From Lyon to Lom=?UTF-8?Q?=C3=A9=2C_?=850 reasons made this my most unforgettable ICANN experience.

[Bukola Oronti]

Congratulations Emmanuel, this is an impressive feat.

Kind regards,
Bukola.

On Fri, 25 Apr 2025 at 00:52, Emmanuel Vitus <emmanuelvitus at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> Last week, I spent my holidays in Lomé, Togo, with the Internet Society
> Chapter (ISOC Togo), a proud NPOC member organization, to help organize
> what was likely the largest Universal Acceptance (UA) Day event to date.
> And I must say, this might just be the most rewarding experience I have had
> since joining the ICANN community.
>
> We gathered at the École Polytechnique of the University of Lomé, where we
> had initially planned to host around 50 participants. But the response was
> overwhelming. To accommodate the unexpected turnout, we regrouped the event
> across 2 separate amphitheaters. One was set up for onsite participants and
> the other enabled hybrid participation, allowing us to successfully engage
> over 850 bachelor and master’s students, including 300 onsite and 550
> online. We were joined by 35 lecturers, including 22 full professors in
> computer science and related fields. The energy, curiosity, and level of
> engagement from both students and faculty were truly inspiring.
>
> Spending a day with ICANN staff, including Yaovi Atohun who joined us in
> person and Nabil Benamar who participated virtually from Morocco, brought
> immense value to the program. The sessions were highly interactive,
> covering both awareness on Universal Acceptance and hands-on technical
> training and configuration exercises. The results were powerful and
> immediate. A total of 223 new members joined the ISOC chapter that day, the
> largest single-day recruitment since 2001. 79% of participants expressed
> strong interest in joining ICANN and UA-related working groups.
>
> This experience reminded me why we do what we do. Togo, a small country
> with over 42 local languages, where only French is currently supported
> under the Latin Script Root Zone Label Generation Rules (RZ LGR), was at
> the heart of a moment of deep pride. I am convinced that in 5 to 10 years,
> these young people will achieve what many in my generation never dared to
> attempt.
>
> For those wondering where Togo is located, it is a beautiful West African
> country, a former German then French colony, nestled between Ghana and
> Benin, and known for its peaceful coastline and white sand beaches.
>
> I also realized something personal. Sharing knowledge is far more
> fulfilling than my 8 to 5 routine back in France. That was my honest
> reflection.
>
> And one last exciting note. The University of Lomé has officially
> expressed interest in integrating Universal Acceptance into its academic
> curriculum. This could be a real game-changer for sustainable capacity
> building in the region. That was how the ICANN UA Day 3000 USD grant was
> spent :)
>
> See the hopeful faces and the energy of the day via this album
> <https://www.flickr.com/photos/201552796@N05/albums/72177720325123386/>
>
> Warm regards,
>
> *Emmanuel Vitus, **NPOC Policy Chair*
>


-- 
BukkieO.
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