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Riyadh - KSA, 6 May 2015. Today the RIPE NCC officially announced its partnership with the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to deliver the “Train the Trainer” initiative.
The announcement was made at a RIPE NCC-organised lunch with Saudi network operators hosted by CITC, during the 3rd Saudi IPv6 National Forum and IPv6 Roadshow, which are taking place in Riyadh from 3-7 May 2015.
The initiative was developed by the RIPE NCC to establish a core of highly-skilled Middle Eastern trainers capable of delivering workshops to support IPv6 deployment in the region and teach other technical skills.
IPv6 is the next generation Internet numbering protocol. Since the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses in many parts of the world, including the Middle East, networks that don't adopt IPv6 will encounter increased pressure as they grow in size. The government of Saudi Arabia, represented by the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), has been proactive in recognising the need for IPv6 to safeguard its digital future.
This recognition, along with the hard work of network operators, appears to be paying off. Today around 21% of Saudi Arabian networks are announcing IPv6 prefixes into the global Internet, compared to around 10.1% in the wider Middle East region and 22.1% globally.
As a neutral, non-profit membership association, the RIPE NCC provides a range of tools and services to support its members and the Internet technical community more generally. As Saudi Arabia continues to work towards full IPv6 adoption, the TTT initiative will support the Arab region with technical expertise on a range of Internet-related matters.
His Excellency Dr. Ibraheem Al-Furaih, CITC Deputy Governor for Information Technology emphasised the strategic importance of IPv6 deployment given the growing rate of Internet services users in the Kingdom. He added: “Holding workshops and training national talents to enable them to manage the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 is a crucial strategic requirement in order to ensure the continuity of the growth of the Internet and its services”.
Paul Rendek, Director of External Relations at the RIPE NCC, is enthusiastic about empowering the local community: “Through the Train the Trainer initiative, partnering with the CITC can translate into positive gains by attracting local Saudi candidates and giving them the opportunity to become professional trainers, providing local and regional trainings for organisations and supporting their development and growth”.
-ENDS
Press contact for Arabic media:
Chafic Chaya, Regional Communications Manager, RIPE NCC Dubai office
Email: [email protected]
Phone: + 971 55 27 07 007
Press contact for English media:
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Phone: +44 (0) 207 229 4400
Founded in 1992, the RIPE NCC is the oldest and largest of the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs).
• As a not-for-profit membership organisation, it administers Internet number resources for more than 10,000 members in Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia.
• As an RIR, the RIPE NCC is governed by policies developed by the RIPE community via open, transparent and bottom-up processes.
• As secretariat for the RIPE community, the RIPE NCC provides neutral platforms for community interaction to develop Internet number policy and share experience and ideas.
The RIPE NCC also participates in Internet governance discussions, ensuring that the perspective and experience of the RIPE community is included in those discussions.
And the RIPE NCC maintains several technical elements vital to the Internet infrastructure on behalf of the wider Internet community, including the RIPE Database and K-root, one of 13 root name servers. With the support of thousands of community members around the world, the RIPE NCC is also constructing RIPE Atlas, the largest Internet measurement network ever made.