Dear Colleagues, AfrISPA (www.afrispa.org) has already helped several African countries to implement Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), a move we believe is crucial to local Internet development. We can offer the following support to those who might want to establish an IXP in their country: A. We can facilitate workshops where participants will learn how to set up an IXP and why it's worth doing so. Courses will be offered for technical staff as well as for business and political decision makers. B. The training materials from both workshops will be made freely available. C. We can help to set up IXPs and provide certain essential equipment. We have almost completed the content for both workshops and plan to hold the first one in April 2005 and intend to run 6-10 workshops until June 2006. AfrISPA will provide and fund trainers and equipment, so long as local contacts can ensure a minimum number of participants and provide a venue. To help us plan where and when to host this series of workshops, we would be grateful if you could complete the following quick survey and send your answers to . It should take no more than ten minutes of your time. 1. Your Name 2. Your email address 3. In which country are you based? 4. Is there already an operational IXP in your country? 5. Do you work for an ISP? Which one? 6. How many ISPs are currently operating in your country? 7. How many of these ISPs do you think might join an IXP? 8. Would you be prepared to attend a two-day technical IXP workshop in your country? 9. Would you be prepared to attend a half-day IXP decision-makers workshop in your country? If your answer to either of the above last two questions is "yes", when is the best time for us to host a workshop in your country? (Please select first and second preference): 1Q-2005 2Q-2005 3Q-2005 4Q-2005 1Q-2006 2Q-2006 10. How many other ISPs in your country do you think would attend such a workshop? 11. How many University professors in your country do you think would attend such a workshop? 12. How many other decision makers (ISP CEOs/CIOs, regulator, communications ministry, telco, etc.) in your country do you think would attend such a workshop? 13. Is there an ISPA (Internet Service Providers Association) in your country? If yes, what is it called? 14. If not, would you like AfrISPA to hold a workshop to communicate the benefits of having an ISPA? 15. Are you prepared to act as local contact for a workshop? 16. Would you or your company be prepared to host or sponsor an IXP workshop? (Sponsorship could include e.g. location, dinner, or loan of PCs and LAN) 17. Are you aware of any potential IXP champions interested to spend 6 months at the KTH - a prominent Swedish university - learning and planning your country IXP, for academic credit? If yes, please provide their email address. 18. Can you suggest who else we should contact? Please send your responses to .