Individual Members 

Dear Colleagues,

We are all deeply shocked and saddened by the recent earthquake in Haiti, and the terrible toll it has extracted from the Haitian people and the nation.

In these first days, the major priority, of course, is the humanitarian relief effort, and to this end, we encourage all ISOC members and friends to donate what they can to the relief effort.

Our thoughts go out immediately to the people of Haiti, especially to our friends, colleagues, and fellow members in all affected areas.

In the chaos of the destruction, we have heard many stories of the vital role of communications technology in search and rescue, in reuniting families, and in guiding the relief efforts. Despite the damage done, many aspects of Haiti’s Internet and telecommunications infrastructure have continued to operate and have proven invaluable to the crisis response.

More than anything, this affirms the importance of the Internet Society’s mission, and it guides us in how we can apply our efforts to helping the people and the nation of Haiti recover.

Restoring damaged communications infrastructure will be crucial to the humanitarian and disaster relief efforts underway. In the longer term, providing the help Haiti needs to further develop and improve its Internet infrastructure will support the institutions of governance, business, and education necessary for rebuilding Haiti’s social and economic recovery.

The Internet Society had already planned to dedicate significant efforts towards education and capacity building in the Caribbean region in 2010. In light of this recent tragedy, much of this effort will be refocused and intensified around Haiti. Together with our regional partners, we will in the coming days, weeks, and months communicate more about our plans, and how we can best meet the needs expressed to us by the Haitian Internet community.

These efforts will be lead by Karen Rose, ISOC’s Director of Access and Development Initiatives, with the close support of our Latin America and Caribbean Bureau, and the Chapters and members in the region. For now, the ISOC homepage links to the Red Cross humanitarian appeal. Soon, we will begin providing links on how we can all contribute to the longer term Internet-related projects that will support Haiti’s recovery.

We especially wish to draw attention to the immediate response of organizations such as Inveneo, NetHope, the Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC), Packet Clearing House (PCH), LACNIC, the IEEE, and many others, all mobilizing for much-needed, practical, on-the-ground assistance.

Finally, on behalf of the ISOC community, we send a message of solidarity to leading members of the Haitian Internet community, such as Max Larson Henry, Reynold Guerrier, and Stephane Bruno, who are working tirelessly to restore and rebuild.

In these distressing times, there is at least some comfort from knowing that we can call on the unstinting support of a global, dedicated, community.

Sincerely,

Lynn St.Amour
President & CEO, Internet Society

Raúl Echeberría
Chair, ISOC Board of Trustees

Technical organizations
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Inveneo
http://www.inveneo.org

NetHope
http://www.nethope.org

Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC)
http://nsrc.org

Packet Clearing House (PCH)
http://pch.net

LACNIC
http://lacnic.net

IEEE
http://www.ieee.org

Humanitarian relief
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International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
http://www.ifrc.org

UNICEF
http://www.unicef.org

Médecins Sans Frontières
http://www.msf.org