<div style="font-style:normal;font-size:16px;background-color:transparent;font-family:tahoma,'new york',times,serif"><span><span style="font-size:16px"></span></span></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:16px;background-color:transparent;font-family:tahoma,'new york',times,serif">
<span><span style="font-size:16px"><h3 style="padding:0px;margin:0px;border:0px;font-size:1.692em;line-height:1.3em;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><a href="http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121024_icann_africa_strategy_is_not_the_same_as_the_african_agenda/" style="outline:none;color:rgb(128,0,0)" target="_blank">The "ICANN Africa Strategy" Is Not the Same as the 'African Agenda'</a></h3>
</span></span></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:16px;background-color:transparent;font-family:tahoma,'new york',times,serif"><span><span style="font-size:16px"><br></span></span></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:16px;background-color:transparent;font-family:tahoma,'new york',times,serif">
<span><span style="font-size:16px"><a href="http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121024_icann_africa_strategy_is_not_the_same_as_the_african_agenda/" target="_blank">http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121024_icann_africa_strategy_is_not_the_same_as_the_african_agenda/</a><br>
</span></span><p>The ICANN-45 International meeting of the ICANN Global Community in
Toronto, Canada provided an opportunity for the unveiling of the initial
draft of the ICANN Africa Strategy, an episode that will always be
remembered as a landmark moment which signaled the official commencement
of ICANN's new approach to Africa. Indeed, a new chapter has started
regarding how ICANN will relate henceforth to Africa.
</p>
<p>
The ICANN Africa Strategy will increase Africa's visibility in ICANN,
and in turn, also project ICANN's visibility in Africa. Its
implementation should lead to the mainstreaming of the principal issues
of concern to Africa in ICANN's discourse.
</p>
<p>
<strong>It is therefore important that the ICANN Africa Strategy is not
misrepresented in terms of its overall goals, and the type of strategic
impact it is supposed to engender in the short to medium term</strong>.
</p>
<p>
However, just a few days after ICANN's meeting in Toronto, the Africa
Strategy is now being spun by some pundits and self-styled Africa
watchers into what it is not, thereby creating some general
misconceptions. I believe that such mischaracterizations of the ICANN
Africa Strategy could create widespread confusion and actually
precipitate its failure. Such a ridiculous fiasco resulting as an
unintended consequence must be avoided at all cost. <strong>It is therefore necessary at this early stage to set the records straight about what the ICANN Africa Strategy is not.</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>1. The "ICANN Africa Strategy" is different from the "African Agenda"</strong>
</p>
<p>
The Africa Agenda <strong>is a failed tactic that was employed by a group of so-called 'African Internet Experts'</strong>
to impose their agenda on ICANN using the political and diplomatic
machinery of the African Union Commission, whilst exploiting the
auspices of the African Ministerial Round-Table that met in Dakar,
Senegal in October 2011 during ICANN-42. <strong>It was essentially the
work of chicanery that failed. Twelve (12-points) were outlined as an
'African Agenda' that had presumably received the blessings of an
African Ministerial Round-Table and submitted to ICANN leaders in Dakar;
with the hope that ICANN would approve the imperious demands that were
contained in the 'African Agenda' as a fait accompli.</strong> One of
the most impossible demands contained in the African Agenda was for
ICANN to give special treatment to the African Union, and reserve the
.Africa (DotAfrica) name and its representations in any other language
in the List of Top-Level Domain names; with the added proviso that the
African Union would then delegate the .Africa gTLD to a structure that
it hoped to identify and select. It was a very ridiculous demand,
against the backdrop that the Top-Level Names in the Reserved List (for
example, AfriNIC, www, http, etc.) were already specified in the
approved version of the new gTLD Applicant's Guidebook, and any
extra-ordinary proposition to include .Africa in the List, would have
required an amendment to the new gTLD Applicant's Guidebook.
