AFRICAN NETWORK INFORMATION CENTRE (AFRINIC-27) FOR AFRICA AND INDIAN OCEAN.

Participants from various countries in Africa and the Indian Ocean gathered at the Renaissance Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos from 27th November to 1st December, 2017 for the 27th conference of the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) dubbed AFRINIC-27, with the theme: “Taking the African Internet to the Next Level through Policy, Collaboration and Education”. The conference was hosted by the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA).

They stressed the need for more collaboration among African countries to boost the Internet economy and called for improved local hosting of Internet traffic. This, they claimed would help to support Internet development in Africa and boost the economy. According to them, with right policy and efficient infrastructure in place, traffic meant for Africa need not travel to either Europe or America before coming back to Africa.

The Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, ably represented by Mr. Tope Fashedemi, the Director of e-Governance at the Ministry of Communications, praised AFRINIC for providing the leadership that has contributed to the positive accomplishments in the Africa ICT ecosystem.

Professor Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission ably represented by Engr. Alhassan Haru, NCC’s Director of New Media and Information Security urged all stakeholders to evolve sustainable policies and forge greater collaboration to achieve optimal utilization of the resources of the Internet.  In addition, he said the challenge posed by cybercrime also requires the collaboration of all stakeholders in the ICT ecosystem. He explained that “NCC is partnering with ITU to set up the Africa Regional Cybersecurity Centre in Abuja to enhance information sharing and capacity building on cybersecurity issues in the African region”. He therefore commended AFRINIC for its spectacular achievements in rallying stakeholders together to provide the widest possible use of Internet resources by all interested communities.

The Director-General/CEO National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami ably represented by Dr. Abdullahi Gambo Usman, NITDA Director, IT Infrastructure Solutions stated that broadband penetration is adding profound changes in many spheres including citizen participation in governance and promised that NITDA would work with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), NiRA and other Stakeholders to promote sustainability, governance and inclusion of all.

Also speaking at the Opening Ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of AFRINIC, Alan Barrett, said that since inception, AFRINIC have allocated more than 100 million IPv4 addresses and over 9000 IPv6/32 prefixes in Africa with around 42 per cent of over the 1500 members receiving an IPv6 prefix. ARINIC has also trained 550 engineers in some 18 countries in Africa and continues to ensure improved Internet services for all users in the region.

Mr. Muhammed Rudman, the Vice President of NiRA, in his welcome address read on behalf on behalf of the President, Reverend Sunday Folayan, reiterated NIRA’s passion to deepen DNS industry in Africa by hosting AFRINIC-27 and setting up the NiRA Academy. In lieu of this, he said NiRA Academy was charged with the mandate of developing knowledge and bridging the knowledge gap that exists within the DNS industry.

Mrs. Edith Udeagu, the Chief Operating Officer of NIRA thanked the participants, many of who are from other countries in Africa and the Indian Ocean, for their presence and support and urged them to look forward to robust technical presentations and panel discussions at the conference.

All the presentations at the Conference were transcribed real-time and also translated into English and French. Please visit https://meeting.afrinic.net/afrinic-27/agenda/remote-participation to watch the recap of the conference and get the transcription.

A Gala night for all participants, sponsored by NIRA was held on Thursday 30th November 2017. It provided the perfect opportunity for many participants to unwind and show off varieties of dance steps.

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