Speaker
Description
The presentation will give an overview of the regional connectivity projects that are happening around the world, AfricaConnect2 being the most relevant of these within the context of the 2018 UbuntuNetConnect conference in Zanzibar. The project spans across the entire African continent, where GÉANT is working with West and Central and North African partners WACREN and ASREN and with the help of EC funding to build connections to the pan-European network and strengthen links between Africa and Europe. The UbuntuNet Alliance takes lead in the project focusing on East and Southern Africa. AfricaConnect2 provides African research and education communities with unrivalled opportunities for global collaborations. Besides facilitating international connectivity the project also supports NREN development as well as sustainable regional networks.
A quick glance at the R&E map is enough to see that GÉANT is truly at the heart of global Research and Education networking. Reaching more than 110 countries worldwide, it is clear that GÉANT is at the intersection of global connectivity. And indeed it collaborates with partners from all over the world to ensure high performance connectivity is benefitting research while also making a range of services available to various user groups enhancing their ability to work together.
All this is made possible by building on the extensive experience of running the pan-European GÉANT network for scientific excellence, research, education and innovation. Utilising years of community and staff expertise, GÉANT has been able to share its model and good practices around the world and help build successful R&E networks.
GÉANT has contributed and continues to contribute to a number of other projects across the globe. Whether in South-East Asia or in Latin America, in Eastern Europe or in the Eastern Mediterranean, the goal has always been the same: to enable research and collaboration, growth and development for the benefit of the global research and education community. The presentation will include an overview of these projects to raise awareness and bring further ideas for development and collaboration amongst NRENs and researchers.
But there is more to global collaboration than just connectivity. The presentation will also cover the tools that help these collaborations prosper. One of the most widespread of these is eduroam. Under the motto: “you’re your laptop and be online!” - eduroam enables students and researchers to enjoy the most secure encryption and authentication standards in existence today as well as roaming access in more than 80 territories. The eduroam community is a truly worldwide success with over 2 billion international authentications to date and counting.
The R&E user community furthermore benefits from the secure Single Sign On services that are provided by eduGAIN. With about 2,390 identity providers accessing services from about 1,520 service providers, eduGAIN has fast become the primary interfederation mechanism for research and education collaborations around the world. This service simplifies access to content and resources and the trustworthy exchange of information related to identity, authentication and authorisation (AAI). The African research and education community is yet to fully benefit from the service, and we need to have them on board! The presentation aims to raise further awareness of the benefits of joining the eduGAIN family and spark interest amongst African colleagues about services that their respective NRENs can provide and facilitate.
Finally, the presentation will invite to the active participation in the global R&E networking community through collaboration in the GÉANT Community Programme and its Task Forces and SIGs.
| Sub-Theme | SMART Governance: Services and tools |
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