The Association of African Universities (AAU), in collaboration with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), has launched the Universal Acceptance Readiness Project, an initiative under the Coalition for Digital Africa.

The project seeks to promote the adoption of Universal Acceptance (UA) standards in African higher education institutions which will improve access to online services and content, promote multilingualism and inclusion, and ultimately enhance the quality of education on the continent. It is aimed at making websites, applications, and email systems within Africa’s higher education institutions ready to support all domain names and email addresses in different languages and scripts.

In attendance at the launch were the Deputy Minister for Education in Ghana, Hon. Rev. John Ntim- Fordjour, the Executive Director of the Ghana Domain Name Registry, Nana Kofi Asafu-Aidoo, Vice Chancellors, stakeholders of Higher Education Institutions in Ghana, Directors of IT institutions and students.

Hon. Ntim-Fordjour who represented the Ministry of Education in Ghana delivered a speech on how the government is preparing for digital inclusion through capacity building and educational programs. He stated that the Government of Ghana is committed to developing the education system and has initiated some key education reforms to transform teaching and learning and improve educational outcomes under the Education Strategic Plan (ESP 2018-2030). The ESP’s three main priorities are improved learning outcomes, enhanced accountability, and equity at all levels of the education sector. He concluded by expressing gratitude to ICANN, AAU, Vice Chancellors, and all higher education stakeholders for their support and contribution to the project.

Nana Kofi Asafu-Aidoo also gave remarks on how the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization in Ghana is committed to supporting this project and ensuring that policies and strategies are aligned with the goals of the Universal Acceptance initiative. He tagged the project as a timely intervention, aimed at unlocking the potential of local language content and ensuring that African communities can fully participate in the digital economy. He pledged on behalf of the government to work with partners in the private sector, civil society, and academia to create an enabling environment for the development of local language content and the adoption of Universal Acceptance standards.

Professor Olusola Bandele Oyewole, the Secretary-General of the AAU thanked ICANN for the partnership which has birthed this novel project that seeks to strengthen the accessibility of the internet across the continent, with a specific focus on making email systems and other communication platforms of Africa’s higher education institutions ready for Universal Acceptance (UA) and Email Address Internationalization (EAI).

During an engagement with the media, the Vice President of Global Stakeholder Engagement (Africa) at ICANN, Mr. Pierre Dandjinou, said that the project is a fundamental requirement for achieving a multilingual internet where internet users around the world can navigate entirely in their local languages and scripts.

In a press statement released by ICANN, Sally Costerton, the Interim President and CEO of the corporation said, “ICANN is committed to ensuring that the internet continues to grow safely in Africa, to bring communities, cultures, and economies together and that is why collaboration among internet access providers, manufacturers, content providers, and academia is so important. We must work together to support the development of Africa’s digital economy.”

Sarmad Hussain, Senior Director of IDN and UA Programs at ICANN took participants through a presentation on Universal Acceptance and its Readiness in African Universities. He mentioned that though the rapid expansion of digital technologies had revolutionized the way we access and share information, this expansion had also highlighted a critical issue which is the lack of Universal Acceptance of domain names and email addresses in many countries, particularly in Africa. This has created significant barriers to the use of digital technologies by those who do not speak or write in English, French, or other common languages.

Universal Acceptance is the principle that all domain names and email addresses should be treated equally by software applications and online services, regardless of the language, script, or encoding they use. For example, an email address written in Arabic or Chinese characters should be able to receive and send emails just like an email address written in English. Similarly, a website address written in a non-Latin script, such as Arabic or Chinese, should be treated as equally as a website address written in English.

The Universal Acceptance Readiness project will address this issue by promoting the adoption of Universal Acceptance standards by African countries and institutions. The project will bring together governments, universities, and other stakeholders to raise awareness of the importance of Universal Acceptance and will provide training and technical support to enable the adoption of Universal Acceptance standards.

The Association of African Universities (AAU) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) are leading this initiative under the Coalition for Digital Africa Initiative. The Coalition for Digital Africa brings together like-minded organizations committed to building a robust and secure Internet infrastructure to bring more Africans online. The Coalition recognizes the critical role that digital technologies play in the development of education and seeks to ensure that African countries and institutions are fully equipped to harness the benefits of these technologies. In partnership with governments, regional and international organizations, and the local Internet community, the Coalition provides investments in Internet infrastructure, offers capacity-building workshops, and facilitates participation in the multistakeholder policymaking process.

Article by Ms. Naomi Darko

Communications Assistant,

AAU.