MESWG

MESWG or Middle East Strategy Working Group was a Working Group created by ICANN after ICANN in Prague. At that meeting, it was discussed that while the implementation of an engagement strategy plan was already underway in Africa, it was still required in the Middle East as well as Latin America and the Caribbean. In the last few months of 2012, ICANN held several meetings -- at events such as the Arab IGF, IGF, and ICANN 45 in Toronto -- and met with Middle East stakeholders regarding ICANN engagement in the region.

After these meetings, ICANN 44 called for the creation of a Working Group to develop the engagement strategy for the Middle East, and invited members of the community and constituency to join the effort. Twenty-two individuals from eleven people expressed interest, and come from a variety of areas, such as the governments, private sector, civil society, technical community, and academia.

The geographic scope of the plan and Working Group include the following countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen -- as well as Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. The term MEAC ((Middle East and Adjoining Countries) comes from the fact that some of these countries fall under different regional structures such as APRALO and AFRALO for At-Large and APTLD and AFTLD for ccTLDs. Nonetheless, MESWG hopes to find the common ground between them when developing its strategy.

Terms of Reference

The MESWG is to:

• Develop a three-year (2013-2016) regional engagement strategy for the Middle East that focuses on the needs and priorities of the region within the scope of ICANN's role
• Identify specific strategic areas, along with the problems and challenges of each area and their corresponding recommendations and actions
• Provide a preliminary plan of action, which includes activities, timelines and priorities
• Ensure a true multi-stakeholder approach in both the development of this strategy and its implementation
• Work with ICANN on developing a one-year implementation plan

Members

	DNS Security and Stability	Domain Name Industry	Internet Governance Ecosystem
Objectives	Build awareness and understanding of stakeholders for the importance of DNS security and stability Strengthen technical know-how and capacity of stakeholders Develop Internet infrastructure to strengthen DNS security and stability Cooperate with law enforcement agencies (LEAs) for keeping the DNS secure and stable	Raise awareness among relevant stakeholders of the domain name industry Foster collaboration among TLD operators on exchanging best practices Stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in Internet related industries	Promote multistakeholder Internet governance mechanisms Foster healthier representation from the region in ICANN constituencies Promote engagement from the Internet community in the region

Related Topics

• Middle East Strategy