Community consultation on increasing diversity in APNIC community leadership: Stage 1 report released

The APNIC Executive Council (EC) is pleased to share the Stage 1 report from the community consultation on increasing diversity in APNIC community leadership.

In June 2026, I shared a post highlighting the start of the community consultations to gather insights to inform potential future initiatives to support a broader leadership pipeline in the APNIC community. Stage 1 was conducted online from June to August 2026. The Secretariat held three open listening sessions, supported by a survey and the community mailing list. Forty-nine people from 21 economies participated, including APNIC Members, National Internet Registries (NIRs), Network Operator Groups (NOGs), and other community members.

The consultation considered diversity broadly, including gender, geography, professional background, expertise and lived experience.

Key themes emerging from Stage 1

Three broad themes emerged:

Leadership pathways: Participants asked for clearer information about leadership roles, responsibilities, election processes, expected skills, and opportunities to become involved in community leadership.

Election barriers: Participants discussed incumbent advantage, voting dynamics, and the challenges faced by candidates from less-represented economies.

Time and support: Community leadership requires a significant commitment. Participants noted that involvement can depend on professional, personal, and employer support.

In relation to the above, participants suggested future initiatives to include clearer candidate information, stronger mentoring and leadership development, and learning from governance approaches used by organizations such as ICANN, auDA, and NZNOG.

Share your views at APNIC 62

The Stage 2 consultation will take place at APNIC 62 in Mumbai during a dedicated session on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, from 18:00 to 19:00 (UTC +5:30). If you are attending APNIC 62, I strongly encourage you to participate and share your views and experiences. Remote participation will be available for those joining from elsewhere.

Thank you

On behalf of the EC, I thank everyone who contributed to the listening sessions and survey. After Mumbai, the Secretariat will bring the findings from both stages into a final report. The EC will then review the results and consider next steps. The final report will be shared with the community after the EC's end-of-year meeting.

I encourage you to read the Stage 1 report and hope to see you at the discussion at APNIC 62.

The views expressed by the authors of this blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of APNIC. Please note a Code of Conduct applies to this blog.