News and announcements

AFIX Elects Inaugural Board of Directors

Posted Tuesday, September 5, 2023 - 13:22

The African IXP Association (AFIX), a regional body of core Internet infrastructure operators in Africa, has successfully conducted its inaugural board election. This news was announced at the 12th African Peering & Interconnection Forum (AfPIF), the organization’s annual conference which it hosts in partnership with the Internet Society.

Please read our full press release for more details.

The election was conducted online via the Zeus Electronic Voting system with support and oversight from the European Internet Exchange Association; the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Exchange Association; and the Internet Society. Representatives from these organizations acted as election trustees and released a signed statement to certify the election results. A copy of this statement is attached below.

The newly elected members, along with their respective terms, are as follows:

  • Kyle Spencer (3 years)
  • Muhammed Rudman (3 years)
  • Jane R Coffin (3 years)
  • Jean-Francis Ahanda (2 years)
  • Frank Habicht (2 years)
  • Darwin Da Costa (2 years)
  • Lawakilia Wilfried Drabo (1 year)
  • Edrich de Lange (1 year)
  • Caglar Dabanoglu (1 year)

Note that staggered terms were allocated based on the number of votes each candidate received as required by our Articles of Association for the inaugural election.

The new board extends its sincere gratitude to all candidates who participated in the election process. We would also like to thank all of our members who actively participated in the voting process. Your engagement and support are crucial in shaping the future direction of the association.

AFIX Company Registration Complete

Posted Thursday, July 13, 2023 - 08:35

We are excited to announce that the African IXP Association is now officially registered as a Community Benefit Company (CBC) in Rwanda. This is an important milestone that will significantly enhance our capacity to develop the regional Internet ecosystem.

Our transitional Board of Directors is composed of the following people:

  • Nico Tshintiu (Chair)
  • Kyle Spencer (Executive Director)
  • Michuki Mwangi
  • Grace Mwikarago
  • Fergus McKay
  • Frank Habicht
  • Hasting Tjipueja

Our next objective is to elect an inaugural Board of Directors, ideally before AfPIF in August. In order to try to achieve this, we will immediately open the call for nominations and proceed according to the following timeline:

  • Nominations open: Tuesday, July 11th
  • Nominations close: Wednesday, July 26th
  • Election opens: Monday, July 31st
  • Election closes: Wednesday, August, 16th
  • Results announced: Thursday, August 17th

Regarding nominations: Everyone is welcome to participate and self-nominations are allowed. A submission form has been shared on the membership mailing list. If you would like to submit a nomination and don't have access to that mailing list, please contact us.

We will provide additional information in the coming days and weeks.

Association Governance

Posted Tuesday, July 11, 2023 - 09:54

The following resources relate to the African IXP Association's governance system and related processes. These include its foundational legal documents, board resolutions, and other materials that promote transparency.

AfPIF 2023 Call for Papers is Open

Posted Tuesday, June 6, 2023 - 12:54

The AfPIF-2023 Program Committee is now seeking contributions for presentations and panels for the AfPIF 2023 event.

The African Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF) is a 3-day event which addresses the key interconnection, peering, and traffic exchange opportunities and challenges on the continent and provides participants with global and regional insights for maximizing opportunities that will help grow Internet infrastructure and services in Africa. The forum targets executives, business development managers, peering coordinators, and engineers from Internet exchange points (IXPs), network operators, content providers, and infrastructure providers.

The conference format consists of keynotes, presentations, panel sessions, tutorials, and lightning talks. There are also dedicated networking sessions and social events.

We are looking for individuals who can participate in the conference sessions as a speaker, convene and chair panel sessions, and deliver commercial and technical tutorials in the following thematic areas:

  • Peering and transit strategies
  • Interconnection policy and regulation
  • Data Centers and content development
  • New technologies and innovations related to peering and interconnection
  • Research on the African Internet including routing and network interconnection.
  • Experiences and lessons learnt from deploying Internet infrastructure
  • WomenTechConnect: Discussions to help make the Internet engineering space one that’s more comfortable with gender diversity.
  • Other matters that relate to peering and interconnection

The deadline for submissions is: June 28, 2023

For more information, or to make a submission, please visit the AfPIF website: https://www.afpif.org/afpif2023/call-for-papers/

The Internet Society's 50/50 Vision for the Internet

Posted Tuesday, June 6, 2023 - 12:46

The Internet Society (ISOC) is working towards a significant global vision referred to as the 50/50 Vision for the Internet, with the goal of keeping at least half of all Internet traffic in selected economies local by 2025. This will lead to faster, stronger, and cheaper Internet access for all.

As part of this, the Internet Society is encouraging everyone to deploy OONI and/or RIPE Atlas Probes in order to enhance regional measurement capabilities.

Help us build a faster, more reliable Internet for everyone, by keeping the traffic that we exchange as close to home as possible. Discover more about the 50/50 Vision by visiting https://www.internetsociety.org/issues/access/50-50-vision/.

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