Johannesburg, 30 June 2017: Moctar Yedaly, Head of Information Society in the Department of Infrastructure and Energy of the African Union Commission has been awarded the Eagle of “DotAfrica AVANTE GARDE” at a Ceremony held to recognize the contribution of African Experts in the implementation of the Dot African Domain Name in the margins of the 59th Meeting of the Internet Corporation of Assignment Names and Numbers (ICANN 59) in Johannesburg.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Moctar Yedaly, dedicated the Award to the African Union Commission (AUC) and his team at the Department of Infrastructure and Energy.

“I attribute this success to the continued hard work and determination of the AUC Staff, many of whom have been with us for a very long time and the AUC leadership, which has been a key feature to the success of DotAfrica,” said Mr. Moctar Yedaly.

The personal contribution of Mr. Moctar Yedaly to the dot Africa on behalf of the African Union Commission has been unanimously appreciated and valued by the African and International Internet Communities.

The ceremony also recognized the work and contributions of many experts toward the implementation dot Africa including Pierre Dandjinou, Vice President for Africa, ICANN and Nii Quayno, CEO of AFNOG who have received a special Award the eagle of “.Africa AVANTE GARDE” for their special contribution to the success of Dot Africa.

The ceremony organized by the African Internet and Technical Community in collaboration with the South African Central Registry (ZACR) and the African Union Commission, was attended by many experts and officials among which the Chairman of ZACR Board, The Chairman of the Board of ICANN, the CEOs of AFRINIC, AFNOG and AFTLD as well the Former Senior Adviser of the USA Department of Commerce (DoC) in his personal capacity.

DotAfrica has since February 2017 entered into its operational phase and after three months more than 1000 applications have been received from the biggest names from all around the word giving indication that DotAfrica is indeed an invaluable continental asset that has the potential of having great impact on the African economy and African people if nurtured properly. DotAfrica has been described as “one of the most important developments to impact the African internet – ever.”

The future successes of DotAfrica will depend largely how African governments and businesses will use this domain. Dot Africa will be available to the general public on July 4th, 2017.

For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: dic@africa-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
Sophia Nesri | PIDA Information Analyst | Department of Infrastructure and Energy | African Union Commission I E-mail: sophian@africa-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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