Hello Farzaneh, Thanks for your comments. Regarding gender balance issue, this is one thing we tried very hard to maintain, but were challenged with at times. I do agree that there are non-male experts who work on these topics, but they may not necessarily be the right people to talk. And at times, they are limited by their employers. We tried very hard on this one I can tell you. Regarding “Afghanistan and its DNS situation”, the ME DNS Forum agenda is developed by a group of program committee members, and once we have a draft agenda, it is shared with some regional DNS industry players who may have more to add. The forum has always been general, and has not zoomed into specific cases/issues that are of national nature. Those who have an issue can discuss it with us 1-on-1. Nevertheless, I’d like to hear from you about the DNS situation in Afghanistan and why you think it should be considered on the agenda? Thank you, Fahd From: farzaneh badii <farzaneh.badii@gmail.com> Date: Monday, 18 April 2022 at 2:27 PM To: Fahd Batayneh <fahd.batayneh@icann.org> Cc: Middle East ICANN <middle-east@icann.org> Subject: [Ext] Re: [ME ICANN] [Invitation] Middle East DNS Forum 2022 | 16-18 May 2022 This is an interesting event and congratulations Fahd for putting it together. However, I see several (and if not mistaken most) panels that are all-male despite the fact that we do have non-male experts based in the region who work on those topics. I understand that bringing diversity is difficult in panels but I think at least making a conscious effort to have diversity and explaining why we don’t have it in some circumstances are necessary for future improvements. Also I wonder why Afghanistan and its DNS situation is not a focus. Is the topic being dealt with in one of the sessions? We have not been talking enough about Afghanistan in these forums despite the fact that they are a part of this group. On Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 8:00 AM Fahd Batayneh via Middle-East <middle-east@icann.org> wrote: Friends and Colleagues, You are cordially invited to attend the 2022 edition of the Middle East DNS Forum. When: 16-18 May 2022 Where: Virtually over Zoom. Please register at https://icann.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUqdu6upjsjGteXw84kd_OBZ1jhbe_YljYQ [icann.zoom.us] The forum covers an array of technical, business, and legal topics that touch upon the domain name system. More on the event and agenda can be found in our newly revamped website at https://mednsf.org/ [mednsf.org]. We look forward to e-seeing you at the forum. Thank you, Fahd Batayneh ME DNS Forum 2022 Coordinator / ICANN _______________________________________________ Middle-East mailing list Middle-East@icann.org https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/middle-east _______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on. -- Farzaneh