A core responsibility of the Executive Council (EC), under the APNIC Bylaws, is to ensure that APNIC’s strategies meet the dynamic Internet environment. The APNIC Member and Stakeholder Survey is a key tool in that process, which the EC commissions every 2 years, to help us to understand the needs of the APNIC Community, and to set strategic direction accordingly. The Survey also provides APNIC with valuable information on the performance of the APNIC Secretariat and the objectives it needs to meet over the coming period. In February 2011, APNIC released the results of latest survey, which was conducted by Professor Ang Peng Hwa of the Singapore Internet Research Centre (SIRC). The EC has released its response to the 2011 Member and Stakeholder Survey. This APNIC announcement was sourced from: www.apnic.net/publications/news/2011/survey-ec-response

Nominet has advised that the issue group on ‘Dealing with domain names used in connection with criminal activity’ has been set up.

Cape Town-based full service Web hosting firm WebNow recently moved offices after occupying its previous space for six years. Since starting up in 1999, the firm has grown to 20 people, as its portfolio expanded with the acquisition of several significant projects. These include a cradle-to-grave online shopping site for Toyota South Africa; the full registration management sites for the Cape Argus Cycle Tour, Junior Cycle Tour, Tricycle Tour and Giro del Capo; and a content management-based site for Cape Town’s Canal Walk Shopping Centre.

AuDA (.au Domain Administration) has announced the launch of a phased plan for the deployment of Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) in the .AU domain. The plan, developed in conjunction with the .AU registry operator, AusRegistry, outlines a five-stage process to introduce DNSSEC into .AU and its second-level zones (com.au, net.au etc).

Rod Beckstrom, ICANN’s CEO and president, recently visited China on 2-3 March for talks with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Industry leaders and CNNIC, the China Internet information Network on his way to the ICANN Nairobi meeting that is currently underway. The visit was Beckstrom’s first major bilateral visit since he was appointed president and CEO apart from a brief visit to Europe at the end 2009