AruWSIG Toolkit

Welcome to the ICANNWiki Toolkit for the AruWSIG, an event we are happy to support and see grow. The following information is meant provide a brief overview of the Internet governance landscape, which involves many different factors, including different people, organizations and terms. We hope this resource, along with the resources provided by the AruWSIG will help you in your journey within this diverse and hardworking space.

Swahili Glossary

To start your journey into Internet governance on the right path, we've included the most recent Swahili Internet Governance Glossary within this toolkit. The glossary was produced by ICANNWiki Ambassador, Bonface Witaba. Make sure to review this first before moving deeper into the toolkit. You can study it here.

What is ICANN?

ICANN, or the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is a global multi-stakeholder organization that was created by the U.S. government and its Department of Commerce.[1] It coordinates the Internet DNS, IP addresses and autonomous system numbers, which involves a continued management of these evolving systems and the protocols that underlie them. While ICANN began in the U.S. government, it is now, and continues to be, an international, community-driven organization independent of any one government.[2] Their management of an interoperable Internet covers over 330 million domain names, the allocation of more than 4 billion network addresses, and the support of approximately 95 million DNS look-ups everyday across 240 countries.[3][4][5] ICANN collaborates with a variety of stakeholders including companies, individuals, and governments to ensure the continued success of the Internet. It holds meetings three times a year, switching the international location for each meeting; one of these serves as the annual general meeting when the new ICANN Board members take their seats.[6]

What is the DNS?

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the system used to translate alphanumeric domain names into Internet Protocol numbers. Simply put, the DNS converts the names typed in the Web browser address bar into IP addresses. It functions much like the Internet’s address book.

What is the Internet Society?

The Internet Society, also known as ISOC is organization that began in 1992 that envisions the Internet to be a public good that should be available to all. ISOC strives to improve the Internet, making it safer, more accessible and globally-connected. They achieve these goals by partnering with communities that make the "Internet work". They also strive to advance Internet infrastructure, open standards and meaningful policy. They operate on a chapter basis so that work is done with local and regional needs in mind.

ISOC supports many community efforts to bolster the strength of Internet connectivity, access and other initiatives that diminish digital divides. For instance, ISOC has supported a faculty member at the University of Dodoma, ICANNWiki ambassador Jabhera Matogoro to pursue a pilot for rural Tanzanian communities to gain Internet access through the use of unused TV White space as a community network. The project is explained in more detail in the video below:

ISOC Women SIG (Special Interest Group)

Another initiative that may be relevant to the AruWSIG is the Internet Society's Special Interest Group regarding Women.

What is ICANNWiki?

ICANNWiki is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the Internet community's collaborative development of wiki articles on ICANN and Internet Governance-related topics. The wiki provides neutral, third-party information for ICANN meeting attendees and Internet citizens at large. It is an open platform governed by wiki values, such as Neutral Point of View, transparency, assuming good faith, and building together. The project is independent of ICANN, began in Portland, Oregon, USA. The following video provides a short introduction:

We help with the following:

• Demistify acronyms and concepts about Internet governance and ICANN

For example, ICANN stands for the ‘Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers’. Let’s visit that page on ICANNWiki!

• Introduce you to people you may want to know. Let’s visit Rebecca’s page.
• Inspire and improve local resources and engagement, by co-hosting capacity development events and Edit-a-thons.
• Keep you current on what ICANN is working on with our conference-specific Quick Guides
• Keep the actors, issues and events within the Internet governance ecosystem in order, connected and easily accessible for better participation

What are we focused on right now?

• building local resources, such as: sw.icannwiki.org
  • This is done by engaging those interested in Internet governance (like you). We host editing events where you may translate English material to Swahili or build original content that is relevant to your region, city, etc.
  • Improving existing content

How can you work with ICANNWiki to make the Internet a better place?

• Host an Edit-a-thon to gauge your community’s interest
• Gather a group of friends who are interested in translation or knowledge-building within the Internet governance world.

What are some other organizations you can get involved with?

• The Internet Society
• a local School of Internet Governance
• The Internet Governance Forum
• Become a Fellow or NextGen member at ICANN

Mothers of the African Internet

(See full article here.)

Mothers of the Internet is an ongoing project done in collaboration with Bonface Witaba to ensure the histories and present-day work of women in the development of the Internet in Africa are preserved. The women and their work vary greatly. Some are long-time members of the community who have made lasting impact in Internet governance. Others, who we call NextGen, are beginning to show the power of their work. Some are involved with law enforcement, while others are involved in policy through an ICT lens, and still others focus their energy on empowering young women to enter the IG space.