Written by Pavithra Madushanka, Mahratun Samha, Faisal Ahmed Bhubon, Nattaya Kay See Jaratruangsaeng (WG#2), Arevik Martirosyan (Edited by Jenna Manhau Fung)
The first training session of NetMission Academy 2023 was held successfully on January 5, 2023 with great moderation and facilitation by Bea Guevarra and Stella Teoh. In this session, 37 participants and 10 alumni from all around the Asia Pacific joined our honorable speakers – Edmon Chung (DotAsia), Pablo Hinojosa (APNIC), Avri Doria, Jia Rong Low (ICANN), and Anja Gengo (IGF Secretariat) to learn more about the Internet governance ecosystem, and the functions of different initiatives and organizations.
The session began with an Introduction to Internet Governance presented by Edmon Chung, followed by a speaker’s sharing on the structure, functions & related issues of the organizations and a Q&A session. Participants asked multiple questions and the speakers shared further insights with them. Below is a brief summary of the session:
Regional Internet Registries (RIRs)
Honorable guest speaker, Pablo Hinojosa, presented about Regional Internet registries (RIRs), their responsibilities, and the management of IP addresses. To get started with what RIR is, we must understand first what an IP address actually means. APNIC (Asia Pacific Network Information Centre) is an RIR that works in the Asia Pacific region from Afghanistan to the last island of the pacific. In total, Apnic deals with 56 countries.
The IP address is a very basic logical layer of the Internet that most people are not aware of. Every device connected to an internet network has a unique address. This address is called the internet protocol address AKA IP address. Every IP address comes in a particular format and identifies each device that is connected to the network. The original format for IP addresses is the IPv4 format which was previously followed. Around 4.1 billion IP addresses were made with IPv4. as the internet got popular so rapidly, soon the number got way higher. Today there are almost 25 billion devices with an internet connection. IPv4 is not capable to tackle this. Therefore, IPv6 is invented. IPv6 is well capable of generating trillions and trillions of IP addresses. It is hoped that sufficient IP addresses will make the internet more sustainable.
All these IP addresses are produced by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). ICANN holds the responsibility for managing the global pool of IP addresses and sending them in blocks to RIRs. RIR stands for Regional Internet Registry– a center that manages the IP addresses of a certain region. There is a total of 5 Regional Internet Registry Centres in the world. These centers try to keep the numbers compact and aggregated. The RIRs are responsible for distributing these addresses to the networks in the particular region they are assigned to. Those networks assign these addresses to their clients. Later all the devices under the network get a unique ID.
Hinojosa finished his speech by mentioning that, maintaining IP addresses and ASN numbers is so important that non-profit community-based organizations have been created where the communities refine the policies regarding technological production and share insights about what social challenges the internet may face in the future.
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Honorable guest speaker, Avri Doria, illustrated the background and functions of IETF for our participants.
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) was founded in 1986. It is a technical organization consisting of technical and non-technical members that work to improve protocols that are parts of an IP. Its overall goal is to make the internet work better. During the discussion, Ms. Avri Doria highlighted that “The Mission Statement further states that the Internet isn’t value-neutral, and neither is the IETF. The IETF wants the Internet to be useful for communities that share our commitment to openness and fairness. The IETF embraces technical concepts such as decentralized control, edge-user empowerment, and sharing of resources because those concepts resonate with the core values of the IETF community. These concepts have little to do with the technology that’s possible and much to do with the technology that the IETF chooses to create.”
The IETF adopts an open multi-stakeholder model. This means that within the organization, there are individuals that come from various backgrounds such as civil society, businesses, academia, and the government. These stakeholder groups within IETF will participate as individuals and are not speaking as part of any particular organization. There are two approaches that exist in IETF, the bottom-to-top and the top to bottom approach. Through the bottom-to-top approach to creation, the working groups discuss to reach a consensus that would be sent to the Internet Engineering Steering Group, to get this approved or denied. With the top to bottom approach for decision making, the IESG can only disapprove a Protocol only when they have a good reason that it will be harmful to the internet. It should be noted that IETF creates protocols but does not in any way police them or regulate them. They just put it out to the world so that different entities or organizations may adopt these protocols.
Currently, there is an upcoming IETF meeting in Yokohoma that participants can attend by paying passes to get to meet different people with similar interests, garner experience, and find opportunities. There are free passes and student passes that are available for the participant.
In conclusion, Ms. Avri Doria also recommended to the audience to step back to gain another perspective of how the organization looks like through three questions:
- Who are the stakeholders?
