Universite de Lille, France
I hold a completed Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Kigali Independent University and I am currently pursuing a second degree in International Economics and Management at the University of Lille. My academic and professional interests focus on international economic policy, digital governance, and development. I was selected as an IGF Youth Ambassador in 2022 and a NextGen participant at ICANN 80. I also serve as a facilitator with Pan African Youth Ambassadors in Internet Governance, contributing to capacity building and multilingual digital inclusion initiatives.
EUROPEAN SUMMER SCHOOL OF INTERNET GOVERNANCE 2026 – REPORT
My name is madiha mahamat and I am a student at the university of Lille, France. Being involved in the internet governance field since 2022 through ISOC, ICANN and ITU, I have built a network of colleagues, peers and mentors who advised me to get more involved locally for a more meaningful participation.
It is through this same network that I have heard about EUROSSIG and have applied for the fellowship the same year. I am honored and proud to have been selected as one of the few for an intense week of learning, growing and engaging with like minded people. Being of chadian nationality, i assumed that i would not get this chance but I am happy to have been wrong!
My academic background being in economics and digital marketing, i have to admit that i always felt the need to at least double my efforts in understanding some technical topics especially when it comes to what applies to ICANN, IETF as well as to the IGF.
But with the right teachers and peers simplifying complex topics to you, it all comes very naturally and this is exactly the environment that the summer school provided for all of us.
One of the topics that were hard for me to grasp was that of the root servers and their “ownership” and the question of why are there only 13 of them? And why does the US geographically own the majority? I hesitated to ask the question during our second day but as Keith Drazek from verisign was presenting i couldn’t help but do it and im glad i did. Because that same question opened a whole debate and we kept talking about it with other presenters and fellows during our break times and beyond.
I have also learned a lot from the fellows and was challenged by many of them to learn more and consider other points of views as we had different opinions on some topics.
I am very grateful for the summer school for bringing many people from different stakeholder groups including people I already knew like Siranush from ICANN who is one of the key contributors to my involvement and growth within the IG field and to whom I owe so much respect and appreciation.
I’m grateful for the whole EUROSSIG team (Sandra, Carsten, Prof Wolfgang …), the presenters, the fellows, the sponsors and to everyone who contributed to our safe and immersive stay.
A special thanks to the kitchen staff as well, I reattempted many of the german recipes as they were healthy and very much to my liking!