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Community consultation on increasing diversity in APNIC community leadership

The APNIC Executive Council (EC) recognizes the importance of diversity in APNIC community leadership.

The EC has directed the APNIC Secretariat to consult the community on diversity in the EC and across community leadership, specifically, the barriers and friction points that affect whether people put themselves forward as EC candidates or participate in leadership roles.

These insights will inform future initiatives to support a broader leadership pipeline. There is a heightened focus on this, given that APNIC’s By-laws have been updated and term limits have now been introduced for EC members, and succession planning is required.

EC candidates are elected and typically build on prior engagement, such as participation in APNIC meetings, Special Interest Groups (SIGs), committees, and other community activities. Currently, APNIC supports inclusion through fellowships, mentoring, and training. These programs provide a foundation for broader community engagement.

The ‘Elected Leader Series‘ on the APNIC Blog highlights the diverse journeys and pathways of current and past EC members and elected community leaders.

The consultation aims to identify where further improvements are needed, understand the extent of community concerns across the membership and refine the problem statement for EC consideration.

Consultation Methodology

To ensure accessible participation, the consultation will take place in two stages:

Stage 1 – Online engagement

This stage is designed to gather a wide range of perspectives in an open and neutral setting. A summary of the input will be published on the APNIC Blog following this stage.

Stage 2 – APNIC 62 session

  • A dedicated consultation session at APNIC 62 (in-person and remote participation available)

This session will further refine the themes and findings from the online sessions and incorporate additional perspectives.

Findings from both stages will be consolidated into a synthesis report and published publicly. Findings will be reported in aggregate or de-identified form, and individual participants will not be identified in published reports. This is intended to support open and candid participation.

The EC will review the findings and consider appropriate next steps, with the consultation report shared with the community following the December EC meeting.

Key Dates

June – September 2026

9 September 2026

  • Dedicated consultation session at APNIC 62

December 2026

  • Final report published

The Secretariat invites the community to:

  • Share needs, concerns, questions, and perspectives during the consultations.

Consultation Stage 1

The Secretariat will host three online listening sessions from June to August 2026.

Please register to participate and share your feedback during these sessions.

An in-person consultation will be held during APNIC 62 in Mumbai. Community members who are unable to attend in person will also be able to participate in the discussion live online.

The Secretariat encourages community members to share written submissions through the Orbit mailing list.

Written submissions close on 30 September 2026.

Subscribe to follow the discussion and take part in the conversation.

The Secretariat will share reports and findings from both stage 1 and stage 2 of the consultation here.

Subscribe to the Orbit mailing list to receive the latest updates.

  1. Is the context for APNIC community or the wider Internet community?

    2. The scope of discussion will focus on the APNIC community but welcomes lessons learned and insights from the wider internet community, particularly from peer communities or I* organisations.

  2. What aspects of diversity will be discussed?

    3. Diversity includes representation across dimensions relevant to community leadership — including, but not limited to, gender, geography, professional background or skills, and experience.

    All perspectives on diversity are welcome. The Secretariat will review the feedback, identify the key issues, and include them in a report to the EC.

  3. Do I need to attend every listening session?

    4. Participation in at least one listening session is encouraged. Those attending APNIC 62 in Mumbai are also encouraged to join the in-person session. Remote participation is available for the APNIC 62 session.

  4. What happens to all the feedback and input provided?

    5. All input will contribute to a synthesis report that will be shared publicly and with the EC. Please see Findings tab to view the latest summaries and reports.

  5. Can I participate anonymously?

    6. Contributions are not anonymous but will be handled with care. The summary report (following stage 1) will use de-identified quotes and contextual demographic information but will not identify individuals. The final synthesis report at the end of the consultation (following stage 2) will also follow the same approach.