by Fahd A. Batayneh – Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator, Middle East
The Middle East Strategy Working Group (MESWG) will have its next face-to-face meeting in Dubai at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai during February 5-6, 2014 right after the Middle East DNS Forum. The MESWG has agreed to discuss the following agenda items during the one-and-half day reconvene:
- Update on the Task Force on Arabic Script IDNs (TF-AIDN);
- Update on the Task Force on Capacity Building Activities (TF-CBA);
- Discuss the FY14 Implementation Plan; mainly what has been accomplished so far, what is to be achieved, and what is required for the MESWG to fulfill the remaining items of the plan within the remaining time frame;
- Prepare for the FY15 Implementation Plan; and
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De-brief on the ME DNS Forum.
The last time the working group had a face-to-face meeting outside of the hallways of an ICANN Public Meeting was back in March 2013 in Dubai right after the Arab Multi-Stakeholder Internet Governance Meeting (Arab MIG).
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. 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
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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 online at https://community.icann.org/display/MES/Middle+East+Working+Group.
