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17TH CARIBBEAN INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM DAY 1 IN REVIEW

17TH CARIBBEAN INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM DAY 1 IN REVIEW

By Caribbean Telecommunications Union  

Today kicked off the 17th Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (CIGF), hosted by the CTU, under theme, “Caribbean Internet Governance Priorities for Post-COVID ICT-Driven Development”.

For the second consecutive year, this year’s forum is being held virtually, providing attendees with an invaluable opportunity to participate in a more accessible way in the formulation of Caribbean Internet governance policy. The CIGF is an informal, inclusive and non-hierarchical space where Caribbean voices are welcomed to come together in order to identify opportunities for regionally harmonised approaches to Internet governance policies, standards and implementation actions for a Single ICT Space.

Day 1 was off to a great start with meaningful presentations and discussions. It featured reports from national IGFs in the region and expert presenters from the CTU’s collaborative partners, including amongst others, the United Nations’ IGF Secretariat, the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC), the Internet Society (ISOC) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Here’s a look at the day’s events. Don’t forget to join us tomorrow for Day 2; there is still time to register!

Nigel Cassimire, Telecommunications Specialist, Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) managed the day’s proceedings and Rodney Taylor, Secretary General, welcomed all on behalf of the CTU.

(Left – right) – Mr. Rodney Taylor, Secretary General, CTU and Mr. Nigel Cassimire, Telecommunications Specialist, CTU

Delivering remarks from their respective organisations were Chengetai Masango, Head of Office, United Nations’ IGF Secretariat; Bevil Wooding, Director of Caribbean Affairs, ARIN; Kevon Swift, Head of Strategic Relations and Integration, LACNIC; Shernon Osepa, Director of Caribbean Affairs and Development, Internet Society, and Albert Daniels, Senior Manager of Stakeholder Engagement (Caribbean) at ICANN.

Left – Mr. Chengetai Masango, Head of Office, UN IGF Secretariat

Grid (Top l – r)- Mr. Bevil Wooding – Director of Caribbean Affairs, ARIN; Mr. Kevon Swift – Head of Strategic Relations & Integration, LACNIC; Grid

(Bottom l – r) – Mr. Albert Daniels – Senior Manager, Stakeholder Engagement (Caribbean), ICANN Mr. Shernon Osepa – Director – Caribbean Affairs and Development, Internet Society (ISOC);

CIGF @ 17

Next up, Nigel Cassimire gave a presentation entitled “CIGF @ 17: What We’ve Done, Current Initiatives and Outlook for the Future.” In this timely address, Mr Cassimire explained the recent, ongoing and upcoming programmatic activities and strategic emphases of the CTU, and underscored the importance of bringing Caribbean perspectives to global policy development fora.

UPDATES: Reports, Trends and Updates from National, Regional and Global IG Fora

Three updates then followed from national, regional and global IG fora. First, Tracy Hackshaw, Director of the Trinidad and Tobago Multistakeholder Advisory Group (TTMAG) and Marcellus Constance of the St Vincent and the Grenadines IGF, presented on behalf of their respective organisations. Next, Kevon Swift of LACNIC, gave relevant information on the status of some events and capacity-building initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Panelists Anja Gengo of the UN IGF Secretariat, Tracy Hackshaw of Dynamic Coalition on Small Island Developing States (DC-SIDS), and Kevon Swift of LACNIC discussed some of the opportunities available in the upcoming 16th UN IGF in December 2021 and support needed for NRIs, SIDS and developing countries.

Omari Sefu, Public Policy Associate Research Manager, Data For Good, Facebook, presented on the features, capabilities and recent useful applications of this important data-driven initiative to the Caribbean region.

(Left to right) Anja Gengo, UN IGF Secretariat; Tracy Hackshaw, DC-SIDS; Marcellus Constance, SVG IGF; and Omari Sefu, Public Policy Associate Research Manager, Data For Good, Facebook

Advancing Governance, Strengthening Research

Two workshops then followed, focusing on priorities of advancing Caribbean Internet governance and strengthening Caribbean Internet research. The first, titled “Advancing and Sustaining Caribbean Internet Governance”, focused on updating the Caribbean Internet Governance Policy Framework. Secretary General Taylor, Nigel Cassimire and Junior McIntyre of the CTU facilitated group discussions around policy priorities for current and future attention.

The second workshop, facilitated by Bevil Wooding of ARIN, focused on enhancing Caribbean Internet research, data and measurement for development. Kevon Swift of LACNIC, Shernon Osepa of the Internet Society, and Albert Daniels of ICANN respectively shared perspectives and useful statistics on key issues to be considered.

Throughout the Day 1 sessions, it was clear that there is renewed energy to push the Caribbean to real and meaningful development action.  We expect this action-oriented focus to continue into Day 2 and beyond. You won’t want to miss out on this unique opportunity to shape Caribbean Internet Public Policy.

The 17th Caribbean Internet Governance Forum 24th – 25th August from 9 am to 4:30 pm (EDT). Registration is free. For more information, visit the CTU website.

Follow @CTUnion for live tweets of the event. Special thanks our organising team, partners, panelists and attendees. Together we will continue working to support development of an open, accessible, secure and resilient Internet for the Caribbean!

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