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The AFNIC at the WSIS

Home > Observatory and resources > News > The AFNIC at the WSIS
11/16/2005

Press release
Saint Quentin en Yvelines, November 16 2005

The AFNIC participates in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) taking place in Tunis from 16 to 18 November 2005.

As during the first phase that took place in Geneva in 2003, the AFNIC is part of the French government’s delegation. In that capacity, the organization occupies a space on the pavilion of France. It presents there its actions and fulfilments in favour of co-development and reducing the digital divide, the main issues of the Summit.

The AFNIC thus demonstrates its Codev-NIC project. This program intends to make it possible for developing countries to adopt an operational information system intended to manage their domain name register. The project combines putting at disposal of the concerned centres free software and training to help engineers in setting up and using such technologies. Codev-NIC is currently developed and deployed in cooperation between homologous Network Information Centres from Ivory Coast (INPHB) and Madagascar (Network Information Center Madagascar).

The AFNIC also presents other achievements of its International College, i.e. training of training officers in information technologies (FFTI) and development of an information base to manage domain name registration
(generic NIC).
That AFNIC’ International College is part of multilateral cooperation policy with developing countries. It currently gathers 29 international organizations: 16 foreign countries are represented, among which 14 NICs (Network Information Centres), operating their country code Top Level Domain.

During the Summit, the AFNIC also links up with the project “Partners to connect the world” of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
It also organizes a round table on the topic “Technical governance of the Internet: co-development actions” and intervenes in many other conferences.

About the AFNIC

(Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération )

Non-profit organization, the AFNIC is in charge of the administrative and technical management of the .fr (France) and .re (Reunion Island) Internet domain names.
The AFNIC brings together public and private members: representatives
from the French government, Internet users and Internet Service
Providers.
Further information

About the WSIS
(World Summit on the Information Society)

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is held in two phases. The first phase took place in Geneva in December 2003 and ensured to look at a whole range of topics concerning the information society and resulted in a declaration of principles and plan of action.
The second phase takes place in Tunis. It is devoted to development topics. It aims to take stock of the advances in the field and it will adopt any other action plan considered necessary.
The Summit brings together governments, representatives of the private sector, of society and international organizations. The first phase gathered more than 11.000 participants from 175 countries. More than 15.000 participants are expected in Tunis.
Official site

About Afnic

Afnic is the acronym for Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération, the French Network Information Centre. The registry has been appointed by the French government to manage domain names under the .fr Top Level Domain. Afnic also manages the .re (Reunion Island), .pm (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon), .tf (French Southern and Antarctic Territories), .wf (Wallis and Futuna) and .yt (Mayotte) French Overseas TLDs.

In addition to managing French TLDs, Afnic’s role is part of a wider public interest mission, which is to contribute on a daily basis, thanks to the efforts of its teams and its members, to a secure and stable internet, open to innovation and in which the French internet community plays a leading role. As part of that mission, Afnic, a non-profit organization, has committed to devoting 11% of its Revenues from managing .fr Top Level Domain to actions of general interest, in particular by transferring €1.3 million each year to the Afnic Foundation for Digital Solidarity.
Afnic is also the back-end registry for the companies as well as local and regional authorities that have chosen to have their own TLD, such as .paris, .bzh, .alsace, .corsica, .mma, .ovh, .leclerc and .sncf.

Established in 1997 and based in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Afnic currently has nearly 90 employees.