</p>
<p>
<strong>The inchoate plan was therefore defeated in Dakar, and with it, the African Agenda.</strong>
In ICANN's official response to the AUC and the African Ministerial
Round-Table that came in March 2012, it was recommended to the AUC to
use both GAC Early Warning Advice and Community Objection to influence
the outcome of the .Africa new gTLD application process.
</p>
<p>
ICANN's response therefore made it clear that the only route to the
delegation of .Africa gTLD was through the new gTLD program and not <strong>through the imperious imposition of an African Agenda.</strong>
It must be emphasized that the Africa Agenda was not consensus-driven,
lacked multi-stakeholder input and was never approved by ICANN. <strong>The Africa Agenda actually failed at Dakar.</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>2. The "ICANN African Strategy" is not related to the new gTLD Program</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>The ICANN African Strategy has nothing to do with the .Africa new gTLD.</strong>
The objectives of the ICANN new gTLD program are quite clear as a
global, fairly structured, rule-based, policy-driven, transparent and
competitive process under which new gTLDs will emerge, with a view to
expanding the Internet. <strong>The Africa Strategy on the other hand is
simply a strategic planning process with multi-stakeholder inputs that
is expected to guide ICANN's engagement with Africa during the
implementation period of the ICANN Strategic Plan from July 2013 to June
2016.</strong> Therefore, any viewpoint that contrives to indicate that
the ICANN African Strategy is somehow connected to .Africa gTLD or to
ICANN's new gTLD program is completely fallacious, and should be
debunked as incorrect and misleading.
</p>
<p>
As a matter of fact, during the comments collection process, the draft
Assessment report assembled by the ASWG had contained a reference to
.Africa new gTLD, based on some submission that was made by a
respondent, but this was seen as irrelevant, out-of-context and removed.
</p>
<p>
<strong>3. An AUC-endorsed DotAfrica Application has nothing to with the Africa Strategy</strong>
</p>
<p>
A <a href="http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121023_africa_at_icann_continent_on_the_move/">recent blog posting</a>
written by Andrew Mack, a self-styled Africa watcher, had tried to
suggest that the DotAfrica application somehow has something to do with
the ICANN Africa Strategy. In his article he stated inter alia: <em>"You
could also see it in the tremendous enthusiasm for the AUC-endorsed
dotAfrica (.africa) application, which has become a real a (sic) focal
point of an emerging "African Agenda"</em>. Again, this is a very wrong assertion which is very misleading. <strong>Andrew
Mack's confusion is rather palpable, by mixing-up the new ICANN Africa
Strategy with the previously failed African Agenda.</strong>
</p>
<p>
The point has already been made that the "African Agenda" aimed to take
the DotAfrica new gTLD outside the oversight of ICANN's new gTLD program
under an opaque plan that would have enabled the African Union
Commission (with the 'guidance' of its Task Force on DotAfrica) to
separately delegate the .Africa gTLD to a structure that it had
identified and selected based on a flawed 'special treatment process'.
Andrew Mack's recent posting was therefore <strong>in grave error by
assuming that the AUC-endorsed dotAfrica (.africa) application has
become the focal point of an emerging "Africa Agenda".</strong> The
African Agenda was generally seen as an illegitimate, stage-managed
scheme which never received any approval from ICANN. The AUC had wanted
to enjoy certain special legislative protections under the African
agenda, but this was denied by ICANN.
</p>
<p>
Finally, <strong>it is important to clarify that the AUC is not part of the ICANN Africa Strategy.</strong>
In truth, the AUC had tried to endorse a DotAfrica (.Africa) Community
TLD application for the African Community, but the appointed applicant —
UniForum did <strong>not submit any application on behalf of the
African Community, and did not even acknowledge any 'African Community'
in its application for .Africa.</strong>
</p>
<p>
Therefore <strong>the notion of an AUC-endorsed DotAfrica application remains nebulous and ill-defined.</strong>
Following the revelation that the .Africa application by UniForum did
not truthfully adhere to the terms of the purported AUC-endorsement that
it had received; to wit, that of applying on behalf of the African
Community, <strong>Mr. Neil Duncan Dundas had made an open admission on the AfrICANN Forum that he expects the AU, the African Internet Communi</strong>ty and ICANN to hold UniForum accountable for its misleading application.
