[Excom] Fwd: Ahead of ICANN84 : MoU Smart Africa - AFTLD

[Barrack Otieno]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Ahead of ICANN84 : MoU Smart Africa - AFTLD
Date: 2025-08-10 15:18
 From: Rodrigue Guiguemde <rodrigue.guiguemde at smartafrica.org>
To: Eyitayo Iyortim <president at aftld.org>, idrissa sarr 
<idrissa.sarr at ucad.edu.sn>, Barrack Otieno <barrack at aftld.org>, 
"tayo.iyortim at gmail.com" <tayo.iyortim at gmail.com>
Cc: Thelma Efua Quaye <thelma.quaye at smartafrica.org>, Sandrine Karekezi 
<sandrine.k at smartafrica.org>, Djibril Dème 
<deme.djibril at smartafrica.org>

  Dear Chair,
  Once again, thank you for your availability and openness to building a
constructive collaboration between our two organisations.
  Following our recent discussions and the initial exchanges we had with
you in Seattle, it seems timely to work together on defining a
partnership framework and roadmap around our common interests, while
addressing the current challenges related to the management of ccTLDs
and other critical Internet infrastructure on the continent.
  With a view to advancing this work, and in the hope of signing an MoU
on the sidelines of the ccTLD session we are organising in Dublin, we
could already identify the priority areas on which to focus our
collaboration.
  From my initial reflections, I am thinking of:

  	*
Capacity building and professionalisation: Develop training programmes
on ccTLD management, organise technical workshops, and establish
structured mentorship between registries.
	*
Policy harmonisation and convergence: Develop a continental guide of
best practices, integrate AFTLD into CAIGA as a ccTLD expert, and align
registries with ICP-1/ICP-2 standards.
	*
Advocacy and continental representation: Conduct joint advocacy with key
stakeholders, coordinate participation in major forums, and secure
funding for the active participation of African ccTLDs.
	*
Innovation and value-added services: Launch pilot projects for
e-government and local digital services, foster public–private
partnerships, and modernise registries through secure cloud solutions
and automation.
	*
Strengthening African multistakeholderism: Promote the coordinated
involvement of governments, regulators, the technical community, and the
private sector in ccTLD management.

  I suggest we discuss this during a call, which we could schedule for
this week or next. What would your availability be?
  Kind regards,
Rodrigue

-- 
Barrack Otieno

General Manager

Africa Top Level Domains Organization

+254721325277

www.aftld.org

'The Regional Association of African ccTLDs