<p dir="ltr">Congratulations everyone! Here's to a great fellowship! I hope I get to make it to join you! All the best!! </p>
<br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Jun 8, 2025, 3:21 PM Nicodemus Nyakundi via DCAD <<a href="mailto:dcad@lists.igf-dcad.org">dcad@lists.igf-dcad.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div>Warmest congratulations to the selected DCAD Fellows!</div><div><br></div><div>As a proud alumnus of the program, I know firsthand what an extraordinary opportunity this is. You're about to embark on the most incredible journey to advocate for internet inclusion for persons with disabilities and truly make a difference in the world of digital inclusion. Wishing you all the very best for a phenomenal DCAD Fellowship experience for IGF 2025!</div><div><br></div><div>My sincere gratitude goes out to the DCAD leadership for their continuous dedication to ensuring persons with disabilities are meaningfully included in the IGF.</div><div><br></div><div>Best wishes,</div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><font face="georgia, serif"><b>Nicodemus Nyakundi</b></font><div><font face="georgia, serif"><b>Digital Rights and Accessibility</b></font></div><div>@<a href="https://www.kictanet.or.ke/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"><span style="font-size:11pt;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline"><b><font face="georgia, serif"><font color="#6aa84f">K</font><font color="#ff0000">ICT</font><font color="#6aa84f">A</font><font color="#000000">Net</font></font></b></span></a></div></div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Jun 6, 2025 at 10:45 PM Mustapha Abdulkadir via DCAD <<a href="mailto:dcad@lists.igf-dcad.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">dcad@lists.igf-dcad.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><p dir="ltr"><br>
--- </p>
<p dir="ltr">**Subject:** Congratulations to the DCAD Fellows & Inquiry About Membership </p>
<p dir="ltr">Dear Dr. Shabbir and the DCAD Team, </p>
<p dir="ltr">Congratulations to the selected fellows—Ngwa Jolenta Rose Afanwi, Sarah Kekeli Akunor, Emmanuel Oruk, and Raynom Pitakaka—for this well-deserved opportunity! Thank you also to the Fellowship Selection Committee, Google LLC, and Vint Cerf for your tireless efforts and support in advancing accessibility and inclusion in digital governance. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I do have a question regarding DCAD membership. Despite being subscribed to the mailing list for three months, I’ve been unable to locate my name in the official member directory on the website. Could you kindly clarify the steps to formalize community membership? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Thank you for your time and continued work toward a more inclusive internet. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Best regards, <br>
**Martins Nwanakwere** <br>
Student Researcher <br>
US Research Software Engineering Society </p>
<p dir="ltr">--- </p>
<p dir="ltr">### Key improvements: <br>
1. **Structure**: Separated congratulatory remarks from the membership inquiry for clarity. <br>
2. **Tone**: Kept it professional and courteous while being concise. <br>
3. **Specificity**: Explicitly named the fellows/contributors to show attentiveness. <br>
4. **Actionable Ask**: Clearly stated the issue and requested next steps. </p>
<p dir="ltr">For Mustapha’s note: If you’d like to add a similar inquiry, replace the signature and adjust the wording slightly (e.g., "I’m also unsure how to confirm my membership status—could you advise?"). <br>
</p>
<br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, 6 Jun 2025, 8:28 pm Adebunmi Akinbo via DCAD, <<a href="mailto:dcad@lists.igf-dcad.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">dcad@lists.igf-dcad.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto">Congratulations DCAD Fellows.</div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Jun 6, 2025, 6:57 PM Conrad Harris via DCAD <<a href="mailto:dcad@lists.igf-dcad.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">dcad@lists.igf-dcad.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><u></u>
<div>
<p>Congratulations to the four selected Fellows.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>C. Harris.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<div>On 6/4/2025 11:37 PM, mshabbirawan---
via DCAD wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>
<p>Dear DCAD Community,<u></u><u></u></p>
<p>I am pleased to share that, following a rigorous and highly
competitive selection process, the <strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Dynamic
Coalition on Accessibility and Disability (DCAD)</span></strong>
has awarded <strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Fellowship
Grants</span></strong> to support the participation of
persons with disabilities at the upcoming <strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Internet
Governance Forum (IGF) 2025</span></strong>, to be held in
<strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Lillestrøm,
Norway, from June 23 to 27, 2025</span></strong>.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p>This year’s fellowships include both <strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">in-person
participants</span></strong>, who will receive support for
travel, accommodation, and accessibility related costs, and <strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">remote
participants</span></strong>, who will be supported to
ensure effective and meaningful engagement in the IGF online.
All fellows are expected to attend DCAD sessions, complete the
<strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Disability
Leadership in Internet Governance and Digital Rights</span></strong>
course offered by the Internet Society, and share a written or
multimedia reflection following the event.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p>We received a significant number of high-quality applications
from around the world for a limited number of fellowship
slots. After thoughtful and diligent evaluation, the following
fellows have been selected:<u></u><u></u></p>
<h3><strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In-Person
Fellows</span></strong><u></u><u></u></h3>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Ngwa Jolenta Rose Afanwi<u></u><u></u></li>
<li>Sarah Kekeli Akunor<u></u><u></u></li>
</ul>
<h3><strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Remote
Participation Fellows</span></strong><u></u><u></u></h3>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Emmanuel Oruk<u></u><u></u></li>
<li>Raynom Pitakaka<u></u><u></u></li>
</ul>
<p>All the selected fellows have been contacted through separate
emails. The fellow selection was carried out by the <strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">DCAD
Fellowship Selection Committee</span></strong>, composed
of:<u></u><u></u></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li><strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Deirdre
Williams</span></strong><u></u><u></u></li>
<li><strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Cato
Lie</span></strong><u></u><u></u></li>
<li><strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Gunela
Astbrink</span></strong><u></u><u></u></li>
<li><strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Judith
Hellerstein</span></strong><u></u><u></u></li>
</ul>
<p>We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the selected
fellows and express our deep appreciation to all applicants
for their dedication and continued advocacy for accessibility.
A special thank you goes to our Fellowship Selection Committee
for their time, wisdom, and care in reviewing the applications
and making these difficult decisions.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p>We are also deeply grateful to <strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Vint
Cerf</span></strong> and <strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Google
LLC</span></strong> for their continued and generous
support for DCAD’s mission and the 2025 Fellowship Program.
Their longstanding commitment has been instrumental in
enabling the meaningful participation of persons with
disabilities in global digital policy processes.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p>We look forward to the impactful contributions our fellows
will bring to IGF 2025 and to advancing our shared goal of a
more accessible and inclusive Internet for all.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p>With sincere thanks,<br>
<strong><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Dr.
Muhammad Shabbir</span></strong><br>
Coordinator<br>
IGF - Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability (DCAD)<br>
Member, Global Leadership Council – IAAP<br>
Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MShabbirPhD/" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/MShabbirPhD/</a><u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
</div>
<br>
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