.africa roadshow kicks off in Ethiopia
The .africa (dotAfrica) cross-continent roadshow to officially launch the new geographic top level domain (gTLD), kicked off at the 29th African Union (AU) Summit held at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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This awareness campaign symbolises the importance of Africa finally having achieved a single platform for a united digital identity, and how this will allow the continent to both uplift itself and contribute to the global digital economy. Furthermore, .africa represented to the AU Member States an opportunity for the continent to forge a unique online identity which would associate products, services and information with the continent and people of Africa.
With the .africa flag, the team will travel to AU member states for six months promoting the use of the domain name, culminating in the flag summiting Mount Kilimanjaro and eventually returning back to the AU in January 2018.
"We are extremely grateful to the African Union Commission (AUC) for its unwavering support throughout this long journey that began as far back as the OR Tambo and Abuja Declarations where it was resolved to use ICT to ensure the development of Africa. It is now time to create the next chapter in the .africa story as the general public begins applying for their chosen .africa domains this very week," said Lucky Masilela, CEO of the ZA Central Registry NPC (ZACR).
Promoting African businesses
“The .africa gTLD intends to promote African businesses, people, and culture on the internet and will allow Africa to actively contribute to the digital economy. It is also a source of funding for the development of ICT projects on the continent,” said H.E. Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, commissioner for infrastructure and energy at the AUC.
"This gTLD brings the entire continent together as one united internet community; enabling e-commerce, technology, and infrastructure to flourish under one African umbrella.
.africa is unique in that it gives Africans that important sense of pride to help motivate them to achieve the very best for their continent and themselves. We appeal to all Africans to take ownership of .africa during the general availability phase because this new domain truly belongs to every African,” concluded Masilela.
The general public can register .africa (dotAfrica) geographic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) through registrars listed here.
