by Fahd Batayneh, Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator for the Middle East
The Middle East Strategy Working Group (MESWG) has been working hard the past couple of months in an effort to initiate the formation of a Task Force on Capacity Building Activities (TF-CBA). The task force is envisioned to understand the capacity needs of the region, and to coordinate the execution of programs and activities as recommended in the MES. Capacity building programs and activities targeted by the MESWG include the following broad topics:
- DNS Registry and Registrar Operations;
- Domain Name Marketing and Business Development;
- DNS Protocols and Technologies, including DNSSEC, IPv6, IDNs… etc.;
- DNS Security Planning, Management, and Enforcement; and
- Internet Governance.
Interested candidates are expected to have capacity building experience in programs related to one or more of the broad topics mentioned above, willingness to contribute some hours per week for the proceedings of the task force; mainly during the initial stages; and fluency in the English language with additional language(s) used within the region being a plus.
The TF-CBA is expected to kick start its work during the early days of 2014. The call for volunteers will remain open even after the task force proceeds. Those interested in joining the TF-CBA can send their Resume/CV along with a Statement of Interest (SoI) to tf-cba-owner@meswg.org. A dedicated Wiki space for the task force can be found online at https://community.icann.org/display/MES/TF-CBA+Wiki+Space.
About MESWG
The Middle East Strategy Working Group (MESWG) is an ad-hoc group of Internet experts from the region the strategy covers; i.e. the 22 Arab States, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (collectively defined as “The Region”). The working group consists of 21 experts from 11 countries of the region. ICANN has coordinated the formation of the working group, and provides all the necessary support to drive its mandate forward. ICANN’s strategic goals for its engagement in the region are to:
- Foster two-way engagement between ICANN and the broader Internet community in the region;
- Build strong and competitive domain name industry in the region; and
-
Promote multi-stakeholder Internet governance mechanisms in the region.
These goals are divided into three strategic focus areas, namely: DNS Security and Stability, Domain Name Industry, and Internet Governance Ecosystem.
More on the MESWG can be found on the dedicated Wiki at https://community.icann.org/display/MES/Middle+East+Working+Group.
