The PICISOC Board welcomes its four newly elected members.  89 PICISOC members participated in the election, and although this is  a small percentage of our total membership, the number far exceeds electoral participants in past years. The Board was very grateful for the services of the Internet Society officer, Naveed Haq, who coordinated the Pacific Chapter’s election in collaboration with two Board members, Jackson Miake and Patrick Queet.

The successful candidates were: Edwin Liava’a (Fiji), Ellen Strickland (NZ), Priscilla Kevin (PNG) and Winnie Kula Amini (PNG). They join current Board members – Jackson Miake (Vanuatu), Patrick Queet (Fiji) and Maureen Hilyard (Cook Islands) who still have a year to serve.

The new Board will take over from the current Board following the Board’s Annual Report to the members at the AGM which will be held at PacINET, Rarotonga, Cook Islands on Thursday 25 September, 3pm (100 UTC)

Peter Dengate Thrush is globally recognized as a leader of Internet infrastructure and governance organisations.  He has ardently defended the Internet from singular points of control and capture. A free Internet, he believes, is instrumental for encouraging self-expression,innovation and fundamental economic growth.

This passion has defined his career since 1995 when he agreed to help a fledgling Internet association, InternetNZ, then recently formed, to assume responsibility for the .nz Top Level Domain as President of InternetNZ, and Chair of its International Affairs Committee. As a respected intellectual property barrister he made substantial contributions to the WIPO work done in 1999-2000 on domain names, and was instrumental in developing the UDRP – a global, compulsory arbitration process applying to generic domain names.

He served as Chairman of ICANN, the Los Angeles-based global governance authority of the Internet, between 2007 and 2011. At ICANN, he led the process to replace the direct US Government oversight of ICANN with accountability to the global Internet community.  He also led the introduction of internationalised (non-english) domain names, the de-regulation of the registry/registrar market, increased security for internet users via the addition of DNSSEC (cryptographic security) to the root of the Internet, and the introduction of a market-driven process for adding new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs). These innovations are cumulatively the biggest changes to the Internet since its inception.

Until January 31, 2013 Peter was the Executive Chaiman of Top Domain Holdings Limited. TLDH is registered on the London Stock Exchange, (AIM:TLDH.L), and is the only publicly traded company focused exclusively on acquiring and operating new generic top-level domains.  He is also the founder and chairman of the charitable trust that awards the New Zealand Internet Industry Awards.

He has also been invited to the boards of several technology based startups. Currently, he serves on two – dealing with patented facial recognition software, and a new Top Level Domain for New Zealanders.

He is prized for his singular-minded focus and stamina in setting and achieving strategic goals, building, energizing, and guiding management, and balancing diverse and sometimes conflicting stakeholders, to transform small but ambitious organizations into key commercial or non-commercial players on the public stage.

He is familar with recruiting, counselling and evaluating performance of CEOs, and provides strategic advice to boards on issues facing start-ups. He is accustomed to reaching out to, and working with Heads of State, Ministerial-level elected and Governmental officials around the world, and is a diplomatic and skillful negotiator.

Peter is an expert sought after by the media, and has been widely interviewed and quoted in leading publications and outlets such as BBC, The New York Times, The Economist, and the WSJ. He has also chaired international meetings and working groups and given keynote addresses in approximately 80 cities in 70 countries.

Current nominations

Brian Louey-Gung – Fiji

Edwin Liava’a – Fiji

Ellen Strickland – InternetNZ

Freddie Forrest Apakali – Papua New Guinea

Ikapote Tavalea – Tonga

Priscilla Kevin – Papua New Guinea

Winifred Kula Amini – Papua New Guinea

Brian Louey-Gung

(nominated by Ian Thomson, seconded by Patrick Queet).

Improved connectivity via submarine cable and O3b is enabling more and more Pacific Islanders to participate fully in the global online economy, not just as consumers, but as suppliers and entrepreneurs. I would like to see PICISOC develop more focussed support for existing and aspiring online entrepreneurs amongst the members – to help them better understand the commercialisation process, such as: demonstrate proof of concept; develop a practical business plan; and increase their chances of attracting start-up investors.

