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ICANN in the Middle East – A Glance at the Past Year

17 July 2019
By

With ICANN's Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) coming to an end, now is a good time to reflect on our achievements and provide an overview of the future of our engagement strategy in the Middle East.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR

Community Regional Engagement Survey

In June 2019, the regional engagement survey was sent out, seeking feedback from the community on ICANN's regional engagement efforts during FY19.

  • 70% of the respondents found ICANN efforts either effective or extremely effective.
  • 74% of the respondents were either satisfied or extremely satisfied with ICANN's engagement efforts in the region.

Survey results can be found here [PDF, 737 KB].

Engagement Effectiveness
Satisfaction Levels

The 6th Middle East DNS Forum (February 2019)

For the first time, the Middle East DNS Forum (MEDNSF) was held in conjunction with another Internet-related event, Asia Pacific Top Level Domains 75 (APTLD75).

The initiative stemmed from the "Middle East DNS Forum 5-Year Assessment Survey", distributed to the regional community in May 2018. One of the key outcomes of this survey was to realize the suggestion to organize the Forum in conjunction with similar events in the region to add value and maximize attendance.

As customary, we distributed a survey to participants of the MEDNSF 2019 to get feedback on their experience. 79% of the respondents rated the Forum as either excellent or very good. Survey results can be found here [PDF, 547 KB].

MEDNSF 2019 Rating

The First GNSO Policy Development Process (PDP) Training in the Middle East

This day-long training, tailored for participants from the Middle East involved in ICANN's work, took place as a pre-event of the 6th Middle East DNS Forum. It aimed to help develop participants' skills to become better engaged in ICANN's Generic Name Supporting Organization (GNSO) Policy Development Process (PDP).

A follow-up survey was conducted to get feedback on the next steps and the training as a whole, and the support participants needed to become more involved in ICANN.

We have followed up on some of the PDP areas of interest and will continue to assess the training's impact to see if similar trainings are needed or demanded in the future.

ICANN Public Meetings: Readout Sessions

A first for the region, two face-to-face readout sessions were held in Istanbul, Turkey, and two webinars were organized for the wider Middle East community to share updates on the ICANN63 and ICANN64 outcomes.

Universal Acceptance (UA) Talks & Workshops:

UA has become an integral part of our engagement activities. We have coordinated with the Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG), and over a dozen talks and workshops on the topic were held across the Middle East through the regional UA Ambassador. Additionally, the Middle East Space at ICANN64 was dedicated to discussing UA, issuing a statement to ICANN on this subject. The ICANN organization has replied [PDF, 130 KB].

Engagement & Capacity Building Workshops

The following map highlights some of the events, meetings and capacity development activities held across the region.

Engagement & Capacity Building Workshops

What's Next?

The regional strategy working group has agreed to extend the current regional strategy term for one more year, concluding at the end of FY20. The decision was made following community consultations at ICANN63, based on information provided on the ICANN Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2021-2025. The community believes that aligning the next cycle of the regional strategy with the ICANN Strategic Plan would be the best way forward. During FY20, the regional community will begin planning for the regional strategy beyond FY20, and a new community-led working group will be put together to embark on this journey.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone, particularly members of the Middle East and Adjoining Countries Strategy Working Group (MEAC-SWG), for their tireless efforts and commitment to supporting our work. Without our regional community members, none of the above would have been possible.

If you have any questions or comments, or if you are interested in our regional work, please reach out to us at meac.swg@icann.org.

Authors

Baher Esmat

Baher Esmat

VP, Stakeholder Engagement - Middle East & Managing Director MEA