Three major projects on the roadmap of the Afnic International College

Although its annual Days have been postponed, the Afnic International College is actively pursuing the work of its roadmap launched in 2020 following the election of its new Chair, Souleymane Oumtanaga.

During the meeting of the Afnic Board of Trustees on 26 November, the Chair of the International College gave a progress report on the three large-scale projects of the College’s roadmap:

The African Domain Name Observatory project (ONDA)

The ONDA tool, which collects relevant data to help monitor trends in the African ccTLD industry, takes the form of a collaborative website, accessible to the public from 2021. In the long term, it will provide access to registry-specific data by carrying out in-depth analyses of the various domain name markets. Based on the reliable data available, this project, bringing together a multidisciplinary team from seven countries, aims to support ccTLD development policies and strategies to improve Internet security and resilience in Africa, and to become an international benchmark for ccTLD statistics and the domain name industry in Africa.

The ccTLD Registry Empowerment Process project (PAR)

The PAR project aims to support the development of ccTLD registries (top-level domains corresponding to country codes) that are members of the International College, to ensure their alignment with current international standards. The fields of action are vast: administrative prerequisites, business models, legal framework, technical infrastructure, and so on, in order to provide them with a fully automated and autonomous management system for their top-level domains.

National Digital Identity (I2N)

This third project supports members of the International College in their communication, helping them to master professional tools to enhance and promote their national TLD. This support includes the development of training courses for employees – monthly webinars are organised on marketing and communications topics – and help in organising specific events such as the national editions of the Internet Governance Forum.

About the International College

Since its establishment in 1998, the International College has striven to be a reference, and a place for dialogue and sharing. It is based on the principles of co-development and solidarity in managing the Internet, within a framework designed to trial and/or validate concrete solutions. Its 18 current members, including 10 ccTLDs, come from 14 countries located mainly in Africa.