My qualifications and experience in commercialisation include a Master’s of Science and Technology Commercialisation from the University of Adelaide, followed by six years assisting technology inventors to obtain patents and commercialise their work. This qualification builds on a BSc (Hons) degree majoring in Pure Mathematics from the University of Melbourne and a Graduate Diploma in Computing from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

I believe that PICISOC needs to continue its contributions to the internet governance debates. My contribution to these efforts will be based on 30+ years working with and for telecommunications companies (Telstra, Link, Iridium South Pacific) and regulators (Australian Communications and Media Authority – ACMA), with several years at senior executive levels. Having worked extensively on the topic of Convergence for the ACMA I am very aware that many legacy regulatory approaches are simply not appropriate for the internet.

I have a pragmatic approach to regulation and governance, and a keen appreciation of the barriers hindering the provision and maintenance of affordable ICT services to Pacific Islanders, most recently demonstrated in my work over the last 18 months as the Technical Advisor at the Pacific ICT Regulatory Resource Centre (PiRRC).

My personal principles are:

• Adapt what is worthwhile
• Discard what is no longer relevant
• Avoid the pitfalls (and there are so many of them!)

PICISOC needs to continue encouraging the development of innovative approaches for improving services in the Pacific. My knowledge and experience in telecommunications (technical, regulatory and management) will be a valuable complement to the internet expertise already present within PICISOC in pursuing this goal.

Edwin Liava’a – Fiji

(nominated by Maureen Hilyard, seconded by Anju Mangal)

Edwin has a personal philosophy  – “I innovate and provide solutions NOT problems”.  He has spent over 15 years working in the Pacific region, specialising in ICTs  and GIS, and offering his skills and talents  to support the building of solutions  across the Pacific. He has been a member of the PICISOC Board in the past, during which time he worked with ISOC on the Sphere Project – encouraging chapter engagement. Edwin worked with former Board members, Franck Martin and the late Les Allinson on IT projects in Tonga and Samoa at a time when PICISOC Board members themselves were involved in IT development in the Pacific at the implementation level.

Edwin is currently working as an ICT and GIS specialist in Fiji, but he has also worked in Papua New Guinea,  the Solomon Islands, as well as  Tonga and Samoa. While he worked for SOPAC he also did some work for the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. He comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience about the needs of IT users  across the Pacific. He has also been an IT tutor-trainer at USP. His practical skills and experience cover office systems, web design and programming, and among a host of other things, network administration using Windows but also a strong advocate for Linux and FOSS.  He is a founding member of the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo).   Because of his experience in the Pacific region, Ewin Liava’a would be a major asset to the PICISOC Board.

Ellen Strickland – InternetNZ

(nominated by Maureen Hilyard, seconded by Don Hollander)

I believe PICISOC is an important regional organisation, with a wide range of members who support the development of the Internet for the Pacific Island region, and I would be honoured to continue to support PICISOC as a Board member, if reelected.

I am currently Collaboration and Community Lead at InternetNZ, which manages the New Zealand ccTLD and is a charity which works with and for the Internet Community to promote the Internet and its benefits and protect its potential, including through hosting the NZ Internet Governance Forum initiative called NetHui.

I am also a Founder of Oceania Women’s Network Satellite, a company recently set up to support the development of the Internet in Oceania, which is focused on investing in new technologies, research and development and supporting innovation to enable all communities in our region to benefit from the Internet.

I have recently submitted my PhD thesis on Pacific Island regional ICT policy which was completed through the Centre for Communication and Social Change at the University of Queensland. I have been involved in Pacific Island internet research, training and community projects since 2003, when working for the NZ UNESCO National Commission and completing a Masters in Communications at Victoria University on Pacific Island Telecentres.

I have been serving on the PICISOC Board since 2010, as Secretary for the Board and recently Vice-chair Policy, and if reelected to the Board, I would like to continue to support members on policy and governance around Internet issues. So much is happening locally, nationally, regionally and internationally as the Internet grows and develops, having a network to share and engage with each other as a region is a vital role played by PICISOC, which I would be proud to support as a part of the Board.

