.ZADNA

GAIN FROM SA’S WEB

Since 1994, South Africa’s internet industry has been dominated by a few players. This may no longer be the case as the .ZA Domain Name Authority (ZADNA) creates opportunities for new entrants to the Information Communications and Technology (ICT) sector – particularly for South African youth, women and people living with disabilities.

ZADNA – the statutory regulator and manager of the .za domain namespace, which is South Africa’s internet country code top-level domain – is actively seeking ways to ensure that South Africans participate in this simple yet seemingly complex ecosystem. Citizens within the sector are encouraged to subscribe as members of ZADNA. This is a crucial step to bridging the digital divide and allowing all stakeholders to contribute to the policy development of the .za namespace and be part of improving the country’s internet ecosystem.

ZADNA’s educational initiatives ensure that communities know about business opportunities within the industry. Opportunities vary from being a reseller to a registrar for domain names, which allows you to own an entity that provides domain names such as co.za.

ZADNA recently terminated a 10-year long registry operating agreement for the commercial .za second-level domains. This was followed by a Request For Information (RFI) process from the industry for ZADNA to determine the current skill set and competencies available within South Africa. “This RFI process was insightful as it presented options and solutions for the registry services market and created the opportunity for small businesses to form alliances with big players in delivering registry services and solutions for South Africa,” says Molehe Wesi, ZADNA’s CEO.

“We have decided to open the space for all people, irrespective of their demographic background, to embrace the opportunity presented by the technology landscape. Everyone uses the web daily, and we see no reason why they shouldn’t participate in the economic activity of the industry that they support,” says Wesi. “ZADNA is now facilitating an enabling environment for entrepreneurs to contribute meaningfully to the ICT sector.” This means that a young entrepreneur from a township can now actively participate in the domain namespace by either becoming a registrar, a website domain name reseller, or even an entity that provides opportunities for the youth to drive the ecosystem.

“We are determined to realise the obligations of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act by demystifying the industry and implementing an enabling regulatory framework to allow more participants to engage in economic activity. Anyone can participate,” says Wesi. “We will conduct virtual workshops to empower passionate young people, people with disabilities and women to engage in the process and embrace the opportunities,” he explains. According to Wesi, ZADNA strives to strengthen relations and engagement with the .za stakeholders, ensure collaborative efforts are pursued, and that the namespace remains competitive.

ZADNA is a nonprofit organisation. It is accountable to its members and the South African Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, but does not receive government funding.

T: 010 020 3910 E: info@zadna.org.za E: www.zadna.org.za

THE NATIONAL ELECTRONIC MEDIA INSTITUTE OF SA (NEMISA) PARTNERS WITH THE .ZA DOMAIN NAME AUTHORITY (ZADNA)

to bridge the digital skills gap in rural areas and townships across SA.

NEMISA and ZADNA have joined hands to execute a grassroots digital skills training partnership. The two entities, under the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, have signed a 3-yearlong partnership agreement which will see the two parties harness their expertise to address the digital skills shortages within the country and with a particular focus on schools.

NEMISA’s mandate is to be a sustainable skills training provider in digital technologies and creative media spaces. NEMISA targets inschool and out of school youth, women, people with disabilities, SMME’s and communities in general.

ZA Domain Name Authority (ZADNA) is a State-Owned Entity established in section 59 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002 (Act 25 of 2002). It is accountable to its members and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT). ZADNA is mandated to manage and administer the .za domain namespace, which is South Africa’s internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD).

Among other initiatives, the two entities have agreed to:

i. Enhance their drive to deliver training to schools, districts, and local municipalities to benefit from the NEMISA training programmes.

ii. Assist beneficiaries in constituting an online presence by increasing .za domains for schools and SMMEs.

iii. Offer ZADNA advocacy support through its platforms.

iv. Avail NEMISA Learning Management System to deliver online learning.

v. Co-fund joint projects as may be identified from time to time.

NEMISA CEO Trevor Rammitlwa said: “Introducing rural and township schools to the online world in a more aggressive way will make a big dent in fighting the digital divide in South Africa. The partnership between NEMISA and ZADNA is the needed catalyst for this cause.”

As part of this exciting partnership between the two institutions, ZADNA has identified a need to digitise South African public schools by providing the “.za domain” name under the school.za second-level domain (SLD). During the first 12 months of piloting the project, 200 school domain names will be registered and connected. This will be followed by a further 734 public schools per year for the next two years and 734 public schools in the last year. A total of 2 400 schools during the life of the project will therefore have benefited.

According to Mr Molehe Wesi, CEO of ZADNA, the school.za digitisation project aims to digitise South African public schools by providing .za domain names to transform education through a viable alternative mode of teaching and learning. “Through this initiative, as the Authority, we intend to ensure the learners build and mature their digital presence. The beneficiary schools will leverage these domain names as a platform for teaching and learning.

In addition, NEMISA coordinators will go to the schools to conduct digital literacy training to the educators and students.