Individual Members 

[Geneva, Switzerland and Washington, DC, USA, 15 March 2010] As the importance of the Internet grows in all aspects of modern life, so too do the challenges of those in positions of leadership and responsibility.

Responding to the need for well-qualified leadership, the Internet Society is now accepting applications from people seeking to join the new generation of Internet leaders to address the critical technology, policy, business, and education challenges that lie ahead.

Successful candidates in the Internet Society’s Next Generation Leaders programme will gain a wide range of skills in a variety of disciplines, as well as the ability and experience to work with people at all levels of society.

This programme, under the patronage of the European Commission, blends course work and practical experience to help prepare young professionals (aged from 20 to 40) from around the world to become the next generation of Internet technology, policy, and business leaders.

“The Internet Society’s Next Generation Leaders programme is a unique opportunity to identify potential Internet leaders and help them accelerate their careers,” said Bill Graham, responsible for strategic global engagement at the Internet Society.

The key to the Internet’s success lies in the “Internet model” of decentralized architecture and distributed responsibility for development, operation, and management. That model also creates important leadership opportunities, especially in those spaces where technology, policy, and business intersect.

“We have designed the Next Generation Leaders programme to prepare young professionals for leadership, bridging the boundaries between business, technical development, policy, and governance on local, regional, and international levels,” said Graham.

Applications for the eLearning component – compulsory for those that wish to graduate from the programme – will be accepted from now until 5 April.

Full details of the Next Generation Leaders programme are available here.

Also opening today are applications for the ISOC Ambassadorships to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and ISOC Fellowships to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Applicants of all ages are invited to apply for the Fellowships to the IETF.

Full details are available at:

IGF: http://www.isoc.org/pubpolpillar/igfambassadors/
IETF: http://www.isoc.org/educpillar/fellowship/

The Internet Society’s Next Generation Leaders programme is sponsored by Nominet Trust.

The Internet Society Fellowships to the IETF are also sponsored by Afilias, Google, Microsoft, and Intel.

For more information on how to become a programme partner, visit http://www.isoc.org/leaders or e-mail leader-sponsor@isoc.org.