Freddie Forrest Apakali – PNG

(nominated by Carole Cholai, seconded by Raula Gaikovina Kula )

Freddie is a veteran software developer with over 14 years of programming, systems analysis, software engineering and project lead experience. He is currently Senior LAMP Software Engineer with the Lucky Group Inc based in Santa Monica, California, USA. At the Lucky Group, his focus mostly on new feature development and enhancements by taking on new projects from concepts to technically functional systems. Having been in California for over the last 10 years Freddie has been involved in some exciting projects as a software developer. To mention a few, his direct involvement in the completion of a new and fully integrated medical billing system called Meddigo (Meddigo.com) for Care Concepts, the rollout of Ray-Ban’s new sunglasses e-commerce website, the completion of Callaway Golf’s current web marketing portal and the rollout of Auction.com’s satellite site specifically tailored for the German market. He was also involved as a lead engineer in enhancing an existing (open source) telephony web application for online teleconferencing and call forwarding (management) called SimpleDial.

In 2009 Freddie started Forrest Data Systems, a startup Software/IT company based in California. He has since been involved in developing web based applications and technology solutions (as a consultant) for other smaller companies and startups both in the USA and in PNG. Some PNG based entities he’s been involved with include Matrix PNG P/L (an SMS Mobile and ICT company), Enga Provincial Government and RPNGC.

Freddie is a prolonged advocate of web-based solutions, enterprise applications and internal workflows that must take full advantage of the World Wide Web vehicle. One of his core interests areas is to develop tailored subscription-based data services for PNG and eventually the Pacific region. Enforced by the ideas driven through the recent ICT Cluster Initiative in PNG.

Freddie is a graduate from the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor in Computer Science (BSCS). After graduation he started work with Ok Tedi Mining Limited, in PNG, as a Junior Analyst Programmer and was promoted to Analyst Programmer the following year. In 2004 he resigned from Ok Tedi to pursue his career in software development/engineering and so found his way to the USA. He has since then honed his skills over the years with on-the-job experience, personal training and certification, and eventually to where he is now as Senior LAMP Software Engineer.

His major interest areas and professional work stem around developing web-oriented industrial applications, internal workflows and the consumption of big data services through the use of the Internet (world wide web)

Occasionally he is available for side projects as a consultant for his own company Forrest Data Systems when he is not too busy with his regular work, or with his wife and two boys.

Ikapote Tavalea – Tonga

(nominated by Etuate Cocker, seconded by Jackson Miake)

Mr. Ikapote Tavalea is currently working as the ICT Consultant and Deputy CEO for the National Retirement Benefits Fund of Tonga. Mr. Tavalea has worked in various organizations for more than 15 years and gained vast knowledge and experiences in ICT field right from troubleshooting of a computer, installing and configuring of network servers, systems analysis, database development and implementation, managing ICT projects, managing the ICT and Operations division, up to providing ICT advices to the Board and executives. Mr. Tavalea has gained both technical and management skills and experiences. He was not confined to ICT area only but he was also working with other business divisions such as finance, investment, and operations in providing them with advices or ICT solutions.

Mr. Tavalea was very instrumental with the successful establishment of the Retirement Fund Board of Tonga in 1999 and the National Retirement Benefits Fund in 2011 especially with the design, installation, and administration of its ICT infrastructure.

Mr. Tavalea always strives to make a difference with ICT in either improving business’s processes, products, or services. With his ICT experiences, he also loves to promote innovation and uphold e-Pacific ways. Mr. Tavalea believes that during the digital age and virtual world, ICT is the core stimulator for economic growth of Pacific countries.

Mr. Tavalea holds a Master degree with First Class Honours in Computer and Information Sciences from the Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. He also holds a Bachelor degree in Computing and Mathematical Sciences majoring in Software Engineering from the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Mr. Tavalea is a certified Senior Member of the Australian Computer Society (ACS). He is also a Fellow Member of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia. Mr. Tavalea is a member of the National ICT committee and the e-Waste committee of Tonga. He was involved with the development of the National ICT Strategic Plan and the e-government project of Tonga. Mr. Tavalea has also been accepted to do PhD in Information Systems at the University of Auckland, New Zealand commencing in year 2015.

Priscilla Kevin – Papua New Guinea

(nominated by Winifred Amini, seconded by Maureen Hilyard)

Priscilla Kevin is a natural ICT entrepreneur and is the current director and owner of her own company In4net Ltd – an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and ICT Management Consulting start-up firm in Papua New Guinea. Priscilla has over 14 years ICT industry having worked as a consultant in ERP, an information Systems and Network Administrator for Post PNG Ltd and later as the Manager Information Systems for Daltron Ltd before leaving to start up her own technology firm.

