ICANN is calling upon its community to attend the ICANN 80 public meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.



Next year, starting from June 10th, the "Policy Forum" meeting, which follows the same format as the one held in Washington DC this month, will take place at the Kigali Convention Centre, as decided by ICANN's board last week.

This will be the first visit of ICANN to Africa since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and also the first time for Rwanda to host such a meeting.

In the past 25 years, ICANN has organized meetings in Africa twelve times, spanning across seven countries: Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, and South Africa.

While ICANN typically rotates its meetings among its five geographic regions, the pandemic disrupted the usual scheduling.

Rwanda has been in the spotlight in the UK due to concerns about its safety and human rights record, as the British government planned to deport illegal migrants there. However, both UK and US authorities consider Rwanda to be safe, with the exception of contested border regions. It seems that visas are granted upon arrival to all travelers, regardless of their origin.

It is encouraging to see ICANN bringing its meeting to Africa, providing an opportunity to engage with the local community and foster collaboration within the region. The choice of Kigali as the host city demonstrates the growth and potential of the African continent in the field of internet governance.