[afnog] News Release- The Internet Society collaborates with the AUC to hold workshop in Djibouti

[Betel Hailu]

Dear all,

Please find the news release on the IXP "Technical Aspects" workshop, which was held in collaboration between the Internet Society and the African Union Commission (AUC) in Djibouti from 18-22 October 2014.



The Internet Society Collaborates with the African Union Commission to Conduct Workshop in Djibouti to Support Internet Exchange Points in Four African Countries


Workshop part of African Union's African Internet Exchange System project


[Djibouti 23 October 2014] - The Internet Society is pleased to announce that, in collaboration with the African Union and Djibouti Telecom, it organized an Internet Exchange Point (IXP) "Technical Aspects" workshop in Djibouti 18-22 October 2014.  The workshop, which drew participants regionally from Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti, provided adequate technical and administrative awareness needed to set set-up, operate, and administer an IXP.

The objective of the workshop was to create the requisite local technical expertise to support the IXP interconnections and operations. Participants were given hands-on training on interconnection techniques equiping them with the right tools to become the future network engineers who will be directly or indirectly involved in the operation of future IXPs.

More than 25 network engineers attended the workshop, with participants from the telecommunication and Internet sectors from the Ministry of Telecommunication and Postal services of South Sudan, MTN- South Sudan, RCS -Communication South Sudan, Zain- South Sudan, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology of Ethiopia, Ethio-Telecom, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of Somalia and Djibouti Telecom.

The workshop is part of the African Union (AU) African Internet Exchange System (AXIS) project to support the establishment of IXPs across Africa. The AXIS project aims at keeping Africa's local Internet traffic local to the continent by providing capacity building and technical assistance to facilitate the establishment of IXPs in Africa. As countries establish their own IXPs, local Internet traffic will be routed locally rather through exchange points generally located off-continent, creating downward pressure on costs and stimulating growth in and distribution of local Internet content.

This workshop is a follow up of the Best Practices Capacity Building workshop that has been conducted by the Internet Society from 24-25 June 2014 at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where participants formed a taskforce to enhance the establishment and management of IXPs in their respective countries.

The closing ceremony was attended by his Excellency Mr. Ahmed Youssouf Elmi Interim Secretary General of the Ministry of Communication in Charge of the Post and Telecommunication; his Excellency Mr. Kassim Wayiss, Interim Director General of Djibouti Telecom as well as representatives from AUC and the Internet Society.

Over the past two years, the Internet Society in partnership with the African Union Commission has been deeply engaged in the AXIS project and has over the time conducted capacity building training in 27 countries followed by technical assistance in 26 countries in order to facilitate the establishment of Internet Exchange Points in Africa.

About the African Union
The African Union has 54 Member States. The vision of the African Union is a peaceful, integrated, prosperous Africa, driven by its own citizens to take up its rightful place in the global community. For more information, visit www.au.int<http://www.au.int>

About the Internet Society
The Internet Society (www.internetsociety.org) is the trusted independent source for Internet information and thought leadership around the world.  It is also the organizational home for the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). With its principled vision, substantial technological foundation and its global presence the Internet Society promotes open dialogue on Internet policy, technology, and future development among users, companies, governments, and other organizations. Working with its members and Chapters around the world, the Internet Society enables the continued evolution and growth of the Internet for everyone. The Internet Society African Bureau is the Society's on-the-ground expertise for Africa and the AU's operational partner for the AXIS project.

Media contact: Betel Hailu, hailu at isoc.org
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