Dear Colleagues, I fully support Joel's Self nomination for the AFRALO Vice Chair Position. His strong engagement in the At-Large Community and understanding of AFRALO's mission make him well-suited to serve our interests as a region. Thank you. Emmanuel, Chairperson ISOC Rwanda. On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 11:22 AM Yesim Saglam via AFRI-Discuss < afri-discuss@icann.org> wrote:
Dear Joel,
Your self nomination is recorded.
Thank you for already sending your SoI for the position.
Thank you.
Kind Regards,
Yeşim Sağlam
*From: *Joel Okomoli <joel@isoc.or.ke> *Date: *19 April 2025 Saturday at 00:14 *To: *"afri-discuss@icann.org" <afri-discuss@icann.org>, ICANN At-Large Staff <staff@atlarge.icann.org> *Subject: *[Ext] Re: AFRALO SOI Joel Okomoli
Dear AFRALO Colleagues and At-Large Staff,
I am writing to express my interest in the AFRALO Vice Chair Position.
I have engaged with AFRALO including membership to the old outreach and engagement Committee in the last few years and ICANN through its public stakeholder meetings. This self-nomination is informed by the desire to have as many members as possible participate in leadership roles.
SOI
My name is Joel Barasa Okomoli and I work as a Regional IT Manager with the Kenyan Electoral Management Body, locally referred to as the IEBC. I have represented the Internet Society Kenya Chapter in AFRALO since 2016 and have volunteered as the Chapter’s Finance Officer for three consecutive terms. I am an active voice in Internet Governance, Cybersecurity and Universal Acceptance. I am a member of the UA Tech and UA Measurement Working Groups. I have followed conversations evolving here since ICANN 66 in Montreal, Canada in 2019.
While ICANN has become a household name in Africa since its Africa Engagement Office was established in Nairobi in 2016, its functions and role in the Internet Ecosystem remains unknown especially to the young and upcoming technologists. A lot of work has been done by many stakeholders including Internet Society Chapters, Universities and Regulatory Authorities among other government institutions to integrate and embrace the policy development framework championed within ICANN. I believe by involving Universities in the training and certification of new and emerging technologies such as Universal Acceptance and Artificial Intelligence, the Internet will finally be open and accessible to all.
As Vice Chair, I will not only deputise the AFRALO Chair but will also advocate for the onboarding of African Countries currently not represented in AFRALO by working closely with the leadership team in consultation with other ICANN SOs. I believe closing this gap will be a critical step in developing the resource called Africa and securing the Internet for all users.
I have supported the ISOC Kenya Chapter in financial management and operations including grant writing and proposal development. I would like to bring along these skills into AFRALO at advisory level as we work towards empowering the Continent.
I hope to utilize the collective experience of the entire AFRALO to develop short and long term interventions in ICT Infrastructure that will promote secure, affordable and reliable access for end users in the continent and territories of Africa.
I humbly look forward to this candidature.
Joel Barasa Okomoli
Internet Society Kenya Chapter ALS Representative - 19th April 2025.
Joel
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