The African Telecommunications Union (ATU) has signed a groundbreaking memorandum of understanding (MoU) with The Metaverse Institute to develop Africa’s first governance and adoption framework for the metaverse.
ATU Secretary General, John Omo, and Dr. Christina Yan Zhang, CEO of The Metaverse Institute, both described the agreement as a historic milestone that paves the way for secure and inclusive virtual economies across the continent.
“Our youth are entering a new world of opportunity. We must act now to build safe, inclusive virtual economies and communities,” emphasized Omo.
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As the world looks toward a future that could demand up to USD 5 trillion for training humanoid robots alone, the metaverse emerges as a cost-effective alternative for high-stakes, high-cost solutions. These include building smart city infrastructure, enabling advanced medical simulations and surgical training, and offering a secure environment for training humanoid robots.
With this agreement in place, the ATU and The Metaverse Institute will soon establish joint working groups to shape continent-wide policies and standards, launch virtual reality (VR) and blockchain training programs, and monitor pilot initiatives. Capacity-building efforts are already underway.
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“With UN figures projecting that by 2100, nearly half the world’s youth will be African, our partnership with ATU is critical. We are honoured to comprehensively evaluate the impact of emerging technologies and the virtual worlds ecosystem on the continent, delivering pragmatic recommendations to maximize Africa’s global competitiveness. Together, we envision a digitally empowered Africa by 2063, a global leader in the digital revolution, where innovation serves humanity to forge a prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable future for all,” concluded Dr. Yan Zhang.
