The African Network Information Centre (AfriNIC), the organisation responsible for the distribution and administration of African domain names, will vote for its board of trustees at the organisation`s first public policy meeting, later this month.
The meeting, scheduled to take place in Dakar, Senegal, on 23 and 24 May, will also see plans finalised for the official launch of the organisation.
The new board will replace the interim board, which was appointed for three years with a mission to conduct the project and put it on the rails, a mission it has now achieved.
AfriNIC will take over responsibility for the administration and assignation of domain names on the African continent from the American and European organisations that have, until now, been responsible for this task, under the auspices of ICANN.
AfriNIC`s operational activities will be spread through four African countries.
It will be legally incorporated in and administered from Mauritius, the AfriNIC training centre will be hosted in Ghana, while the technical operations will be run from SA, and mirror and disaster recovery operations will take place in Egypt.
Criteria to take part in voting for the board of trustees are the following: any organisation that formally expresses its support to AfriNIC; any already established LIR/ISP; and any organisation that fills the membership form and pays the membership-only fee before the AGM.
The nominees include several South Africans, namely Grant Walker from CMC Networks, Alan Barrett from Cequrux, Alan Levin of ISOC-ZA and Theo Kramer from Uniforum SA.
Other nominees include Kamal Okba (Morocco), Mokhtar Hamidi (Algeria), Pierre Dandjinou (Benin), Adesola Bickersteth and Sunday Folayan (Nigeria), Jean-Marie Noagbodji (Togo), Viv Padayatchy and Kenneth Yiptong (Mauritius), Rukeratabaro Didier and Pierre Mutumbe (DRC), Charles Musisi and Badru Ntege (Uganda) and Brian Longwe (Kenya).
Public comment on the nominees can be made on the AfriNIC Web site until 19 May.
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