Dear all, With regard to the forthcoming IGF, I am writing to solicit information on participation of stakeholders from Africa as well as inputs to inform workshops and panels that I have been invited to speak at. To avoid clogging people’s inboxes may I please request that replies are sent to me directly (towelan@nepad.org<mailto:towelan@nepad.org> ) and not to the originating lists. Inputs are welcome on any of the guiding questions provided as well as on any other issues relevant for our region which are not addressed by the questions. 1. Participation at IGF 2014 - Please indicate if you plan to be physically present in Istanbul - If not travelling to Istanbul, please indicate if you plan to participate remotely 2. Inputs for Workshop 152 – “Internet Governance: Challenges, Issues, and Roles” * The Internet is expanding exponentially - Who is responsible for identifying the Internet governance knowledge gap among the different stakeholder groups? * What can be done to bridge the Internet governance knowledge gap in terms of resourcing, scaling, and awareness building? * How should these knowledge gap issues, and discussion be used to improve the global Internet openness and collaborative multi-stakeholder engagement? * Where there are issues that may disrupt the roles of existing stakeholders, how should consensus on key principles or outcomes be reached for solutions that benefit the global Internet rather than special interests? * How should market-specific challenges or issues that are particular to a local community be approached for the global Internet to continue its innovative contributions? 3. Inputs for Main Session – “IANA functions: NTIA’s stewardship transition and ICANN’s accountability process” · What are the guiding principles to ensure that the notion of accountability is understood and accepted globally? · What features does the community identify as being core to strengthening ICANN's overall accountability in the absence of its historical contractual relationship to the U.S. Government? · What are the means by which the global community is assured that ICANN is meeting its accountability commitments? Kind regards, Towela