AF Day: Strengthening Africa’s Internet Governance Ecosystem*
ICANN Day at AIS’25 - Highlights from October 2, 2025
Session I: Getting to Know ICANN – The Multistakeholder Model, Policy Development & How You Can Get Involved
The first panel kicked off with a deep dive into ICANN’s multistakeholder model. Pierre Dandjinou, Yaovi Atohoun, and Carlos Reyes from ICANN shed light on how policies are developed, how ICANN works across different sectors, and most importantly, how individuals and organisations can participate in shaping the future of the internet. It was a powerful reminder of how inclusive the process is and how everyone has a stake in the global internet governance.
Session II: Africa Domain Name Ecosystem & New gTLDs – The Road Ahead for Africa
Next, the spotlight turned to Africa’s domain name landscape. The panel, featuring Bob Ochieng (ICANN), Mouhamet Diop (Afregistrar), Wisdom Donkor (GDNR), and Lawrence Olawale-Roberts (Microboss), explored the continent's growing domain name ecosystem and the exciting opportunities coming with the next round of new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs). The discussions emphasized Africa's increasing role in global internet policy and infrastructure development.
Session III: The Coalition for Digital Africa – Updates and Key Projects
In a two-part session, we heard updates on The Coalition for Digital Africa and its ongoing projects aimed at enhancing digital inclusion across the continent.
Part 1 - Youtube Video
Part 2 - Youtube Video
- June Okal (ICANN) gave a general update on the coalition's activities.
- Frank Asefuah (AAU) presented the “Universal Acceptance in Academia” project, working to boost acceptance of all domain names in Africa.
- Barrack Otieno (AFTLD) introduced the ccTLD Capacity Development Project, aimed at strengthening country-code top-level domains in Africa.
- Jean-Baptiste Milogo (ISOC) talked about expanding Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) across Africa to increase local internet connectivity and reduce costs.
Additionally, Isaac Boateng from ATU discussed the IPv6 Project, which is crucial for Africa’s future digital transformation. |Youtube Video|
A special highlight of the day was the 30 Years of Internet Celebration. Lively interventions traced the history and political journey of the Internet in Ghana and Africa. Reflections came from:
Technical Engagement Session: DNSSEC Validation – The Ghana Success Story
A highlight of the day was Yazid Akanho (ICANN) |Youtube Video| explaining the importance of DNSSEC Validation and the steps to enhance security across the internet. Isaac Sakyi (MTN Ghana) |Youtube Video| shared a fascinating case study of how Ghana has successfully implemented DNSSEC, ensuring safer browsing experiences for users across the country.
ICP-2 Review
ICP-2 Review
In the final session, the community was invited to review and provide feedback on the updated ICP-2 document, which governs the recognition, operation, and de-recognition of Regional Internet Registries (RIRs). Hervé Clément, Akinori Maemura, and Andrei Robachevsky led the conversation on the revised RIR governance document, with input from the community expected by November 7, 2025. |Youtube Video|
ICANN Day was an inspiring blend of technical updates, community-building discussions, and collaborative projects that are shaping the future of the internet, especially in Africa. It’s clear that there’s so much happening behind the scenes, and there’s plenty of opportunities for anyone to get involved.