ICANN: Pacific Governments to Enhance Better Participation in Internet Governance Discussions

Government delegates from sixteen Pacific countries recently attended a workshop aimed at overcoming barriers to participating in global Internet governance discussions, such as those taking place within the ICANN community.

The two-day capacity development workshop, themed “Harnessing the Potential of the Pacific GAC Representatives for Better Participation in ICANN,” took place on 28-29 April 2017 in Nadi, Fiji. Organized by ICANN, in cooperation with the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) Under-served Regions Working Group, it was supported by the Fiji Government’s Department of Communications.

The 20 government delegates in attendance were ICANN GAC members and represented these Pacific nations: Australia, Cook Islands, Federated State of Mircronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

“ICANN welcomes the participation of all stakeholders, including governments,” said  Savé Vocea, ICANN‘s Vice President of Stakeholder Engagement for Australia and the Pacific Islands. “ICANN is dedicated to demand-driven engagement, and we are happy to see that all the Pacific GAC members were present at this workshop, which demonstrates their willingness to be part of the process.”

Pacific nations face many challenges that inhibit their full ability to participate in global platforms such as ICANN. These include inadequate Internet access and a lack of human resources.

During the two-day workshop, the GAC representatives were introduced to ICANN and its policy development process, as well as high interest topics such as Domain Name System abuse. The delegates also learned about issues and working groups that required their immediate attention.

Shivnesh Prasad, Director of the Department of Communications, Government of Fiji, said during his opening remarks, “We are really happy to host this workshop. We often feel forgotten as a region in Internet governance discussions. It is challenging for us to participate in ICANN, as we do not have full understanding of the issues being discussed within the GAC.”

The workshop also included the participation of ICANN ecosystem partners, including the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), which discussed issues relating to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and the Address Supporting Organization (ASO).

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For photos on the capacity development workshop, please visit here.

For more information about the capacity development workshop for Pacific GAC representatives, please visit here [PDF, 247 KB].