DAILY RECAP
14 September - Day 1- AfNOG Day

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AIS'20 is officially underway. Day one was AfNOG Day although a newcomers session was held on Friday 11 September 2020. The newcomers were introduced to AFRINIC's ecosystem, detailing its work in the global Internet system. Other presentations were made by ICANN and ISOC representations.

Back to Day one proper. The Opening remarks from the AFNOG Secretariat were given by Mrs Isatou Jah. She welcomed participants to the AfNOG Day, telling delegates that although COVID-19 pandemic had disrupted plans for a face-to-face meeting, the virtual meeting was still relevant and important in the current global networked and information society.

Andrew Sullivan, CEO and President Internet Society, gave the Goodwill message during the Opening. Sullivan highlighted several ISOC initiatives geared towards building a global Internet for all Africans and stressed on the leveraging power of the Internet to address local and global challenges. He talked about building capacity and skills of the Internet community as part of attempts to shape social and economic landscapes in Africa. This was followed by an enlightening panel on 50 Years of the Internet moderated by former AFRINIC chief executive officer and current Vice President for Technical Engagement at ICANN, Adiel Akplogan. The session panellists were former ICANN Board Chair and Author RFC-1, Steve Crocker, and Prof. Nii Quaynor. The panellists detailed the journey the Internet has travelled, and the challenges and opportunities experienced along the way. They noted that the success of the Internet results from the passion of its contributors, openness and resilience. The session was followed by updates from regional NOGs. Noah Maina took participants through the report of 20 years of AfNOG activities. The other updates came from:

• Simon Mayoye on KeNOG ( Kenya NOG) 2018-2019
• Sara Hassan and Shimaa Elmubark from Sudan on SdNOG 2019
• Christian Nzhie from Cameroon on cmNOG 2020 activities
• Edem Kobla Nunekpeku from Senegal on SnNOG 2020 activities
• Isabela Odida from Uganda on UgNOG
• Rashida Umar from Nigeria on the NgNOG

Maina ended the session by thanking participants and inviting volunteers willing to set up local NOGs by contacting the AfNOG secretariat.

This session was followed by a technical panel moderated by Alan Barrett. Sarah Armstrong from ISOC presented on the Internet Society Foundation: Overview and new Programs of interest to Africa (www.isocfoundation.org). Various aspects of the Foundation's Programmes, including research activities and the SCILLS programme, were highlighted. There was also a presentation on Internet Measurement by Matthew Ford and David Belson from ISOC, Cloud Africa by Danny Afahounko and LDPv6 In The Real World by Mark Tinka. Ford and Belson introduced ISOC's Internet measurement project: Insights (insights.intersociey.org) and its focus areas.

Tinka who is the Head of Engineering at SEACOM presented on the deployment of LDPv6 (Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) version 6) in SEACOM services networks. Tinka explained the early days of LGPv6 and shared its implementation from a vendor's perspective and highlighted some of the challenges therein.

Afahounko, the founder of Cloud Africa, introduced his company's initiatives, which he said seeks to lead Africa revolutionised Africa by enabling, educating and empowering the African people through the use of cloud technology. For more information see https://afcloud.africa

Alain Aina closed the day with a panel discussion on the Future of AfNOG. In the panel were Isatou Jah, Patrick Okui, Michuki Mwangi, and Arnaud Amelina. These contributors shared the success and achievements of the AfNOG after 20 years of existence and discussed the challenges that face the organisation. They offered recommendations for a successful future of AfNOG.