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ISOC Monthly NewsletterAugust 2009“IPv6 Act Now” web site calls for action on IPv6 adoption“IPv6 Act Now” is a new web site launched by the RIPE NCC to promote recognition that “sustainable growth of the IPv4-based Internet is coming to an end, and that it is time to move on, with IPv6 as the successor”. Featuring news, information, and links to IPv6 addressing policy around the world, “IPv6 Act Now” is a valuable resource for anyone interested in IPv6 adoption. The Internet Society’s Mat Ford (Technology Program Manager) was recently featured on the site, discussing IPv6 deployment, the role of government, and the risks of inaction. Internet Society AMS Project UpdateContributed by Lincoln McNey After the demonstration of the “alpha” Chapter Portal to the Chapter Steering Committee in late July, work has been ongoing to incorporate feedback and make changes to the portal so it is more aligned with Internet Society terms and processes. On 9 September, ISOC will present the beta version of this portal to a wider group – for this demonstration, all Chapter Delegates and AMS Points of Contact have been invited to provide feedback. In order to include as many participants as possible, two demo times on 9 September have been scheduled: UTC 07:30 and UTC 20:00. Like the last demo, it will be conducted online via Webex, and each participant will receive a separate Webex invitation. Along with the Chapters group, the Internet Society Events group will also be using the AMS portal. In early August a separate demo of the proposed solution was arranged for this group, and feedback given from that department. As Chapter officers will have the ability to set up their own meetings in this new portal, they will benefit from the enhancements requested by the Events group. Localization is proceeding well and we hope to have at least some demonstrable localizations for the 9 September online meeting. The target languages for the first production portal iteration are English, French, German, and Spanish. Finally, a communication plan has been set up to ensure all ISOC Global and Sustaining Members, ISOC Chapter Members, and Chapter Officers are sent new portal login information in advance of the go-live. This will be in parallel with online training to be available. As part of this AMS and Chapter portal effort, we also want to remind Chapter leaders about the data-consistency initiative, which seeks to make consistent all the different sources of information regarding a Chapter and its related information, such as Chapter officers (please note that Chapter membership data is not reviewed as part of this work. This will be reviewed as an ongoing process once the system is live). The consistency work also includes a compliance review of the use of Chapter logos, use of social media tools, and website information. Consistent, accurate and up-to-date details for each Chapter is an important priority as we move towards the 15 October 15 launch date for Aptify. We would like to thank you in advance for your timely response to our emails Finally, other project highlights include:
As before, please write to ams-project@isoc.org for further details. ISOC features at eINDIA 2009Contributed by Rajnesh D. Singh eINDIA 2009 was held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre from 25-27 August. eINDIA provides a platform for knowledge sharing in different domains of ICT for development and facilitates multi-stakeholder partnerships and networking among governments, industry, academia and civil society organizations of different countries, including the host country, India. The conference had five tracks (egov India, digital learning India, Indian Telecentre Forum, eHEALTH India, eAgriculture India), an exhibition of products and services, and is billed as India’s largest ICT event. The conference and exhibition is organized by Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS), based in Noida. The Indian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology is a co-organizer. This year’s conference had over 3000 delegates from across India and Asia. Further information on eINDIA is available here. The eINDIA Award programme is held annually alongside the eINDIA conference proceedings. eINDIA Awards are open for all national and international government organizations, civil society organizations, bi-lateral, multi-lateral developmental organizations and enterprises who have transformed social development opportunities into a sustainable social enterprise through innovative use of ICTs. Each of the conference tracks has an award which comprises:
