our society. From working from home, remote learning to everything we have accepted in the past few months as new life style norms. This online session looks at how sectors such as public policy, technical operations, E-commerce, and collaboration platforms adaption to COVID-19 allowed the region to continue to function. The discussions, driven by…

The 2020 African Chapters Advocacy meeting will be a series of interactive online sessions on the Internet Society 2020 projects, development and sustainability of Chapters. It will be structured as follows: 22-23 Sep (3 hours per day) dedicated to 5 of the Internet Society 2020 projects. Featured projects will include: Community Networks, Encryption, Internet Way of Networking, Measuring the Internet, and Open Standards Everywhere. 24-25 Sep (3 hours per day) dedicated to Chapter development and sustainability.

If you go to visit a neighbour, you don’t travel all the way across town and then back again to get there. Yet that’s what happens with Internet traffic in many parts of the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA). An email you send to your neighbour can travel through other countries and even continents, before it lands in their inbox. Without local infrastructure connecting people in our region, Internet traffic has to take long and elaborate routes. That means…

If there were any doubts about how critical the Internet is, COVID-19 has put them to rest – people are relying on the Internet like never before. But what about those who don't have it? The Indigenous Connectivity Summit brings together community network managers and operators, Indigenous-owned Internet service providers, community members, researchers, policy makers and Indigenous leaders. We discuss ways to ensure Alaska Native, American Indian, Inuit, Native Hawaiian, First Nations and Métis communities have affordable, high-quality and sustainable…

IGF 2020 Theme: Internet for human resilience and solidarity This year, the IGF will be held online, in two phases. ‎ Phase One, 23 October – 6 November 2020, will include Day Zero events, introductory sessions for the four thematic tracks (Data, ‎Environment, Inclusion and Trust) as well as Open Forums, National, Sub-regional, Regional and ‎Youth IGF initiatives (NRIs), Dynamic Coalition and newcomers sessions. ‎ Phase Two, 9-17 November 2020, will include main sessions, workshops, high level leader sessions and…