- Who gets to control the decision in the group?
- Is it the top to bottom or bottom-to-top approach?
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
Honorable guest speaker, Jia Rong Low, illustrated the background and functions of ICANN for our participants.
The speaker begins with a short presentation, saying that he is working in Singapore. The speaker mentioned the multistakeholder model, where anyone can participate, to show how ICANN helps stakeholders interact. In the beginning, Mr. Low started with how the domain system works. He poses the question – What is happening when the system is trying to find its IP address? So the answer is next. The logic structure of www.domain.org is based on a three-stage system:
- Root servers;
- Org servers;
- Domain.org server.
The root servers would point them to the top-level domain service. Then they are able to point you to the actual server housing the information you want to connect to and you get the domain. So if you want to connect to the Internet you need some basic things – a name, number (address), and a computer to speak the same language (protocol parameters).
He goes on to speak about the different organizations that look after the different parts of the internet and he outlines “that’s kind of what makes it so amazing because anyone can join it and everyone is responsible for the Internet”. For example, ISPs, Root Server Operators, TLD Registries, Registrars, Hosting Providers, etc.
The speaker noted that there is also a DNS attack problem.
Then he turns back to Domain Names, IP addresses, and Protocol Parameters issues. He says that the Internet Engineering Task Force governs the standards for protocol parameters that everyone needs to follow. The IP addresses are distributed by regional internet registries. APNIC distributes IP addresses in the region. Domain names are governed by ICANN when it comes to top-level domains like .com. There are a lot of national domains with language peculiarities such as Arabic and Cyrillic. So the community that can include you decide on how the domain space would be, so that is the multistakeholder model where anyone can participate.
Top-level domains like .org,.com, and so on, are more public entities and essentially they govern their own policies.
After the part on the Internet system, Mr. Low covers ICANN. He mentions that the ICANN ecosystem includes 3 elements – ICANN Community, ICANN Organizations, and ICANN Board.
Speaking about ICANN Structure, he divides it into 2 main parts:
1. making policy ( 3 supporting organizations – ICANN ASO, ICANN CCNSOG, ICANN GNSO) and
2. providing advice (4 advisory committees (ACs) – ICANN AT-LARGE, ICANN GAC, ICANN RSSAC, ICANN SSAC.
ICANN Policy Development Process is based on the next structures:
- Generic Names Supporting Organisations (GNSO);
- Country Code Names Supporting Organizations (ccNSO);
- Address Supporting Organizations (ASO).
Mr. Low finished with the recommendations to be actively engaged in ICANN initiatives like ICANN fellowships and academic programs set up on the regional level, for example, Asia Pacific Internet.
Internet Governance Forum (IGF), NRIs & Youth initiatives
Honorable guest speaker, Anja Gengo, illustrated the background and functions of IGF, NRIs & Youth initiatives for our participants.
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) brings people from various stakeholder groups together as equals to discuss public policy issues relating to the Internet. While no agreement is reached, the IGF informs and inspires policymakers in both the public and private sectors. Delegates discuss, exchange information, and share best practices at their annual meeting. The IGF fosters a shared understanding of how to maximize Internet opportunities while also addressing risks and challenges that may arise.
The IGF is a Controller Activity. It has a complicated system, and the IGF arranges worldwide workshops and conferences as one of many to ensure efficiency each year. The IGF is a multi-stakeholder model. IGF processes are open, bottom-up, integrated, straightforward, non-commercial, and community-centered.
Over the years, the IGF has identified a wide range of key issues for the international community to address and has shaped policy decisions related to the Internet and technologies around the world. The IGF does not pass resolutions or establish binding treaties. Its significance stems from its one-of-a-kind ability to facilitate dialogue between governments, intergovernmental organizations, private companies, the technical community, and civil society organizations dealing with or interested in Internet governance-related public policy issues. IGF meetings cover proposed responses such as regulatory frameworks, potential risks, global trends, and best and worst practices that have been implemented or are currently being debated.
Over 135 countries and regions have solid IGF processes in place for their respective communities. A high level of enthusiasm, activities, and a growing number of National, Regional, and Youth IGFs (NRIs) attest to the IGF’s multistakeholder mode’s success.
The IGF welcomes organizations and individuals from all over the world with diverse relevant expertise and geographical areas. The meeting is open to all accredited World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) entities, as well as other institutions and individuals with demonstrated expertise and experience in Internet Governance issues.