AfriNIC Elections 2011

Candidate Brief Statement:

I have been involved with AfNOG and AfriNIC for over 10 years of which I also served as a board member for 2 years.  I’m very active in the East African region with my company having operations in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and South Sudan.   Being one of the biggest Telecoms employers in the region supporting at least one major Telco in all the above listed countries I have an active interest in making sure that AfriNIC as an entity has a sustainable future.

Over the last 10 years being part of the AfNOG and AfriNIC community has showed me what value a community with common interests can achieve, however the more I look at our successes I realize the amazing opportunities we still have to achieve.  It’s because of this I choose to run for Board member.

In my personal achievements I’m Chairman and Group CEO for NFT Consult, I also chair the Uganda Business Process Outsourcing Association.  I’m an active contributor to a number of ICT related public and private organisations in the East African Region.  And have also served as a working group member on the Presidential Investment Roundtable in Uganda for the period of 2008-2012.

I believe our immediate challenge as AfriNIC is building a strong sustainable membership which will need us to have an outreach program actively working with educational institutions on the continent enabling us to attract the youth.  I also believe with my experience of working with both private and public sector equips me with a selection of transferable skills that will bring renewed vibrancy and a performance based mindset to the board.

Nominee (Full Name): Dr Paulos B Nyirenda Organization (or Affiliation): NIC.MW, Malawi SDNP Country: Malawi Nominated for: Policy Development Working Group co-Chair

• PHD IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING (1991) UNSW
• NATIONAL COORDINATOR OF MALAWI SDNP
• MANAGER FOR .MW CCTLD
  - MANAGER FOR NIC.MW
• CHAIRMAN OF MALAWI INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION (MISPA)
• MEMBER OF ORIGINAL CCNSO LAUNCHING GROUP
• HEAD OF PHYSICS DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAWI 1994-1997
• TRUSTEE, MALSWITCH, MALAWI
• MEMBER OF CCNSO COUNCIL REPRESENTING AFRICA REGION
• MEMBER OF SEVERAL CCNSO WORKING GROUPS INCLUDING cc-IDN PDP WG2
• MEMBER OF AFTLD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, EXCOM
• MEMBER OF AFRINIC PDP MANAGEMENT GROUP (PDP-MG) 2008-2010

Brief statement explaining the candidate’s background and motivation

CONTRIBUTE TO IMPROVEMENT IN GOVERNANCE IN AFRINIC AND SPECIFICALLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFRINIC POLICY, OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT

Nominee (Full Name): Francoise Mukuku Mwamba Malale Organization (or Affiliation): Si Jeunesse Savait (SJS)/ Dynamique multisectorielle pour la promotion des TIC en republique democratique du congo (DMTIC) Position: National Coordinator / Deputy President Country of Residence: Congo Nominated for: Central Africa

Brief statement explaining the candidate’s background and motivation

Francoise Mukuku is a passionate gender and ICT activist with a back ground in international law and communication.

After founding, in 2001, SI JEUNESSE SAVAIT a young feminist group involved in the work around promotion of ICT, she have been part of the world summit on information society process from 2003 of 2005.

After this process she found with other delegates of DRC a multisakeholder initiative called DMTIC which stand for multistakeholder dynamic to promote HIV in Democratic republic of Congo. www.dmtic.cd

She was the deputy president of this initiative since 2006 and was reelected in 2009 for three years.

As the deputy president of DMTIC she is in charge of policy and has given significant contribution around gender, communication rights, education and culture.

She is also a member of the Association for progressive communication women’s network www.apcwomen.org where she is also involved in some work around violence against women and ICT as well as following the internet governance process.

She is also a global member of internet society (ISOC) www.isoc.org as well as alumni of several diplo foundation online courses on ICT policy.

