Changes

===DCA Reaction to African Union EOI===

===DCA Reaction to African Union EOI===

DCA criticized the decision of the African Union to implement the process of submitting EOI before giving its endorsement to a  particular entity related to the ICANN application to become the registry operator of DotAfrica as a new gTLD. In a statement, DCA pointed out that AU's objective to implement transparency and accountability in the EOI process "sounds hollow and unbelievable" and emphasized that "the AU

DCA criticized the AU's decision to implement the EOI submission competition process for its endorsement on the ICANN application for .africa. In a statement, DCA pointed out that the AU's objective to implement transparency and accountability in the EOI process sounded hollow and unbelievable and emphasized that the AU clarification was untruthful to the extent that it did not acknowledge the previous endorsement of DCA by the AU. DCA also said that the EOI process has already been compromised, as the AU Task Force has openly expressed its support for AfTLD during the 2011 annual African [[ccTLD]] event in Ghana. Furthermore, DCA encouraged all entities to ignore the AU EOI process and requested the AU Commission to stop the process immediately.<ref>[http://www.prlog.org/11503736-yes2dotafrica-say-no-to-african-union-expression-of-interest-eoi-for-dotafrica.html Yes2DotAfrica Say "No" to African Union Expression of Interest (EOI) for DotAfrica]</ref><ref>[http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102516344150-101/Post_Event_Press_release_final+AftLD.pdf event in Accra]</ref>

clarification is untruthful to the extent that it does not acknowledge that DCA was given an endorsement by the AU." DCA also said that the EOI process was already tainted because the AU Task Force openly expressed its support to the AfTLD during the 2011 annual African ccTLD event in Ghana.Furthermore, DCA encouraged all entities to ignore the AU EOI process and requested the AU Commission to stop the process immediately.<ref>[http://www.prlog.org/11503736-yes2dotafrica-say-no-to-african-union-expression-of-interest-eoi-for-dotafrica.html Yes2DotAfrica Say "No" to African Union Expression of Interest (EOI) for DotAfrica]</ref> <ref>[http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102516344150-101/Post_Event_Press_release_final+AftLD.pdf event in Accra]</ref>

===DCA Yes to DotAfrica Campaign===

===DCA Yes to DotAfrica Campaign===

DCA and its delegation from Africa attended the [[ICANN 40]] Meeting in San Francisco on March 13-18, 2011. Apart from participating to the different activities of ICANN, DCA also took the opportunity to introduce its Yes to DotAfrica campaign and talked to registry vendors about DCA's EOI to apply for DotAfrica to become one of the new gTLDs. During the ICANN 40, DCA claimed that it received support from majority of the members of the ICANN society on its DotAfrica initiative. Sophia Bekele, Executive Director of DCA said that collaboration and non-competitive collaboration is possible and should be considered. Her organization is open to work out a discussion in order to identify roles and responsibilities. She further said, "We will welcome guidance from all African Internet agencies in our organized effort; as well as the same from our international partners”.<ref>[http://www.dotconnectafrica.org/2011/03/yes2dotafrica-campaign-successful-icann-40-san-francisco-ca/ Yes2dotAfrica Campaign successful at ICANN 40 in San Francisco, CA]</ref>

At [[ICANN 40]] in San Francisco in March 2011, DCA and its delegation introduced its Yes to DotAfrica campaign and spoke with registry vendors about DCA's EOI to apply for .africa. During the meeting, DCA claimed that it received support from a majority of the ICANN community for its initiative. Bekele said that collaboration and non-competitive collaboration are possible in the bid for .africa and should be considered. She stated that her organization is open to discuss a collaborative bid. She further said, "We will welcome guidance from all African Internet agencies in our organized effort; as well as the same from our international partners”.<ref>[http://www.dotconnectafrica.org/2011/03/yes2dotafrica-campaign-successful-icann-40-san-francisco-ca/ Yes2dotAfrica Campaign successful at ICANN 40 in San Francisco, CA]</ref>

==AfTLD Bid for DotAfrica==

==AfTLD Bid for DotAfrica==