Dear Colleagues,
The sun is about to set on our first year here in the Dubai office. Our team of
four, supported by our colleagues in Amsterdam, has been busy trying to meet
the needs of the technical community and our members in the Middle East. I will
try to summarize some of the key engagements we were busy with in the following
lines.
* Community Engagement
Member Lunches
We felt that we needed to get even closer to our members to better understand
the needs of its members in a particular country, and provide feedback on how
to improve our services accordingly. To that end we organised a series of
member lunches, conducted on a small scale, to act as unofficial focus groups
on RIPE NCC services.
The RIPE NCC has conducted successful member lunches in Iran, Saudi Arabia and
has plans to do the same in Turkey, Kuwait and Lebanon this year.
National IPv6 Working Groups
With the explosion of Internet of Thing (IoT), smart government initiatives as
well as 3G/4G mobile applications the move to IPv6 makes it easier to conduct
realistic plans and infrastructure upgrades that support the future. We have
been working with a number of regulators and Internet service providers in the
region that have realized the opportunities IPv6 offers.
We are currently working with the TRA of the UAE and the country’s two
ISPs/mobile providers to form an IPv6 National Working Group in UAE. The RIPE
NCC also intends to do the same in Lebanon.
We also continue to support the Saudi IPv6 task force with IPv6 roadshow
workshops and presenting at their bi-annual meetings.
Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs)
Cyber threats and protection have become of great importance to all LEAs in the
region. The RIPE NCC has been working with Arab LEAs through several meetings
and LEA workshops, including a meeting with Middle Eastern LEAs at the Interpol
headquarters in Lyon, France. The RIPE NCC also organised and participated in
conferences and workshops for the cyber police in Jordan and Iran.
Academic Engagement
The RIPE NCC opened up the RIPE Academic Cooperation Initiative (RACI) to MENOG
Meetings, ensuring that one dedicated RACI candidate from the region will be
chosen to attend each RIPE Meeting.
RACI received a total of 30 applications from the region. Of these, three were
selected to present at MENOG in Dubai and two to present at RIPE 70 in
Amsterdam.
Engagement in Yemen
The RIPE NCC introduced itself to the Yemeni technical community and service
providers through two site visits in 2014. Following these visits, the RIPE NCC
designed two workshops dedicated to the needs of the local technical community
and delivered them in Jordan.
Policy Development Process (PDP) Translation
The RIPE NCC publishes monthly PDP updates in Arabic and English, to support
increased engagement and participation in the PDP from members in the Middle
East region.
** Capacity Building
IPv6 Roadshows
The three-day IPv6 Roadshow workshop provides network operators and
administrators with the information, documentation and hands-on experience they
need to deploy IPv6.
This year, the RIPE NCC added a new track to the roadshow portfolio - “IPv6 for
Enterprise” which caters to the needs of non-ISP network operators wanting to
deploy IPv6. The RIPE NCC also added a new mobile lab, dedicated to the Middle
East, as a resource base for more roadshows and workshops.
The RIPE NCC has successfully conducted five roadshows in Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia, Jordan (dedicated for Yemen Service providers) and the United Arab
Emirates. Upcoming roadshow destinations include Lebanon and the UAE.
http://www.menog.org/ipv6-roadshow/ <http://www.menog.org/ipv6-roadshow/>
Train the Trainer Initiative
The RIPE NCC launched a “Train the Trainer” initiative at the offices of the
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the UAE in Dubai. The
initiative is a long-term goal of the RIPE NCC and is designed to train and
build a diverse pool of skilled local trainers capable of delivering the IPv6
Roadshow in the Arab region. The launch attracted 15 trainees from the United
Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Palestine, drawn from
the public, private and academic sectors.
https://www.ripe.net/publications/news/about-ripe-ncc-and-ripe/uae-tra-centre-of-innovation-organises-train-the-trainer-initiative-in-cooperation-with-the-ripe-ncc
<https://www.ripe.net/publications/news/about-ripe-ncc-and-ripe/uae-tra-centre-of-innovation-organises-train-the-trainer-initiative-in-cooperation-with-the-ripe-ncc>
***Regional Meetings
Regional Meeting in Iran (18 November 2014)
Iran is the RIPE NCC’s second-largest membership base in the Middle East. The
RIPE NCC held a successful Regional Meeting in Tehran in 2014, attended by
around 270 participants from the technical, governmental and academic sectors,
where the local participants expressed interest in hosting a future MENOG
Meeting.
https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/regional-meetings/ripe-ncc-regional-meeting-tehran
<https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/regional-meetings/ripe-ncc-regional-meeting-tehran>
MENOG 15 (28 March – 2 April 2015)
MENOG 15 took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). This edition included
two days of plenary presentations (incorporating the RIPE NCC Regional Meeting)
and four days of hands-on technical workshops. The conference attracted 195
attendees from 32 countries, and 35 trainees took part in the two workshops
(Advanced Routing and DNS/DNSSEC).
http://www.menog.org/meetings/menog-15/
<http://www.menog.org/meetings/menog-15/>
Other Meetings
The RIPE NCC participated in and presented at a number of events and
initiatives across the Middle East, including:
- ASREN’s e-AGE meeting
- Saudi’s IPv6 National Forum
- The Middle East School on Internet Governance
- ITU Plenipotentiary Conference
- SAMENA’s Cable Submarine Summit
- SDNOG (The Sudanese Network Operator Group)
We look forward to continue working with the technical community and the other
stakeholders in the region. It has been a very fruitful year and we look
forward to much more to come in the upcoming years.
We thank you all for your support and ask you to continue guiding us to better
support our region.
Kind Regards
Hisham Ibrahim
Regional Programme Manager
RIPE NCC
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