Further details on the eINDIA awards available here. An interesting point to note is that every winning project used the Internet as the form of service/application delivery. This highlights the importance of the Internet as an enabling technology for socio-economic development. ISOC’s engagement during eINDIA 2009 included a workshop on Internet and Public Policy issues and a booth in the exhibition area. The booth received a great deal of interest and attention from conference delegates. The workshop included presentations on some of ISOC’s programs and activities and the state of the Internet in India. A lively panel discussion deliberated various public policy issues seen as high priority for India. The issues identified included multilingualism, low cost access, government policies, and the need for an inclusive approach. Further details on the workshop are available here. Rajnesh D. Singh, ISOC’s Regional Bureau Manager, was invited to speak during the plenary session of the Child Protection Online workshop organized by the UN Solution Exchange and Department of Information Technology, Government of India. This workshop was held during eINDIA 2009. Singh provided some perspectives on Internet behaviour and use patterns by young Internet users and highlighted the need for educating children about the Internet from an early age. He also emphasized the need for parents and care givers to understand and appreciate the Internet and related technology, realizing the fact that most children are far more adept at using this technology then they are. Singh was also invited to speak during the valedictory and closing session of eINDIA where he highlighted the fact that the Internet played an important part in the delivery and use of various applications and services as highlighted during the conference. He also emphasized the need to mainstream discussion and deliberations on Internet policy. African Technical Capacity Development Programme gathers momentumContributed by Michuki Mwangi Already assisting some 60 African technologists in just three months, ISOC’s new technical capacity development programme for Africa is building both skills and sustainability, thanks to participation by ISOC Chapters and local Internet communities. The programme aims to broaden the reach, impact, and sustainability of Internet technical training in Africa by promoting the localized training of the AfNOG curriculum, and in particular “Track 0″ of the curriculum, which provides foundational Unix, DNS, IP, and other basic skills required for more advanced training. A key difference between this programme and others is that the local hosting community must develop a sustainability plan and commit to offering the course on a regular schedule going forward. ISOC has partnered with AfNOG and NSRC to help ensure the success of the program. In June and July, ISOC Congo-Brazzaville Chapter and ISOC Ghana Chapter volunteered to serve as the first two local hosts for the training (thanks for your submissions to the member newsletter!). In Rwanda, where there is no ISOC Chapter, Internet engineers across the private sector, government, and academia came together to host the event. Additional trainings are scheduled for Ethiopia and Kenya later this year. Also there is interest in hosting the trainings from the Mali and Burundi Chapters and discussion are ongoing. “Not only does this programme help build technical skills on a sustainable basis,” said Karen Rose, Director of Access and Development Initiatives, “it also provides a convenient in-country event that can help catalyse other community-based activities.” If a Chapter is located in Africa and is interested in serving as a local host of the training, we would like to hear from you. All local hosts candidates must commit to a minimum set of hosting and sustainability requirements. For more information please contact Michuki Mwangi, Senior Education Manager at <mwangi@isoc.org> Chapter update: Hong KongContributed by Ping Wong 3C Forum: Creativity, Content, Community – “Digital Content Jam 1.0″ ICANN New gTLD Global Consultation and Outreach in Hong Kong APNIC IPv6 and IRME Training in Hong Kong Media Literacy Forum Chapter update: GhanaISOC Ghana Organizes ‘AfNOG E0 Localisation’ Workshop Contributed by Eric Akumiah The Internet Society Ghana Chapter (ISOC GHANA) has organized the first ‘AfNOG E0 Localization’ Unix Systems Administration Workshop at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. The Workshop, which took place from 27-31 July 2009 is in line with the Internet Society’s initiative of localizing AfNOG Track E0 Unix Systems Administration Workshops in African countries. The Workshop, which was aimed at building capacity in Unix Systems Administration in Ghana was supported by the Internet Society, Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC), and Africa Network Operators’ Group (AfNOG). Twenty four (24) Information Technology (IT) participants from industry, government, tertiary institutions and non-profit organizations attended the workshop which was organized by Internet Society, Ghana Chapter. Subsequent workshops will be organized by the Ghana Network Operators’ Group (ghNOG), which was inaugurated on the last day of the Workshop. The Ghana Network Operators’ Group is a forum for sharing technical information among technical operators of Internet services. Part of its role is to harmonize the activities of network operators locally, with the aim of improving their work and ICT in general. ‘E0 Localization’ workshops will be organized twice yearly in Ghana. Mr. Gideon Quarcoo, the Deputy Minister of Communication attended the inaugural meeting of ghNOG on behalf of Honorable Haruna Idrissu, Minister of Communication. He challenged ghNOG to complement the Government’s efforts and provide practical and meaningful measures that can also help control cyber fraud, which has become a