Presentation on the "New Internet Currency" at AITEC Africa,Lagos Nigeria on 20,October,2010
Read Story Here http://www.dotconnectafrica.org/2010/05/dotafrica-in-lagos-the-city-that-never-sleeps/
Presentation on "The New Internet Currency" by Sophia Bekele
1. .Africa The New Internet Currency
BY SOPHIA BEKELE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
FORMER POLICY ADVISOR, ICANN
DOTCONNECTAFRICA
AITEC Africa: Lagos Nigeria
2. 1. Principles of Intenet currency
2. Entrepreneurship
3. The need for Africa Specific Regional Domain
4. Who is DotConnectAfrica?
5. How do u get involved, aside from being a
consumer? - Sponsoring Member
6. Governance Representation & Community
7. Interested sponsors
8. Who is ICANN?
9. Status of “.Africa”
10.Next Step for you!
• Africa
4. Principles of Integration
- Common Market
- Intra-trade
- Local capacity Building (Individual/institutional)
- Stable Business Environment
- Sharing best practices
- Identify common threats
• Africa
5. A Common Vision
Vision without action is a daydream.
Action without vision is a nightmare.
Japanese Proverb
• Africa
6. What drives regional integration
• will always be governments setting the
policy frameworks for an open market;
• allow for regional and global cooperation
in order to create opportunities for
private sector organizations could
flourish
• Africa
7. Key to speedy success
• Common Vision
• Entrepreneurship
• Breeding of Black Swans
• Continental Integration of our
economies
• Africa
8. Entrepreneurship
=
Opportunity
=
Accelerated
Development
CBS International
9. The Black Swan
The Platonic fold - the explosive boundary where
the Platonic mindset enters in contact with
messy reality, where the gap between what you
know and what you think you know becomes
dangerously wide. • Africa
11. Need for Africa-specific regional domain
• Currently, Internet users in the Pan-Africa and
African region only have the option of utilizing a
generic TLD (gTLD) whose registrants are dominated
by US and European individuals and businesses, or
country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) that are intended for
local use
• Current gTLDs also tend to focus on a vertical group
(e.g. commercial entities, network providers,
organizations , etc.) within the global Internet,
“.Africa” will embrace a horizontal perspective with
a clear brand to reach and enrich the broad global
community.
• Africa
12. Need for Africa-specific regional domain
• Unlike ccTLDs, which provide for a local audience,
“.Africa” will allow the user to express membership in
the larger Pan African and African community.
• “.Africa” domain will also allow Africa to take its
rightful place alongside .EU, .ASIA and .LAC
• Also it complies with WSIS objectives on empowering
undeveloped countries using ICT, and fits as an ICT4D
project.
• “.Africa” complies with AU, ECA and ADB policy of
development for the continent. • Africa
13. Need for Africa-specific regional domain
• Generate demand-driven research relevant
to practical policy issues
• Facilitate cross-border knowledge sharing
and research partnerships with key
knowledge end-users.
• Enhance regional identity and global
presence
• Africa
14. The DotConnecAfrica Organization
• DotConnectAfrica Organization is to be the
Sponsoring Organization and Registry Operator for
the .Africa sponsored Top Level Domain.
• The .Africa domain is to develop into a global force in
the international commercial, political and cultural
network.
• The .Africa domain aspires to embrace this
dynamism in the African Century to become a
nucleus, intersection and breeding ground for
Internet activity and development in the region
• Africa
15. The Mission
• To sponsor, establish and operate a continental
Internet namespace with global recognition and
regional significance, dedicated to the needs of
the Pan-African and African Internet community.
• To operate a viable and technically advanced TLD
registry for the Pan-Africa and African community.
• To reinvest partial surpluses in socio-technological
advancement initiatives relevant to the Pan-Africa
and African Internet community; and
• Africa
16. Organizational Structure
Is to be made up of different sponsor organizations:
• Sponsor Members
• Co-sponsor Members
• Businesses
• Non-profit - NGOs
• Other relevant community
organizations in the region
• Africa
17. Organizational Structure, cont’d.
Members will make up of Board of Directors
• The BOD will be advised on policy matters by an
Advisory Council
• AC will be populated by one representative from
each co-Sponsor organization.
• A proceeds Steering Committee (PROSCOM) will
be created and appointed by the Board to
oversee the allocation of surplus proceeds from
registry operations.
• Africa
18. Governance Structure
Key Pan Board of Directors
African CO-Sponsor
Sponsor Org members
• AU Chairman’s
• UNECA • Businesses
Advisory y
• ADB • Internet orgs
Council
• IT org,
• Teleco
• NGO,
CEO • Non-profit,
• Other relevant
Functional VPs Africa-based
Customer
orgs
Marketing & Admin
Bus Dev Support Staff • Governments
• Africa
19. Governance & Representation of Community
• The governance of the .Africa Organization is to be driven thru
a multistakeholder representation and augmented by regional
and international expertise.
• Having direct and close involvement of many Governments,
Businesses , NGO’s ensures a wealth of knowledge and expertise
in the operational and policy management of a TLD registry in
the Pan-Africa and Africa region.
• Governance model is to be adapted from the Africa’s
development policy model augmented with other geo –TLD
names. The .Africa Organization intends to operate openly &
transparently.
• Public Policy consideration will include direct input from policy
makers , therefore consulting with the AU/ECA/ADB on policy
matters. • Africa
20. Interested Sponsor Members & Co-Sponsors
• African Union (AU)
• Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
• African Development Bank (ADB)
• Other Pan-African Organizations
• African Private Sector Actors
• African Non-Profits
• African Internet Actors
• National ICT Policy organs
• Africa
21. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers
(ICANN)
A nonprofit organization that manages and
coordinates the Domain Name System.
ICANN focuses on preserving
the stability of the Internet;
promoting competition;
achieving broad representation of global
Internet communities;
developing policy through bottom-up,
consensus-based processes.
• Africa
22. Status
• Endorsed by Regional Key African organs,
and governments
• The African Union, ECA, ADB and 20% of
African Govt as of endorsement date
• The required demonstrable will of
policymakers were there!.
• Awaiting for ICANN to issue the application
of TLDs, mid June (Expression of Interest)
• Africa
23. NEXT STEPS for you!
• African Banking sector is key to .Africa
partnership
• Reserve your names for registration!
• Become Sponsor and sponsor members
• Follow-us on Twitter, Facebook & our blog
• Google us @ “dotConnectafrica”
• Africa
24. Your African Mobile Identity
Contact us at:
Support@dotconnectafrica.org
Thank you for your attention