ICANN and AAU Advance Universal Acceptance Across Ghanaian Universities

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Association of African Universities (AAU) have strengthened their collaboration to advance digital capacity development and Universal Acceptance (UA) readiness within African higher education institutions through strategic academic engagements with students and faculty members of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).

The engagements, which took place on Friday, 8 May, form part of the ongoing AAU-ICANN Universal Acceptance (UA) Readiness Project. The project sits under the Coalition for Digital Africa’s Meaningful Connectivity focus area and aims to improve the technical capacity of higher education institutions across Africa to ensure their digital systems support Universal Acceptance. The outreach also sought to deepen students’ understanding of how the Internet functions, ICANN’s role in coordinating the Internet’s unique identifier systems and its place with the wider Internet governance ecosystem, and the importance of inclusive and multilingual Internet.

Advancing Universal Acceptance Readiness in African Universities

At the centre of these engagements is the AAU–ICANN Universal Acceptance Readiness in African Universities Project. Universal Acceptance (UA) ensures that all valid domain names and email addresses are recognised and supported by Internet-enabled applications, devices, and systems, regardless of language, script, or character length.

Through the project, AAU and ICANN are working to:

• Build awareness and institutional capacity for UA readiness within African universities;
• Support higher education institutions in making their websites, email systems, and digital platforms UA-compliant;
• Encourage the integration of UA and internationalized domain names into academic curricula;
• Promote collaboration, knowledge exchange, and access to technical support on UA readiness; and
• Provide faculty capacity development to support the integration and teaching of UA concepts within universities.

As part of these efforts, the AAU has continued to champion awareness and capacity-building initiatives on Universal Acceptance across the continent, including engagements held in commemoration of the 2026 Universal Acceptance Day. Read more here: https://aau.org/2026/05/aau-hosts-universal-acceptance-day-2026-promoting-one-Internet-for-every-language-africas-path-to-global-digital-inclusion/

Academic and Student Engagements at GIMPA and UPSA

Engagement at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration began with a meeting involving the Dean of the School of Technology, Prof. Emmanuel Adabor, alongside faculty members, as part of ongoing discussions on the introduction of Universal Acceptance (UA) concepts into GIMPA’s computer science curriculum. The engagement built on earlier discussions with Dr Felicia Engmann, Head of Department of the School of Technology regarding curriculum integration under the AAU–ICANN Universal Acceptance Readiness in African Universities Project.

Representing ICANN was Mr Yaovi Atohoun, Director, Stakeholder Engagement & Operations –Africa, while the AAU delegation was led by Dr Felicia Nkrumah Kuagbedzi, Acting Coordinator ICT, Communications and Knowledge Management. Discussions focused on curriculum integration, faculty capacity development, and institutional collaboration aimed at strengthening UA readiness within African universities. The meeting concluded positively, with both parties expressing strong commitment towards formalising the partnership and advancing plans for implementation in the coming weeks.

The student engagement session, held at the Lot 2 Lecture Hall, brought together approximately 50 students and faculty members for an interactive discussion on Internet governance, the structure and functions of the Domain Name System (DNS), and ICANN’s multistakeholder model and its role within the broader global Internet governance ecosystem. During the session, Mr Yaovi Atohoun introduced participants to ICANN’s role in coordinating the Internet’s unique identifier systems, including domain names and IP addresses, while also highlighting opportunities available to students through initiatives such as the ICANN Fellowship Programme and ICANN Learn platform.

Speaking during the engagement, Dr Kuagbedzi underscored the importance of academic outreach in building awareness and encouraging African students and institutions to actively participate in shaping the future of the global Internet ecosystem. Students actively participated in the discussions, raising questions on topics including country code top-level domains, new generic top-level domains, and pathways for engaging in ICANN-related activities and Internet governance initiatives.

The second engagement took place at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, where students participated in another interactive learning session focused on Internet governance and Universal Acceptance. Opening the session was Mrs. Maud Ashong Adjeley Ashong Elliot, lecturer at UPSA and President of the Internet Society Ghana Chapter, who introduced the ICANN and AAU representatives and encouraged students to actively engage in the discussions.

In his presentation, Mr Yaovi Atohoun provided participants with insights into the history and evolution of the Internet, ICANN’s organisational structure, and its multistakeholder governance framework. Students also raised questions on issues including DNS abuse, Internet governance, and Internet restrictions by state actors, reflecting growing student interest in digital governance and Internet policy issues.

Participants were further encouraged to take advantage of opportunities such as the ICANN Fellowship and NextGen programmes to deepen their participation in Internet governance and digital policy conversations globally.

Looking Ahead

The AAU and ICANN remain committed to strengthening academia’s participation in the global Internet ecosystem through sustained engagements, institutional partnerships, and capacity-building initiatives across African universities.

As part of the Coalition’s Meaningful Connectivity focus area, the Universal Acceptance Readiness Project, will continue supporting universities to strengthen UA readiness, adopt UA-compliant systems, and integrate emerging Internet governance and digital inclusion concepts into academic programmes. These efforts will help equip students and institutions with the skill and systems needed to support a more multilingual, inclusive, and globally connected Internet.