menace in the society. In his opening remarks Mr. Daniel Obuobi, President of ISOC Ghana Chapter and Head of the IT and Computer Science Department at the University of Cape of Cape Coast said his institution was privileged to be the host of the first ‘AfNOG Track E0 Localization’ Workshop. Speakers at the inauguration included, Prof. Nii Narku Quaynor, AfNOG Convener who spoke on “IGF: A Multi-stakeholder Process”; Mr. Issah Yahaya, Director of Policy Planning and Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Communication, Ghana spoke on “New ICT initiative for Accelerated Development”; and Mr. Ezer Boateng, a representative of the Ghana Internet Service Providers Association (GISPA) gave insights on the prospects and challenges of an improved national Internet infrastructure. Other speakers included Mr. Eric Akumiah, General Manager, Africa Top Level Domain (AfTLD) Mr. Ayitey Bulley, AfNOG Technical Coordinator and Prof. M. Dakubu of GarNET (Ghana Education and Research Network). The ghNOG event course material, photos, speeches, and presentations can be found on the ISOC Ghana website. Chapter update: LuxembourgContributed by Anne Deschuyteneer Next September, the Luxembourg chapter will take part in the working group that will update the charter for the .LU ccTLD. The working group is convened by the the ccTLD manager, the RESTENA Foundation and the Ministry of Telecommunications. Among the topics that need decision, and which are highly important for us are the introduction of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) and the protection of personal data in the WHOIS database. Au mois de septembre, le chapitre participera au groupe de travail qui révisera la charte de nommage du domaine national .lu. Ce groupe est convoqué par le gestionnaire du ccTLD, la Fondation RESTENA et le ministère des télécommuncations. Parmi les sujet qui réclament une décision, et qui sont particulièrement importants pour nous, figurent l’introduction des noms de domaines internationalisés (IDN), ainsi que la protection des données personnelles dans la base de données WHOIS. ARIN opens applications for fellowshipsARIN (the Regional Internet Registry for Canada, many Caribbean and North Atlantic islands, and the United States) is now accepting applications for their new Fellowship Program. ARIN Fellowships provide financial support for one individual from each of the three sectors within ARIN’s service area to attend an ARIN Public Policy and Members Meeting. Priority goes to applicants who will be attending their first ARIN meeting. The program aims to broaden education outreach in the community and bring new ideas into the public policy discussions. The deadline for applications is 28 August 2009, and full details are available here. Any questions about the ARIN Fellowship Program should be sent to info@arin.net. Chapter Update : CongoContributed by Jean Philemon Kissangou Capacity building in ICTs is one of the areas retained in the “Tunis Agenda” as a focal point for implementation of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) outcomes. In line with this, and in the framework of ISOC’s Education Programme workshop, an AfNOG-workshop on BSD Unix administration was recently localized in Brazzaville, Congo (22-27 June 2009). These workshops will be held by local ISOC Chapters three times annually. For this one, Michuki Mwangui, ISOC’s Senior Education Manager assisted in the management of this course.  AfNOG Localizaion Workshop, Brazzaville, Congo (22-27 June 2009). The workshop was held at the Campus Numérique Francophone, with 25 attendees coming from different institutions and organizations (including private sector ISPs, public sector employees, and students and teachers from public and private academies). Three trainers presented the course, one coming from Kinshasa, DRC (Alain Ilunga), one from Rwanda (Coko Tracy Mirindi Musaza), and one local trainer (Serge Parfait Goma). During the five-day workshop, trainers led the participants through Free BSD operating system installation, the use of key Unix commands, and the configuration of networking services, such as DNS (bind9), mail (postfix and Exim) and web (Apache). At the end of the workshop, a brief closing ceremony was held, where packages of learning material including Free BSD books and OS CDs, Unix and administration books, and IETF75 materials were distributed to each attendee. The local ISOC Chapter, through its coordinator and with the assistance of Michuki, took that opportunity to also explain the mission of ISOC and the scope of AfNOG local training, and to encourage trainers to promote networking skills and Internet use. ISOC announces Ambassadors for IGF 2009[6 August 2009] The Internet Society is pleased to announce the list of candidates chosen as ISOC Ambassadors for the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) meeting to be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in November 2009. The Ambassador program is designed to involve members in ISOC’s global engagement activities while providing valuable expertise and know-how to the IGF meeting. ISOC received more than 100 expressions of interest from individuals around the world, ensuring an excellent pool of suitable candidates. In addition to a staff review, ISOC established a Selection Committee comprised of individuals familiar with the Internet Governance Forum to evaluate applications. This year, for the first time, ISOC has also selected several previous IGF Ambassadors to serve as “returning Ambassadors”, building on the work already done and the connections the Ambassadors established in previous meetings. The following candidates have been selected as the ISOC 2009 IGF Ambassadors: New ISOC Ambassadors to the IGF (18)
