By Haru Mutasa

ACCRA- The gist of Saturday’s pre-conference workshop on Internet Governance was simple – ‘talk is cheap - we need to now minimise what is said at these gatherings and move into action’.
“We as Africans don’t have the participatory culture of discussion and debate and we need to drive this participatory process,” said Adiel Akplogan, CEO of the African Network Information Centre (AfriNIC) the new Internet Number registry for Africa.
The list, of what needs to be done before issues surrounding Internet Governance can be ironed out, is extensive.
On the to-do-list includes;
-Clearly defining what the term Internet Governance (IG) means by involving all stakeholders in the process
-Raising awareness at all levels on IG
-Mainstreaming Internet Governance in national e-strategies across Africa
-Recognising and accepting the role of all stakeholders in these processes by facilitating continuous debates and discussion at national, regional and international levels
-Educating African people with the skills needed to manage country code top level domain names (ccTLDs) effectively and understand how they can be used as national money making business opportunities
These and other points were seen as positive steps to creating an appropriate environment for Internet development on the continent, benefits of which include increasing internet connectivity in Africa, bridging the digital divide by increasing ICT tools and use in rural areas, all of which contribute to the reduction of poverty.
AfriNIC, the initiative of African internet service providers (ISPs) and internet stakeholders was one example of regional integration and cooperation of an organisation committed to realising these goals.
Akplogan said AfriNIC still has hurdles to overcome to ensure effective e-strategy development in Africa - training skilled staff, setting up and maintaining strong and efficient organisational structures and ensuring financial sustainability of the organisation after two years.
The gathering ended on a positive note with delegates determined to find a way forward to these and other problems around issues of Internet Governance. Recommendations and findings will be given to the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) to investigate and make proposals for action on the governance of the internet by 2005.
The WGIG, established by the United Nations Secretary-General, after the first phase of the WSIS held in Geneva in December 2003, will present its recommendations to the preparatory committee meetings for the second phase of the WSIS in Tunis later this year.