Priscilla currently supports large enterprises in her firm and has a range of technical and business skills in Database systems, Server administration and Networking, customer relationship management, Point Of Sale, Assets Management, Procurement and Inventory Management, Microsoft and Linux systems, Messaging, Virtualisation, Disaster Recovery Planning and Cloud technology. Priscilla has deployed real time systems such as Electronic Funds Transfers for direct creditors banking for her clients, saving paper, printing costs and time and developing automated procurement systems to speed up approval and acquisitions within organisations.

Priscilla is passionate about her profession and the Industry. She is a current pioneer to the PNG ICT Cluster initiative in the Pacific (visit www.pngictcluster.com) which was applauded as a successful pilot cluster at the European Union PIPSO closing workshop in Fiji. Her passionate spirit and that of her colleagues has inspired more collaboration at country level, regional and global.

Priscilla has extensive networking within PNG’s private sector, government and academia through her line of work and her great people skills, ethics and personality. Her work space includes data mining and business analytics, financial management reporting and automation, and integrated enterprise solutions and workflows. She has passion to build technology solutions for the local market, the region and global.

Priscilla’s passion is to lead the pathway for technologists in her country and the region to contribute positively to their communities through effective leadership and legislation and the right use of affordable simple technology and the internet.

Priscilla holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Science and Computer Science with Merit from the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae. She is ranked as a top computer science student in her year and came in 11^th place out of a 100+ student taking engineering streams of studies. Priscilla holds several technology certifications in systems and database and is a member of the PNG Business Council, and an executive of the PNG Computer Society.

Winifred Kula Amini – Papua New Guinea

(nominated by Maureen Hilyard, seconded by Alisi Tuqa)

Winifred Kula Amini is enthusiastic about technology, entrepreneurship and innovation. She has over 15 years of Information Technology experience in business analysis, design and development of business processes and system solutions.  She is also currently the Vice President of the PNG Computer Society and also committee member for the PNG Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Cluster.

With the experience from the APEC Start-up Acceleration Leadership Summit in 2012 she believes that there is potential in the software development industry in PNG.  Software development is exciting and is yet to be nurtured.  Through her role in the PNG Computer Society and the PNG ICT Cluster more can be done for small startup companies and ICT Professionals to accelerate Research and Development projects especially in the fields of Internet, Mobile and Software engineering.

As part of the PNG ICT Cluster’s vision to be the Silicon Valley of the Pacific, one of the strategies is to establish an Internet Exchange Point (IXP).  PNG NICTA is currently in consultations to have this implemented, but currently all internet traffic in PNG, even local traffic, goes offshore from PNG and then re-routed back.  This adds to the high expense of internet provision and is also cause of the high congestion of the international gateway bandwidth (Tiare).

Her previous role was as the Project Manager for PNGs whole-of-government approach to e-Government called the Integrated Government Information System (IGIS) Project.  The IGIS Network is the largest e-government network in the country and is a multi-million dollar project which ended in June 2014.

She holds a Masters in Business majoring in entrepreneurship from the University of Queensland, Australia and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (With Merit) from the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae.

Winifred Kula Amini

(nominated by Maureen Hilyard, seconded by Alisi Tuqa)

Winifred Kula Amini is enthusiastic about technology, entrepreneurship and innovation. She has over 15 years of Information Technology experience in business analysis, design and development of business processes and system solutions.  She is also currently the Vice President of the PNG Computer Society and also committee member for the PNG Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Cluster.

With the experience from the APEC Start-up Acceleration Leadership Summit in 2012 she believes that there is potential in the software development industry in PNG.  Software development is exciting and is yet to be nurtured.  Through her role in the PNG Computer Society and the PNG ICT Cluster more can be done for small startup companies and ICT Professionals to accelerate Research and Development projects especially in the fields of Internet, Mobile and Software engineering.

As part of the PNG ICT Cluster’s vision to be the Silicon Valley of the Pacific, one of the strategies is to establish an Internet Exchange Point (IXP).  PNG NICTA is currently in consultations to have this implemented, but currently all internet traffic in PNG, even local traffic, goes offshore from PNG and then re-routed back.  This adds to the high expense of internet provision and is also cause of the high congestion of the international gateway bandwidth (Tiare).