</p>
<p>
Therefore, until full accountability at the time of final reckoning, it
is a rather fantastic notion for Andrew Mack or anybody for that matter
to even remotely suggest that an <strong>AUC-endorsed dotAfrica (.africa) application, is becoming the focal point of an emerging "African Agenda".</strong>
</p>
<p><strong></strong></p></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,'new york',times,serif;font-size:12pt"> </div>Gideon,<br><br>DotConnectAfrica<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Oct 24, 2012 at 12:00 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kictanet-request@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet-request@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>></span> wrote:<br>
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<br>
Today's Topics:<br>
<br>
1. Africa at ICANN - Continent on the Move (Alice Munyua)<br>
2. Toronto: DCA's Contribution to ICANN Africa Strategy and the<br>
Multi-Stakeholder Model (Gideon)<br>
<br>
<br>
----------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
Message: 1<br>
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2012 21:36:03 +0300<br>
From: Alice Munyua <<a href="mailto:alice@apc.org">alice@apc.org</a>><br>
To: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>><br>
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>><br>
Subject: [kictanet] Africa at ICANN - Continent on the Move<br>
Message-ID: <<a href="mailto:5086E393.6050003@apc.org">5086E393.6050003@apc.org</a>><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"; Format="flowed"<br>
<br>
Africa at ICANN - Continent on the Move<br>
<<a href="http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121023_africa_at_icann_continent_on_the_move/" target="_blank">http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121023_africa_at_icann_continent_on_the_move/</a>><br>
<a href="http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121023_africa_at_icann_continent_on_the_move/" target="_blank">http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121023_africa_at_icann_continent_on_the_move/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<<a href="http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121023_africa_at_icann_continent_on_the_move/#add_comment" target="_blank">http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121023_africa_at_icann_continent_on_the_move/#add_comment</a>><br>
<br>
By *Andrew Mack* <<a href="http://www.circleid.com/members/4199/" target="_blank">http://www.circleid.com/members/4199/</a>><br>
<br>
There was one obvious take-away from this week's ICANN meetings in<br>
Toronto, and for once it was less about policy and more about geography.<br>
Simply put, Africa is really --- finally --- coming together at ICANN,<br>
with a new energy, new unity and lots of new participation from African<br>
participants. And from top to bottom, the ICANN community seems to be<br>
taking notice.<br>
<br>
The evidence was everywhere... You could see it in the large number of<br>
African participants from all over the continent, and in active African<br>
engagement in the GAC. You could see it in the statements from the ICANN<br>
CEO, Board Chair and constituency leaders who came to the release of the<br>
new Africa strategy and praised both the strategy and the strategy<br>
process --- inclusive, fast-moving and importantly, driven by African<br>
stakeholders at ICANN, not imposed from above. You could also see it in<br>
the tremendous enthusiasm for the AUC-endorsed dotAfrica (.africa)<br>
application, which has become a real a focal point of an emerging<br>
"African Agenda".<br>
<br>
Of course, the hard work is yet to be done.<br>
<br>
All sides need to follow through to turn the strategy into real impact,<br>
to make sure that ongoing outreach becomes a reality, not just happy<br>
talk. We need to make sure the .Africa application --- which has support<br>
from more than 40 countries (and counting) isn't slowed down by the new<br>
batching process or any other noise. Nobody in the end was in favor of<br>
digital archery, but the system did have one thing right --- a<br>
preference for geographic, community and IDN names. Prioritizing Latin<br>
American and African applications makes sense given the history of<br>
"outreach", the small number of applications from these regions and the<br>
