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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121">Dear Colleagues,</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121">In Africa, there is an insufficient number of active Internet Exchange Points (IXPs). Because of this, high volume of Internet traffic has to travel
unnecessarily too far</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#212121"> </span></span></i><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121">to be exchanged before it then returns to the same geographical location, resulting in higher costs
and slower speeds. IXPs improve Internet access by keeping local traffic localized and, because of that, faster and more affordable. To be effective, IXPs need engineers, service providers, content developers, and policymakers who share the belief that a strong,
collaborative community can leverage the Internet ecosystem to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#161616">improve connectivity and increase the value of the Internet for end users</span></i><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121">.</span></i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121">The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Internet Society (ISOC) invite you to join us for a webinar on:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<strong><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0070C0">“Building African IXP Infrastructure: Progressing the Coalition for Digital Africa.”</span></strong><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;font-weight:normal"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:center"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#212121">Monday, 30 January 2023, 14:00 UTC</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121">We will discuss the ever-changing landscape of African interconnection and introduce our new partnership to improve the IXP infrastructure in Africa.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121">ICANN Interim President & CEO Sally Costerton, ISOC CEO Andrew Sullivan,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;font-weight:normal">and
the African IXP Association (AF-IX) Co-Coordinator Kyle Spencer</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121">will share their thoughts about
the future of peering and interconnection in Africa and how our partnership will help to speed Internet access for users across the continent.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:#212121">Kindly register<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="color:#212121"><a href="https://events.zoom.us/ev/Al1m_2QI349WkyLgJVCXpOP4L0onkb3RB61EmFnUa_ECHdT6fXL7~AggLXsr32QYFjq8BlYLZ5I06Dg" title="https://events.zoom.us/ev/Al1m_2QI349WkyLgJVCXpOP4L0onkb3RB61EmFnUa_ECHdT6fXL7~AggLXsr32QYFjq8BlYLZ5I06Dg"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:#0078D7">here</span></b></a></span><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:#212121">.</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121">The webinar<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><strong><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;font-weight:normal">will
be conducted in English, with simultaneous interpretation in French; and</span></i></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"> </span></i></span><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121">recorded for those
who cannot attend the live session.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121">All are welcome to attend this webinar. Please feel free to forward this invite to anyone you think may be interested.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121">Regards,</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121">ICANN and ISOC</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="color:#212121"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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