Her previous role was as the Project Manager for PNGs whole-of-government approach to e-Government called the Integrated Government Information System (IGIS) Project.  The IGIS Network is the largest e-government network in the country and is a multi-million dollar project which ended in June 2014.

She holds a Masters in Business majoring in entrepreneurship from the University of Queensland, Australia and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (With Merit) from the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae.

Kia orana

As well as making a donation towards the running of PacINET 2014 on Rarotonga, Vint Cerf has also produced a little advertisement for the event. He speaks of PICISOC instead of PacINET, but we can forgive him that tiny error.  Vint’s presentation.

We also have the first draft of the  programme for the PacINET week ready. Many thanks to those who are participating.

A registration form is available for those who are coming. We need a “head-count” to plan for our venue and events.

We will also be looking into streaming the progress of the conference and some of the workshops, for remote participation.

Look forward to seeing you on Rarotonga, or online for PacINET.

Regards

Maureen

Affirmation of Multistakeholder Model for Internet governance  by World Leaders

London, United Kingdom

More than 3,300 people from around the world have registered for ICANN’s 50th meeting in London, making it the largest in the organization’s history.

“Today is a great day for advancement of the multistakeholder model and its inclusivity,” said Fadi Chehadé, President and CEO of ICANN. “ICANN 50 is a milestone meeting for many reasons, not the least of which is the remarkable affirmations of the multistakeholder model it has brought.”

Chehadé applauded the Chinese government’s adoption of the DNSSEC deployment and the expansion of the IPv6 protocol, which he said will assure the expansion of the continued global expansion of the Internet.

Minister Lu Wei of China’s Cyberspace Affairs Administration told attendees, “We all hold one single aspiration, i.e. to improve the governance of the Internet. This is in line with ICANN’s vision of ‘One World, One Internet’.”

Minister Lu expressed appreciation and support for the advancements of the multistakeholder model that framed the NETmundial meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil in April.

Minister Lu’s comments followed the recognition of the newly formed Lebanon Internet Center or LINC.

Dr. Imad Hoballah, a member of the LINC Board, said, “The multistakeholder approach draws its strength from the ability to bring together diverse views, and align them to a common goal of a global, interoperable Internet.”

Chehadé acknowledged the announcements by both Lebanon and China, “Both are a testament to the world’s growing commitment to an inclusive multistakeholder Internet governance model, as is the remarkably high participation from so many people from every region of the world.”

The U.K.’s Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries Edward Vaizey told attendees, “The Internet, as it has been governed, has to be seen as an unqualified success story. It’s created the opportunity for massive economic growth and for greater intellectual freedom. So if we’re going to look at the governance of the Internet, it’s important that we preserve those principles.”

Board Chair, Dr. Stephen Crocker, embraced ICANN’s maturation to meet the needs of an expanding online world.  “Our world, – the Internet world… is constantly evolving, changing to meet the ever-expanding number of global Internet users”

The Board Chair for the UK Internet registry Nominet, Baroness Rennie Fritchie said, “We approach the challenge of Internet governance with the same appetite, finding better ways of doing our bit, working together and a desire to make real progress.”

“In an increasingly globalized world, having a sense of identity, of course, becomes ever more important,” the First Minister of Wales, the Rt Hon Carwyn James told attendees, “The Internet allows us to make connections that go beyond our local neighborhoods and even beyond our country’s borders, allowing individuals to develop their personal identity in whatever manner they see fit.”

ICANN also announced the winner of the 2014 Multistakeholder Ethos Award – Avri Doria, policy and governance advisor for dotgay LLC. The Multistakeholder Ethos Award recognizes ICANN participants who have deeply invested in consensus-based solutions, recognized the importance of ICANN’s multistakeholder model of Internet governance, and contributed in a substantive way to the higher interests of ICANN’s organization and its community.

ICANN’s 50th meeting will continue through the week with sessions on ICANN’s global accountability and consideration of the U.S. government’s proposal to transition of the stewardship of the Internet’s technical functions to global multistakeholder model.

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To learn more about ICANN50 go here: http://london50.icann.org/en/.