Name:Shadrach Ankrah Region of residence: Africa (AF) Gender: Male Employment: IT Support Specialist;Founder & Executive Director – Connect Rurals Conflict of interest:None
II. Why I Want to Serve on the ECI’m passionate about contributing to the NCUC’s mission and fostering a strong regional voice in ICANN policy discussions. The opportunity to collaborate with dedicated individuals to shape Internet governance excites me. My journey within the global Internet community began in 2018 as an ISOC Youth@IGF fellow, where I gained an in-depth understanding of the Internet ecosystem. This fellowship has been the foundation of my active participation and contribution to the Internet.My goal has always been to represent and assist youth and underserved communities in gaining digital skills and access to the Internet, thereby transforming their lives. With this passion and desire, I have participated in many youth-led initiatives and communities, including the Youth Observatory (ISOC’s Youth Standing Group), Digital Grassroots, the Ghana Youth IGF steering committee, West Africa and Africa, and the global IGFs. I have contributed to these communities in various capacities, serving as a trainer, mentor, and technical support person, ensuring the successful completion of initiatives and integration of youth into those communities.Often, rural and underserved communities are not included in opportunities related to digital transformation. For example, in my country, Ghana, many opportunities such as access to broadband, STEM training, and ICT tools and equipment mainly benefit those in urban areas, leaving those in rural areas behind. I have been focusing on addressing this issue for years, and it has led me to run a nonprofit initiative called Connect Rurals, where we focus on providing these skills and connecting rural communities to the opportunities the Internet offers.This was the reason for joining the NCUC, and I am confident that I can effectively represent the voices of rural and underserved communities in ICANN.III. Relevant Experience and QualificationsI am an IT Support Specialist, which has allowed me to contribute to technical initiatives within the community. For instance, in 2022, I was part of a team of trainers who provided Disaster Preparedness Training (IDPT) to local NGOs, national and regional disaster management organizations, Internet Society Ghana chapter members, telecommunications staff, and young professionals. This training aimed to enable local communities to become more efficient and effective in restoring power and Internet connectivity and enhancing information sharing during a disaster or an emergency.As a 2019 Hackathon@AIS fellow, I gained an understanding of Internet measurement where I participated in DNS over TLS (DoT) and DNS over HTTPS (DoH) setups and measured the performance of caching resolvers against locally set up DoT and DoH servers against publicly available DNS resolvers.In addition, I have an understanding of policy development processes. As an AFRINIC-31 participant, I have been involved in policy discussions on the RDP mailing list and during the AFRINIC-31 Policy Meeting in Luanda, Angola. Furthermore, I have had the opportunity to participate in and learn about the policy development processes within ICANN by attending meetings. As the EC representative for Africa in NCUC, I plan to participate more actively in PDP and contribute to policies that shape the end-user and civil society perspectives.Aside from these, I have actively participated and volunteered within the ICANN community. During the ICANN77 Policy Meeting in Washington D.C, I volunteered as a booth engager and also assisted in writing the ICANN77 fellows report. I also did the same during the Africa Engagement Forum held in July 2023 in Accra. With my active engagement within the At-Large Social Media group, I have won two (2) social media awards, one at each of these meetings.IV. Time CommitmentWith my years of engagement and volunteering experience, I know the time commitment needed to serve in such a community. While, I am not mentioning, specific hours of time commitment, I am available to attend the EC meetings and other meetings within ICANN both in-person and remotely. In this regard, the time commitment to attend EC meetings can be within 10 hours a week. This is because I have engaged in other communities that regard weekly and regular meetings with individuals from different backgrounds and time zones.V. Communication with Membership I am open to and welcome discussions from all members. I will keep NCUC members informed, if necessary, and work with the other EC members and the chair to provide email updates with clear summaries of EC discussions and decisions. I will also be open and engage with community members during ICANN and other Internet-related events. Additionally, I am open to exploring other communication methods based on members’ feedback.VI. NCUC’s Future and ICANN Policy Focus NCUC can play a crucial role in promoting regional Internet governance capacity building. I envision expanding outreach programs to educate and empower stakeholders across the region, especially those in underserved communities.