reality of the internet's growth. We believe a new "draw" system without<br>
a focus on underserved regions would send the wrong signal to the<br>
international internet community. It wouldn't do justice to the good<br>
work already initiated with support from the CEO, and in the end, it<br>
would be bad for ICANN.<br>
<br>
As a long time Africa watcher at ICANN, I saw much to celebrate in<br>
Toronto. And I'd like to especially compliment new CEO Fadi Chehad? for<br>
creating the space for (and what seems like genuine interest in) the<br>
needs of the continent that has been underserved for so long. But while<br>
words are important, we're just getting started. Africa is showing that<br>
it is serious about playing a real, sustained role at ICANN. Hopefully,<br>
ICANN is serious as well.<br>
<br>
*By Andrew Mack <<a href="http://www.circleid.com/members/4199/" target="_blank">http://www.circleid.com/members/4199/</a>>, Principal at<br>
AMGlobal Consulting*<br>
<br>
<br>
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Message: 2<br>
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:44:13 +0300<br>
From: Gideon <<a href="mailto:gideonrop@gmail.com">gideonrop@gmail.com</a>><br>
To: <a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a><br>
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>><br>
Subject: [kictanet] Toronto: DCA's Contribution to ICANN Africa<br>
Strategy and the Multi-Stakeholder Model<br>
Message-ID:<br>
<CAP2ohHE8CCCZg-YH3kAuemzdKJZzaBeJjQTgibLAR_2w79p5=<a href="mailto:Q@mail.gmail.com">Q@mail.gmail.com</a>><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"<br>
<br>
*Toronto: DCA's Contribution to ICANN<br>
Africa<<a href="http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121022_comments_by_dca_trust_on_the_icann_multi_stakeholder_model_africa/" target="_blank">http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121022_comments_by_dca_trust_on_the_icann_multi_stakeholder_model_africa/</a>><br>
Strategy and<br>
the Multi-Stakeholder<br>
Model<<a href="http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121022_comments_by_dca_trust_on_the_icann_multi_stakeholder_model_africa/" target="_blank">http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121022_comments_by_dca_trust_on_the_icann_multi_stakeholder_model_africa/</a>><br>
*<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121022_comments_by_dca_trust_on_the_icann_multi_stakeholder_model_africa/" target="_blank">http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121022_comments_by_dca_trust_on_the_icann_multi_stakeholder_model_africa/</a><br>
<br>
**<br>
<br>
*This is a complete unabridged version of the document by Ms. Sophia<br>
Bekele, Executive Director, DotConnectAfrica, titled: "General Comment on<br>
the ICANN Multi-Stakeholder Model & DCA's Contribution to the ICANN Africa<br>
Strategy". A shorter version was read out at the ICANN's Public Forum<br>
Meeting on Thursday, October 18, 2012 due to constraint of time.*<br>
<br>
* * *My name is Sophia Bekele, I am Executive Director, DotConnectAfrica.<br>
<br>
DCA Trust has been participating in the ICANN Global Community and<br>
attending the ICANN International Meetings regularly and actively within<br>
the past few years. DCA Trust is also a new gTLD applicant, and has<br>
submitted an application for the .Africa generic Top-Level Domain.<br>
<br>
This *ICANN-45 Meeting in Toronto has provided a landmark opportunity for<br>
the presentation of the initial draft of the ICANN Africa Strategy*. We are<br>
thankful for the increased attention that is now being given to Africa, in<br>
order to put it more firmly on the ICANN Global Map.<br>
<br>
ICANN thrives on its multi-stakeholder, transparent and consensus-based<br>
approach to policy development and implementation. *Meanwhile, the same<br>
multi-stakeholder approach is often criticized, but the critics of this<br>
model are unable to devise an alternative approach that could effectively<br>
replace the multi-stakeholder model*, and serve the global public interest<br>
on issues of Global Internet Governance. A global Internet requires that<br>
different stake-holders participate in its governance, and that a proper<br>
forum is provided for any interested party to participate ensure that such<br>
voices are heard. At the very minimum, the debate will be enriched based on<br>