In 2010, she starts in Kinshasa the first information service dedicated to women survivors of violence as well as women rights defenders using freedomfone, a mobile technology and she is advocating for a comprehensive and cost reduction telecommunications policy.
She is also a contributor to the feminist talk of genderIT www.genderIT.org, the first website on gender and ICT

Nominee (Full Name): Christian Bope Domilongo Organization (or Affiliation): CELTEL DRC Position: Country of Residence: Congo Nominated for: Central Africa

Brief statement explaining the candidate’s background and motivation

Christian Bope is an IT Engineer in charge of IT Network over all Airtel DRC. In his role is the one who’s managing: Internet links : Firewall management – supporting as well GPRS/Edge links, LAN/MAN and WAN connections: including Wireless (Wi-Fi Access Point & controllers), Microwaves & Satellite links (E1, IP…), Public IP: overall IP Plan/sub segments management, Network architecture: designing and support Network architecture deployment, Data Center : cabling, maintaining and configuring Network nodes/servers connectivity. Christian have got good management skills with a good sense of loyalty and honesty. his experience will move one step more Afrinic and assist such Internet organization, some others non-profitable organization , young generation, government and Education to grow up.

Nominee (Full Name): Ngnoulaye Janvier Organization (or Affiliation): Institute for university digital governance (IGNU) Position: ICT Manager Country of Residence: Cameroon Nominated for: Central Africa Click here to read CV

Brief statement explaining the candidate’s background and motivation

I worked on the campus network of the University of Yaounde for 12 years as an IT manager. Throughout this period, my responsibilities were to design, to maintain, to monitor and to troubleshoot the Campus’s network infrastructure (optical fibre, VSAT) to perform the multi-subnet and Internet within the faculties and administrative offices, to perform the servers such as DNS, Web, DHCP, PPP and MAIL. They also included network security, firewall administration, end-users support and training on various applications and software. Furthermore, I was responsible for the management of the Internet and the Information System of the entire campus of the University. In 2001, I was assigned to the Cisco Regional Academy located in the campus to manage the Cisco Networking Academy Programme. I have extensive hands-on experience in a variety of Cisco material (router, switch, IP telephone, among others) and also in a variety of Windows platforms as system administrator and as application programmer. I also have experience in working in the International Organisation (UNESCO, WFP, AUF). In 2005 I have been appointed as ICT manger to the ministry of high education to joint the project team of the interuniversity’s network connection of Cameroon. Today this project is going on under the control of the Institute for University Digital Governance (IGNU). Under my initiative, IGNU became a LIR for Higher Education in Cameroon, with a /18 IP addresses for the entire university community.

For 5 years I have followed the debates and discussion with some contributions sometimes on the discussion lists as Afnoc, linux-afrique and AfriNIC (rpd@afrinic.net,africann@afrinic.net,afripv6-discuss@afrinic.net,rpki-discuss@afrinic.net). I participated in training workshops and meetings of AfriNIC in Cairo (2008), Kigali (2010) and Johannesburg (2010). More recently, I attended the 5th ccTLD meeting and the ACRP workshop in Accra (April 2011). Currently, under my coordination, IGNU is in talks with the “College International” of AFNIC (the manager of .FR) for organizing one sub-regional training in Yaounde. These multiple actions, meetings and training workshops have enriched my expertise. Added to my professional skills, it gives me the good qualities of a board member of AfriNIC. As board member, I am going to work as a team member and I am going to always support board decisions. Permanently, I am going to participate in performing AfriNIC’s missions and objectives and the development of a strategic plan. I should be able to actively participate and contribute to all activities conferred to the Board. I’ll be abide by the by-laws, code of conduct and other polices that apply to the board in particular and to the AfriNIC community in general.

I believe I am suitable for the position of the board member for the Central Africa sub-region of the AfriNIC, since I have many years experience in the area of Internet networking and Information Management. I am confident that my skills in Information Technology, my natural ease in working in cross cultural environments and adapting to situations and people, as well as my task-solving abilities will make me a competent addition to the AfriNIC board members.

Nominee (Full Name): Krishna Seeburn Organization (or Affiliation): University of Technology, Mauritius Position: Lecturer / Independent Consultant Country of Residence: Mauritius Nominated for: Indian Ocean Region Click here to read CV

Brief Statement:

Kris Seeburn is Lecturer in Information Systems Audit and Control, IT & Enterprise Governance, Computer Security, Information warfare and Programme Director of the Master in Computer Security & Forensics at the University of Technology, Mauritius and a seasoned Information Systems & Security Consultant. Has completed various banking and finance audits and various other core standards implementations. He has been actively participating in on various International Standards bodies for Security & Risk.

