<incom> ISOC supports Internet growth in the developing world (Modified by Geert Lovink)

[S. Kritikos]

ISOC supports Internet growth in the developing world
http://www.isoc.org/isoc/media/releases/071114pr.shtml

Presence of the global Internet community in Brazil symbolises
role of developing online populations in the Internet's future

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL, 14 November 2007 . The Internet Society
(ISOC) today welcomed the presence of a global Internet event in
Brazil as recognition of the energy and creativity that people in
emerging Internet markets can bring to the Internet community.

"I am very happy to be here in Brazil for the Internet Governance
Forum (IGF) this week as one of the representatives of the
Internet community," said Lynn St. Amour, President and CEO of
the Internet Society.

"It is an exciting time for the Internet,. said St. Amour.
.Brazil and other countries with developing economies and huge
populations . such as China and India . are now major drivers of
global Internet expansion. As these economies emerge, we look
forward to their engineers, developers, and entrepreneurs also
continuing to emerge as creative forces in the Internet
community."

Facilitating the next billion Internet users should be one of
the overarching goals of the IGF and of all stakeholder
organisations involved in the Internet space..

ISOC plays an important role, with many initiatives aimed at
supporting the developing world. For instance, it provides a
generous Fellowship Programme to help technologists from
developing countries attend Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF) meetings, where the major Internet standards and
operational practices are developed. These fellowships have the
dual benefit of building capacity in local communities and
broadening the perspectives represented in the standards
development process.

ISOC also conducts a broad education programme with a strong
focus on emerging economies, in particular the Country Code Top
Level Domain (ccTLD) workshops, involvement with regional network
operator groups, participation in the FRIDA digital innovation
grants program in Latin America, and support for various Internet
capacity building events worldwide.

To further increase its support for local Internet communities,
ISOC has recently established its first Regional Bureaus, for
Africa and for Latin America and the Caribbean, with plans to
establish an Asian Bureau soon.

Sebasti.n Bellagamba, Manager of ISOC's Latin America and
Caribbean Regional Bureau, explains that ISOC has a global
membership base, with a growing representation from this region.

"Both individuals and organisations become ISOC members," said
Bellagamba. "Groups of members often form ISOC Chapters .
voluntary associations that share a common location or interest.
Already we have eight active chapters in Latin America, doing
great work in spreading awareness and education of the Internet,
building capacity, and informing policy makers in their
countries."

"The Internet has always been driven by the energy and ideas of
those who actually use it," says Bellagamba. "It's great to see
so many new users getting online now in Latin America and I
really look forward to the energy, ideas, and surprising
innovations they will surely bring."