Middle East Strategy Working Group
MESWG or Middle East Strategy Working Group is 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.[1]
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 countries expressed interest, and come from a variety of areas, such as the governments, private sector, civil society, technical community, and academia.[1]
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.[1]
Terms of Reference
Tasks of the MESWG are to:[1]
- 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
Twenty-two individuals from eleven countries expressed interest in joining the MESWG:[1][2]
| Stakeholder Group | Name | Affiliation | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private Sector | Charles Shaban | AGIP | Jordan |
| Khaled Koubaa | Tunisia | ||
| Zahid Jamil | Jamil&Jamil | Pakistan | |
| Alireza Saleh | IRNIC | Iran | |
| Fahd Batayneh | NITC | Jordan | |
| Marwan Radwan | PNINA | Palestine | |
| Moez Chakchouk | ATI | Tunisia | |
| Mohamed El-Bashir | ictQatar | Sudan | |
| Technical Community / Academia | Nabil Bukhalid | ISOC Chapter | Lebanon |
| Sarmad Hussain | University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore | Pakistan | |
| Siavash Shahshahani | Sharif University of Technology | Iran | |
| Government | Abdulrahma Al-Marzouqi | TRA | United Arab Emirates |
| Christine Arida | NTRA | Egypt | |
| Iftikhar Shah | MoITT | Pakistan | |
| Imad Hoballah | TRA | Lebanon | |
| Manal Ismail | NTRA | Egypt | |
| Mohammed Al-Noaimi | TRA | Bahrain | |
| Qusai Al-Shatti | CAIT | Kuwait | |
| Civil Society | Amr Elsadr | Tromso University, Norway | Egypt |
| Ali Almeshal | ISOC Chapter | Bahrain | |
| Fouad Bajwa | Internet Research Project | Pakistan | |
| Rafik Dammak | University of Tokyo, Japan | Tunisia |
Related Topics
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 ICANN Engagement Strategy in the Middle East, ICANN.org. Published 2013 May 10. Retrieved 2015 November 17.
- ↑ Middle East Strategy Working Group Members], ICANN.org. Retrieved 2015 November 17.