Changes

''"Bekele was very influential in drafting the IDN policy guidelines as well as developed a framework for leading a language group.  This required contentious and controversial matters with complicated political and commercial implications and interests. Ms Bekele strongly advocated and further went on to aggressively bring the voices of the global public of early adapters of IDN businesses and countries who implemented IDNs to the policy of ICANN" ,'' <small>said Mr. Yoav Karen, then Member of ICANN's President IDN Advisory Committee, Current ICANN gNSO Council member and Executive member of IDRU.</small><ref>[http://www.scribd.com/doc/101440288/ICANN-IDN-Recommendation-DomainTheNet, Testimony of Sophia Bekel's IDN work at ICANN]</ref>

''"Bekele was very influential in drafting the IDN policy guidelines as well as developed a framework for leading a language group.  This required contentious and controversial matters with complicated political and commercial implications and interests. Ms Bekele strongly advocated and further went on to aggressively bring the voices of the global public of early adapters of IDN businesses and countries who implemented IDNs to the policy of ICANN" ,'' <small>said Mr. Yoav Karen, then Member of ICANN's President IDN Advisory Committee, Current ICANN gNSO Council member and Executive member of IDRU.</small><ref>[http://www.scribd.com/doc/101440288/ICANN-IDN-Recommendation-DomainTheNet, Testimony of Sophia Bekel's IDN work at ICANN]</ref>

# "..Ms. Bekele, as a former gNSO advisor to ICANN, you have worked hard and long to champion Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). You have made the case within

:: "..Ms. Bekele, as a former gNSO advisor to ICANN, you have worked hard and long to champion Internationalized Domain Names ::(IDNs). You have made the case within

ICANN for a policy development process that will see IDNs in service of the world

::ICANN for a policy development process that will see IDNs in service of the world

community. And you have done so successfully.|source=-David Allen, Executive Director 05 December 2010, INTERNATIONALIZED DOMAIN RESOLUTION UNION,<ref>[http://www.scribd.com/dotafrica/d/44715292-IDRU-Endorsement-of-Dotafrica-for-DotConnectAfrica-DCA, Endorsement of Dotafrica (.africa) Initiative, 05 December 2010]</ref>. In recognition of her championing the cause of IDNs, the above global IDN group later organized under and organization, IDRU endorsed her DotAfrica  Initiative and gave the following citation in recognition of her significant contributions.

::community. And you have done so successfully.|source=-David Allen, Executive Director 05 December 2010, INTERNATIONALIZED DOMAIN ::RESOLUTION UNION,<ref>[http://www.scribd.com/dotafrica/d/44715292-IDRU-Endorsement-of-Dotafrica-for-DotConnectAfrica-DCA, ::Endorsement of Dotafrica (.africa) Initiative, 05 December 2010]</ref>. In recognition of her championing the cause of IDNs, the ::above global IDN group later organized under and organization, IDRU endorsed her DotAfrica  Initiative and gave the following ::citation in recognition of her significant contributions.

<br /> "  

::<br />   

'''Championing the DotAfrica [[.africa]] gTLD Project'''<br />

'''Championing the DotAfrica [[.africa]] gTLD Project'''<br />

CIO East Africa calling her views "controversial" on who should run gTLDs, saying "Sophia Bekele has been in the news if not for promoting DotConnectAfrica’s bid for the DotAfrica geographical gTLD for the past three years, then in a controversial statement about the same":<br />

CIO East Africa calling her views "controversial" on who should run gTLDs, saying "Sophia Bekele has been in the news if not for promoting DotConnectAfrica’s bid for the DotAfrica geographical gTLD for the past three years, then in a controversial statement about the same":<br />

# ".. Governments have a role to play, especially regarding the establishment of an enabling and supportive environment for ICT initiatives to thrive.  However, there is a role for everybody, and global Internet governance is currently based on a multi-stakeholder modeled by ICANN.  Governments already have their two-code country-level top-level domains (cc TLDs), but they also have a role to endorse geographical gTLDs.  The problem is that this power to endorse is often interpreted and extended to include overall sovereignty over the new gTLD.  We believe this should not be the case since it is monopolistic and anti-competitive coupled with problems of lack of transparency and accountability...|source=-Sophia Bekele, in an interview on 09 March 2012, for the main story of ''[[CIO East Africa]]'', <ref>[http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/Governments-have-no-role-in-managing-gTLDs Governments have no roles in gTLDs]</ref>."

:: ".. Governments have a role to play, especially regarding the establishment of an enabling and supportive environment for ICT ::initiatives to thrive.  However, there is a role for everybody, and global Internet governance is currently based on a multi-::stakeholder modeled by ICANN.  Governments already have their two-code country-level top-level domains (cc TLDs), but they ::also have a role to endorse geographical gTLDs.  The problem is that this power to endorse is often interpreted and extended to ::include overall sovereignty over the new gTLD.  We believe this should not be the case since it is monopolistic and anti-competitive coupled with problems of lack of transparency and accountability...|source=-Sophia Bekele, in an interview on ::09 March 2012, for the main story of ''[[CIO East Africa]]'', <ref>[http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/Governments-have-no-role-in-managing-gTLDs Governments have no roles in gTLDs]</ref>."

Ms. Bekele currently oversees the [[.africa]] new gTLD initiative of DotConnectAfrica Trust.  As Executive Director of DCA Trust & CEO of DotConnectAfrica Registry Services Limited, she has led a multi-national team of experts to prepare and submit an application for the DotAfrica (.AFRICA) generic Top-Level Domain. [[DotConnectAfrica]] Trust (DCA Trust) has already submitted an application in May 2012 for the .AFRICA (pronounced as ‘DotAfrica’) geographic name string to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a U.S.-based non-profit organization that is overseeing the global Internet expansion project to introduce new generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs) under the new gTLD Program. <ref>[http://gtldresult.icann.org/applicationstatus/applicationdetails/1276;jsessionid=2500230032894FB8CB3F16550E33DF0Farchive.constantcontact.com/fs053/1102516344150/archive/1110237447043,ICANN New gTLDs - Application Details]</ref>.

Ms. Bekele currently oversees the [[.africa]] new gTLD initiative of DotConnectAfrica Trust.  As Executive Director of DCA Trust & CEO of DotConnectAfrica Registry Services Limited, she has led a multi-national team of experts to prepare and submit an application for the DotAfrica (.AFRICA) generic Top-Level Domain. [[DotConnectAfrica]] Trust (DCA Trust) has already submitted an application in May 2012 for the .AFRICA (pronounced as ‘DotAfrica’) geographic name string to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a U.S.-based non-profit organization that is overseeing the global Internet expansion project to introduce new generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs) under the new gTLD Program. <ref>[http://gtldresult.icann.org/applicationstatus/applicationdetails/1276;jsessionid=2500230032894FB8CB3F16550E33DF0Farchive.constantcontact.com/fs053/1102516344150/archive/1110237447043,ICANN New gTLDs - Application Details]</ref>.