He is a member of Advisory Board of The New Security Foundation, Member of The American College of Forensic Examiners & Institute of Forensics Science. He is Founding Chair and President of the ISACA Mauritius Chapter, Chair of the Academic Program Subcommittee & Member of the Education & Dissemination Committee of ISACA. Founding President IEEE Mauritius, Fellow and past Board Member of the International Professors Project also Past Vice President and Director of Governance and Policy International at Center for the Advancement of the Enterprise Architecture Profession and a member of the Digital Forensics Association (DFA). He also serves as part of the technical committee member of ISO for 27000 & 38000 series. A Chartered Fellow of the British Computer Society. Chartered Engineer of the Engineering Council UK. Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. A seasoned consultant working independently and contractually with some of the Big 4s and has worked for Deloitte as Senior Consultant prior to joining Academia. He serves on various National & International Boards.

His areas of expertise include Governance, IT & Internet policies and standards development, risk management, risk assessment and control evaluation, service level management, problem and incident management, disaster recovery planning.

Currently working on the rejuvenation process of ISOC Mauritius Chapter as part of an oversight committee. He has served as co-chair of the AFRINIC NomCom 2010

I believe that AFRINIC is best placed, best equipped, best prepared and best suited to ensuring that the Internet’s enormous potential is fulfilled in the best interests of all its users in Africa certainly even more.

However, I am concerned that without an important degree of change – which can most effectively be brought about through the Board of Directors – that the organisation’s ability to moderate between competing interests to find an equitable solution for all will be severely curtailed.

For that reason, I am putting myself forward as a candidate to the Board because I believe I possess a set of skills that would prove extremely valuable to AFRINIC over the next few years.

AFRINIC is adapting to circumstance numerous times since its inception, each time following pressure from constituencies who have had little choice but to keep pace with the medium itself. It is quite clear that we are again at that crossroads, and this time it is the issue of transparency that is foremost in people’s minds.

I think the main stumbling block to returning to an open and inclusive model of governance is not that people are unwilling or unable to do so, but more that they are uncertain of how to do it effectively. This is where I believe I can be of assistance. I have significant experience in training, advising company executives on how to provide information and, just as importantly, how to explain difficult and complex realities openly, so avoiding accusations of secrecy or wrong-doing without damaging their own interests.

I believe that with AFRINIC now widely being accepted as the authority for the Internet for Africa, it should provide a clear voice to the region from that technical perspective – there is certainly no shortage of topics that could do with it: IDNs, URIs, domain names, IPv6, and of course the next-generation networks that will again turn everything on its head.

I have been following AFRINIC and the Internet in general very closely for quite a number of years, and my expertise serving as Consultant/Trainer/Academic and Technical and Management/Board background am sure that these would be ideal in a Board member. These may be strengths but also weaknesses as well but am sure when it comes to relaying information to as many people as possible these can be a very interesting plus. Having followed AFRINIC’s discussions of the community and objective and vision, I believe I have a valuable understanding of not only how AFRINIC works but also how it fits into the bigger picture.

I would like to play a part in steering the future course of AFRINIC, and I would do so not in order to push any group or party’s aims or ambitions but solely as an Internet user in support of the medium itself.

Nominee (Full Name): Pierre KASENGEDIA Motumbe Organization (or Affiliation): ISPA-DRC Position: Chairman (President) Country of Residence: Congo Nominated for: Central Africa

Brief statement explaining the candidate’s background and motivation

PHD in computer sciences from the Polytechnic University of Bucharest (Romania). Now, I am working as Academic General Secretary (Top 2 authority) of the ISTA (Institut Superieur des Techniques Appliquees, the biggest Central Africa engineering school: 11.000 students, 400 teachers). I am working on the design, the technical feasibility study of the D.R.Congo NREN (National Research Education Network).

From 2001 to 2005, I had also been Central Africa Board of Trustee     Member of Afrinic. , I had been implied in Europe, Africa, D.R.Congo in some important project in Data/Internet technologies fields. Since 2000, I had worked in DRC in design, implementation, management in ISP technologies and now I am the ISPADRC (ISPs Association DRCongo) President. I also work as Professor in computer engineering at the Faculties of  Sciences and Polytechnic of the University of Kinshasa and the Institut Superieur de Statistiques. I also have the following international IT certifications: CCNA (Certified Cisco Network Associate); CCNP (Certified Cisco Network Professional) CEH  (Certified Ethical Hacker, IT security from EC-Council), ITIL v3 (APM Group).