democratic principles. *DCA will continue to support the multi-stakeholder<br>
concept, without needing to over-emphasize that in the absence of the<br>
multi-stakeholder model, DCA Trust, as a private, non-profit, non-partisan,<br>
independent organization will not have the opportunity to be heard in<br>
matters of Global Internet Governance and as an active participant in the<br>
global ICANN Community*.<br>
<br>
At the ICANN-44 Prague meeting, DCA Trust had been concerned that a<br>
preliminary meeting was held between some ICANN officials and certain<br>
group(s) of the African constituency at ICANN. DCA Trust was not invited to<br>
that meeting, for which reason we demonstrated our grievance by writing a<br>
letter to ICANN to protest our exclusion. *It later transpired that the<br>
meeting was to lay the initial framework for commencing the ICANN Africa<br>
Strategy, and we interpreted our apparent exclusion from participating in<br>
that meeting as a prelude to our non-involvement in the process of the<br>
ICANN Africa Strategy ? both in formulation and implementation*. We<br>
complained again based on multi-stakeholder principles. We strongly believe<br>
that all those participating as recognized constituents of the African<br>
Community at ICANN should be involved in any ICANN Africa Strategy. Even<br>
whilst maintaining that our initial complaints were valid, we also believe<br>
that all that is now in the past and that DCA Trust was able to make its<br>
point.<br>
<br>
Accordingly, in moving forward towards future and positive cooperative<br>
endeavors, *we are thankful to Mr. Tarek Kamel, the Senior Adviser to the<br>
ICANN President & CEO, who also has the primary responsibility for leading<br>
the formulation and implementation of the ICANN Africa Strategy*. Mr. Kamel<br>
has been gracious enough to meet with DCA Trust here in Toronto and discuss<br>
the framework under which DCA Trust will participate in the ICANN Africa<br>
Strategy. To this end, DCA Trust is pleased to announce that it has<br>
developed a new initiative ? the Internet Business Council for Africa<br>
(IBCA) ? that is aimed at increasing the African private sector<br>
participation at ICANN; to be implemented as a component part of the ICANN<br>
Africa Strategy.<br>
<br>
*The principal objective of this initiative is to help promote and increase<br>
the multi-stakeholder diversity at ICANN in line with the broader strategic<br>
objectives of the ICANN Strategic Plan* covering the three-year period that<br>
spans July 2013 to June 2016. We envision that the inclusion and early<br>
adoption of the proposed IBCA initiative as a key component of the ICANN<br>
Africa Strategy will strengthen ICANN's multi-stakeholder model; as the<br>
organization increases the visibility of its work and overall<br>
outreach/communication activities in Africa, and DCA Trust is proud to<br>
propose this as a strategic input that would enable it achieve further<br>
levels of cooperation with ICANN in the implementation of its Strategic<br>
Plan. The private sector is seen as the key driver of socio-economic<br>
transformation and enabler of economic growth in an emerging Africa,<br>
therefore, any initiative that attempts to increase the participation of<br>
this important business and non-governmental constituency in Global<br>
Internet Governance will no doubt strengthen the multi-stakeholder work of<br>
ICANN. DCA Trust has already submitted a copy of the IBCA proposal to ICANN<br>
through Mr. Tarek Kamel, and will also avail copies to the ICANN leaders.<br>
<br>
In closing, *DCA Trust is thankful for the opportunity afforded by this<br>
ICANN-45 Public Forum in Toronto to share its proposed IBCA initiative*.<br>
<br>
By DotConnectAfrica<br>
<br>
**<br>
* *<br>
* [image: DotConnectAfrica] <<a href="http://www.circleid.com/members/6624/" target="_blank">http://www.circleid.com/members/6624/</a>>*<br>
<br>
DCA is a not-for-profit, non-partisan org incorporated in Mauritius Africa<br>
and will sponsor, establish and operate a TLD registry with global<br>
recognition and regional significance dedicated to the needs of Pan-African<br>
& African constituency. (Learn More <<a href="http://www.circleid.com/members/6624/" target="_blank">http://www.circleid.com/members/6624/</a>>)<br>
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