Internet Society Chapters 

Speech:
Lynn St.Amour at ISOC-AU Chapter reception (with ICANN-Sydney)

25 June 2009, Sydney, Australia

Good evening Honourable Minister Conroy, distinguished guests, ISOC- AU Board members and leaders, ladies and gentleman.

First, I wish to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land on which we meet, and pay my respect to their elders, past and present.

As I am sure you have heard from many other visitors, it is certainly a long way to Sydney, and of course well worth it! On the journey down here, across time zones, oceans, hemispheres, and indeed seasons, one certainly has plenty of time to reflect on the challenges of distance and time.

But of course that which brings us together here – the Internet, a phenomenon of technologies, communities, and cultures – has done more than anything else in human history to break down the barriers of separation.

Thanks to the Internet, physical remoteness no longer needs to be synonymous with isolation. And so the dynamic embrace of the Internet by Australians comes as no surprise.

Australia has a long, proud history of technological innovation. In 1949, for example, as the developer of the world’s fourth stored-memory computer, Australia became the third country to truly enter the digital age – after only Britain and the United States.

Since then, Australia has remained remarkably well represented in the computing and online worlds.

Australian scientists, engineers, and developers have all played significant roles in standards development, software design, and network architecture. And as someone who attends technical, policy, and intergovernmental meetings all over the world, I can report that my ears have become well attuned to the Australian accent.

Which reminds me that as this is Paul Twomey’s final ICANN meeting as President, it is timely to acknowledge the tremendous contributions he has made to the Internet community in recent years with the clear and strong support of the Australian government.

At the Internet Society, we are motivated by the belief that the Internet can improve the lives of people everywhere. But while Australia as a whole is well connected to the global Internet, many remote areas within this vast continent are still to feel the full benefits it can bring.

In this respect, the Australian Government’s ambitious National Broadband Network plan is to be applauded and will certainly be watched with great interest around the world.

Programmes such as this clearly demonstrate that solid relationships with industry and the community are essential.

So I am very happy to congratulate the Internet Society’s Australian Chapter for the positive role they play in connecting government and policy makers with experts and communities of interest. On the subject of the National Broadband Network, I am confident that ISOC-AU’s formal submission – lodged earlier this month – will be an important resource for the Australian government as it moves forward.

Similarly, I would like to highlight ISOC-AU’s work on IPv6. As many of you would be aware, the Internet’s addressing system is approaching a watershed, as the available pool of Internet Protocol version 4 addresses nears depletion. This day has been anticipated for a very long time and the IPv6 standard itself was developed over a decade ago as IPv4’s successor. However, deployment of IPv6 has remained disappointingly slow.

With an abundant address supply necessary for the ongoing growth and stability of the Internet, the Internet Society views promotion of IPv6 deployment as one of our highest priorities.

This, again, is an area where ISOC-AU has long shown strong leadership and an ability to partner with government and industry: conducting research, providing education, developing resources, and staging events, such as the IPv6 Summits they have successfully held since 2005. And I note the next event is to be held in Melbourne in early December 2009.

As the president and CEO of the Internet Society, it gives me great comfort to know that the global mission of the organisation is so conscientiously and competently represented in Australia.

Under the leadership of Tony Hill and Holly Raiche, supported by so many other committed individuals from many different fields, ISOC-AU embodies the multistakeholder model which is so critical to the development of Internet technologies, policies, and governance structures.

The Internet continues to grow in importance in every aspect of our public and private lives. As technological and social conditions evolve and intertwine, governments and policy makers will need to draw more than ever before on diverse expert advisers and community representatives.

And so, like all other Internet Society Chapters, ISOC-AU will increasingly be called upon to provide leadership and informed inputs in many areas.

For example, an issue of significance in the current national environment is how best to deal with potentially harmful online content. In this, I am sure that ISOC-AU will continue to be a valuable source of rational, knowledgeable inputs that can help policymakers address valid community concerns, without compromising the technological foundations that allow the Internet to deliver so many public benefits.

Having used the word leadership several times now, I would like to take a few moments to tell you about a new Internet Society programme which I’m very excited about.

This year, we established the Internet Leaders programme to bring together and advance many of our long-standing activities. This program is intended to promote, and foster promising and talented individuals who can strengthen their local communities and bring local Internet-related issues and ideas to the global stage.

Our Internet Leaders programme brings together and extends several existing efforts, such as our Fellowship to the IETF programme and our Internet Governance Forum Ambassador programme.

The Internet Leader programme is designed to bring together people at the intersection of policy, technology, and education. It embodies the values that have been central to the development and ongoing evolution of the Internet, such as open standards, freely accessible processes, and transparent governance.

The Internet has so far experienced tremendous development; so much so that we can forget it is still very much a work in progress. With over a billion individuals so far connected, the Internet is heading towards technical, social, and policy maturity.

But bringing the next billion Internet users online requires engagement and effort to identify and develop the new generation of Internet Leaders. These individuals need to be armed with complementary skills: not only with a sound technical knowledge, but also with a comprehensive understanding of international policy agendas.

We are very fortunate to already have a great platform upon which to work. Our active, dynamic, engaged Chapter network – of which ISOC-AU is a model example – is an important incubator of potential future leaders.

We have come far already, but there is still so much work to be done to bring the benefits of the Internet to everyone. There has never been a better time to be a part of this effort: to be a part of the Internet Society, or to be a member of an ISOC Chapter.

I sincerely thank you all for your hard work and commitment to date, and I look forward to your leadership and inspiration as our journey continues.