Returning Ambassadors (4)
The IGF 2009 meeting will take place from 15-18 November 2009 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. More information on ISOC’s involvement in the IGF available here. Community Grants Programme Project ShowcaseContributed by Kaprie Thoronka, ChildHelp Sierra Leone (November 2008 grantee) Project Title: Unleashing the Power of Adolescent Girls The ICT Sector of ChildHelp Sierra Leone aims to harness the multifaceted benefits of Information and Communication Technologies for social justice and socio-economic development. The project “Unleashing the Power of Adolescent Girl’s Network through Information Communication Technologies (UPAG/ICT)“, funded by ISOC’s Comunity Grants Programme, is intended for 600 girls and women who, shouldering the greater responsibilities at home, are less educated and hold less economic and political power. They are introduced to the use of Internet with capacity support from Senior Experten Service (from Bonn, Germany). Other IT agencies, including the Institute of IT Professionals, contributed to the capacity building and Internet connectivity in Looking Town – Makeni, Gbendembu Town, Magburaka, and Lunsar towns in the Northern Province. Participants who were not previously computer literate are engaged in Internet activities and various life-skills. So far 490 women and girls have been given basic computing and in-house and mobile Internet training at the four centres, followed by workshops and ICT activities. The outcome not only improves girls’ lives, but also subtly undermines dominant power paradigms, creating an environment of combustion and social change. It is so interesting to see beneficiaries, staff, and stakeholders meet at the ICT Centre, interact online (using the services Tags, Face-Pic, the Sierra Leone platform, and forums) on issues that need explanations and solutions beyond boundaries. Learn more about the Community Grants Programme. Internet Society Announces New Board of TrusteesLeaders from Academia, Industry, and Internet Community Guide Global Effort RESTON, VA, USA and GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – 3 August 2009 – The Internet Society today announced its new Board of Trustees, comprised of leaders from industry, academia, and the global Internet community. The diverse and distinguished board membership reflects the Internet Society’s mission of providing global leadership in promoting the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world. Members of the Board with terms beginning this year are:
Raúl Echeberría, the Executive Director of LACNIC (the Internet Address Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean), continued as a board member and was selected as the new chair of the Board. “I look forward to working with the worldwide Internet Society community of members and chapters, and my colleagues on the board, to continue the important work of the Internet Society in promoting access to, and supporting the continued growth of, the Internet while preserving its core values,” said Raúl Echeberría, Chair of the Internet Society’s Board of Trustees. During its first meeting, the Board formally thanked outgoing chair Daniel Karrenberg for his service over the past three years. Daniel Karrenberg, Chief Scientist at RIPE NCC, said, “It has been both an honour and a pleasure to chair the board. After three years it is time to take a step back. I look forward to serving another two years as a trustee and to supporting Raúl in taking over as chair.” Continuing Members of the Board of Trustees are:
“The Internet Society Board of Trustees is truly international—a tremendous benefit as we work to fulfill our mission of an Internet that is accessible for everyone, everywhere,” said Lynn St. Amour, President and CEO of the Internet Society. The Board of Trustees reappointed Ted Hardie as Treasurer and Scott Bradner as Secretary. Trustees serve in the interest of the Internet Society as a whole, and are appointed or elected by the following groups: Chapters, Organization members, and the Internet Architecture Board (IAB). More information, including biographical details of all Board members and details of the Board selection process are available at: http://www.isoc.org/isoc/general/trustees About the Internet Society Media Contact ISOC Member Newsletter. Suggestions, comments, and questions welcome to, newsletter@isoc.org ISOC's key initiatives target the critical issues that affect all aspects of Internet development and growth. They embody ISOC's philosophy that the Internet is for everyone and they provide the organization with a solid foundation from which to positively influence standards development, access, business practices, and government policies. |
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