Sophia Bekele aka AddisHilton, gives The SCOOP on her story of Balancing Life & Work and how Change is Controversial

People The SCOOP, features Sophia Bekele as “an international entrepreneur, ICT activist and fondly referred to as “AddisHilton”.   Her story depicts of a lady who found her niche in creating a balance between her work of narrowing the digital divide, challenging the status quo, and a life of leisure with global travel, exotic hobbies, and an upcoming book on Africa – certainly seem to have done a successful job of living life her way, as she says, “she has already lived a full life and wants now to lead by…

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ICANN fails to follow its own Bylaws and procedures says IRP panel

“Our bylaws are very important to us. They capture our mission of security, stability and accessibility, and compel the organization to be open and transparent.” — from the ICANN website ICANN may claim its bylaws are important, but apparently ICANN doesn’t follow its bylaws. At least that is what an IRP panel ruled yesterday in the DotConnectAfrica (DCA) Trust Case #50117T108313, full decision here (pdf), stating “In the Panel’s unanimous view, it would be unfair and unjust to deny DCA Trust’s request for interim relief when the need for such a relief by…

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Comments and Questions by DCA Trust on .Africa at the ICANN-47 Public Forum, Durban SA

This is a complete unabridged version of the comment/questions raised by Ms. Sophia Bekele, Executive Director and CEO of DotConnectAfrica Trust, at the ICANN-47 Public Forum Meeting in Durban, Republic of South Africa on 18th July 2013. A shorter version was read out at the ICANN Public Forum Meeting on Thursday, July 18, 2013 due to constraint of time. * * * Background DotConnectAfrica Trust’s application for the .Africa generic Top-Level Domain name (Application ID: 1-1165-42560) received a GAC Objection Advice at the ICANN-46 Beijing Meeting in April 2013. According…

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DotConnectAfrica’s Sophia Bekele Named One of 50 African Trailblazers by NewAfrican Magazine, UK

March 20, 2013, Mauritius, Port-Louis, Sophia Bekele, Executive Director of DotConnectAfrica Trust (DCA Trust), has been named as one of the ’50 African Trailblazers under 50‘,  by the influential New African magazine UK, a member of the IC Publications group.  New African is a well known publication that is in the vanguard of contemporary Pan-Africanist projection and thinking. www.newafricanmagazine.com  The special “Collector’s Edition” of New African for May 2013 has been put together by the editors of the magazine to coincide with the 50th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the…

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DotConnectAfrica Participates at the ICANN 46 International Meeting in Beijing, China

DCA’s application for .Africa new gTLD received an ICANN GAC Policy Advice Objection which the organization hopes to resolve by following the due process provisions within the ICANN new gTLD Program. PRLog (Press Release) – Apr. 17, 2013 – The DotConnectAfrica Trust delegation led by its Executive Director/CEO, Ms. Bekele participated and contributed at various sessions of the ICANN 46 International Meeting held in Beijing China from 7th – 11th April 2013. Beijing, is the capital of the People’s Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in…

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