http://www.isoc.org

The Internet Society (ISOC)

Sebastián Bellagamba

Manager – Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean

bellagamba@isoc.org

2008 Caribbean Internet Forum

Port of Spain – Trinidad & Tobago

October 2008

http://www.isoc.org

ISOC’s Mission

"To promote and assure the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit

of all people throughout the world."

The Internet is for Everyone!

http://www.isoc.org

The Internet Society

• Founded in 1992 by Internet Pioneers– International non-profit organization

– 90+ organization members (companies, government agencies and NGOs)

– 28,000+ individual members– 90+ chapters worldwide– Regional Bureaus: Africa, Latin America & Caribbean,

South & South East Asia

• ISOC is an international cause-related organization that works for the open development and evolution of the Internet for all people. Does so through work across the areas of technical standards, education and capacity-building as well as public policy.

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http://www.isoc.org

ISOC Principles

• ISOC's principles and activities are based upon a fundamental belief that the Internet is for everyone.

• Envisions a future in which people everywhere can use the Internet to improve quality of life

– possible when standards, technologies, business practices, and government policies sustain an open and universally accessible platform for innovation, creativity, and economic opportunity

• Core beliefs– http://www.isoc.org/pubpolpillar/principles.shtml

http://www.isoc.org

What makes ISOC unique?

• Focus is the Internet– Education, Standards, Policy

• Organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Internet Architecture Board (IAB), and related bodies

• Enable capacity and technical community building throughout the world

• Key player in Internet policy• Global, with local and regional perspective

http://www.isoc.org

ISOC’s Strategic Initiatives

• Enabling Access to the Internet – through policy, standards and technology, and new resources

• InterNetWorks – so that the Internet remains an open end-to-end entity – with all of the associated technological, policy, social, and business benefits

• Trust & Identity – identifying and promoting activities that resolve some of the persistent issues in this critical area

– e.g. elevating “identity" to a core issue in network research and standards development

http://www.isoc.org

Enabling Access

• *Major* Challenge: how to put the next billion on-line

• EA is not *only* a technology driven issue: it includes for example, access to technical skills and knowledge, the regulatory and policy environment for information and telecommunications services, and broader economic and market factors, language diversity, and the diffusion and reliability of basic infrastructures and services.

• Access: access to *and* use of the network-enabled services that would make a difference in people lives

http://www.isoc.org

Public Policy

• Integrated in ISOC’s global strategy

1. Localize high level discussions: regional approach

2. Engagement/Visibility

3. Collaborative engagement with the TC

4. Bottom-up approach (Members)

http://www.isoc.org

Standards & Protocols

• Organization home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Architecture Board (IAB)

• IETF (www.ietf.org)– Writes basic Internet protocol standards– Open group of >2000 individual engineers from

many countries

• Standards and Protocols are open– No fees; specifications widely known

• ISOC funds ~40% of IETF’s activities

http://www.isoc.org

Internet Engineering Task Force

• Open:– anyone can join any WG, email participation– drafts are public– final documents (RFCs) are free

• Consensus-based:– WG decisions are taken using email by rough

consensus, with no formal vote– Final review and approval by IESG

• Self governance:– active individual participants pick the IESG and IAB– no corporate or individual formal membership

http://www.isoc.org

ISOC Education Focus

• To provide and distribute information related to the Internet and its technologies to individuals, and to public and private organizations, including governments,

• To provide assistance with Internet deployment to people in technologically developing countries, and

• To promote the development of self-sustaining communities able to effectively deploy and exploit local and regional education and training and resources.

http://www.isoc.org

Fellowship and Grants

• ISOC Fellowship to the IETF– http://www.isoc.org/educpillar/fellowship/

• IGF Ambassadors– https://www.isoc.org/pubpolpillar/governance/

igfambassadors/index.php

• FRIDA– http://www.programafrida.net/en/index.html

• ISOC Chapter’s Project Funding Initiative– http://www.isoc.org/isoc/chapters/application/

http://www.isoc.org

Thank you!

Sebastián Bellagamba

Manager – Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean

bellagamba@isoc.org