This was the first time for NetMission Ambassadors to organize and be part of a Internet Governance Youth Boost Camp in 078 Kobe Festival.
This trip to Kobe was an engaging blend of fun and work. We held a model ICANN meeting to discuss many Internet issues, met with local and international students and played games together, and had fun with locals during the last two days of 078 Kobe Fest.
Since the 2019 ICANN meeting is to be held in Kobe, we hosted this boost camp to engage more young people on Internet governance issues and encourage them to propose their ideas in the coming ICANN meeting. The participants were active in expressing their opinions and views on different topics. Most of the participants are international students from South Asia, Europe, and Africa. Their diverse backgrounds and experiences deepened the discussions and their unique viewpoints represented their roles as stakeholders well.
On the second day, we started the discussion with “Internet of Names: Our Digital Future”. Edmond, Tommy-san and Maemura-san’s experienced and professional sharing gave us fruitful insights and initiated board discussions into various internet issues. Participants were encouraged to voice out their opinions based on the topics. We also discussed some of the hotly debated issues on controversial domain names, such as .sex, .wtf, etc. All of us had plenty of fun at the camp. We look forward to seeing familiar faces at 078Kobe X NetMission in ICANN, Kobe 2019!
This.Is.Asia Newsletter Issues

AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Tommy Ho
Asian American heritage is about inclusion. It’s a description that cuts a wide cloth across a vast array of cultures and peoples, and it’s important to celebrate the similarities and differences. I see that diversity represented within GoDaddy’s Employee Resource Group (ERG), and GoDaddy Asians are growing. Especially during these unpredictable times, our sense of belonging that we feel through our groups help to boost mental and physical health.

AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Jacqueline Daly
To me, AAPI Heritage Month is a great time to reflect and celebrate my Asian heritage and all the family traditions that have made my life so culturally rich. I am very proud to be an Asian American. I think this is a great opportunity for communities to come together and learn about our diverse stories through a more inclusive lens.

AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Mou Mukherjee
In some ways, I abandoned my culture when I was young because I was trying so hard to fit in. My parents were, and still is very cultural. Growing up, there was always Indian music playing, our house was full of Bengali literature, my Dad’s hero was poet Rabindranath Tagore, and he also loved the films of Satyajit Ray. I was surrounded by culture and yet I couldn’t fully embrace it at the time.

AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Zhou Fang
I am an immigrant from Guilin, China. In 2010, I moved to the U.S. for grad school. After graduating from Kansas State University (Go Cats!) I moved to Oregon and have been living in Portland for the last 9 years.