The Internet Society in the Pacific
Countdown to our PACIFIC HACKATHON happening on the 12th & 13th of April 2022. We have 2 more days before this amazing event.
Awesome work by our organisers and Hub Coordinators getting everything ready.
To our amazing Sponsors & partners, thank you for bringing Pacific Hackathon to us.
#EU #UNDP #PICISOC #PIANGO #USP #TWICT #ZYBERWISE #NZCERT #SITA
Countdown to our PACIFIC HACKATHON happening on the 12th & 13th of April 2022. We have 2 more days before this amazing event.
Awesome work by our organisers and Hub Coordinators getting everything ready.
To our amazing Sponsors & partners, thank you for bringing Pacific Hackathon to us.
#EU #UNDP #PICISOC #PIANGO #USP #TWICT #ZYBERWISE #NZCERT #SITA
It is with great pleasure that we announce the new Board members for the 2021-2023 term. They are:
Flare Namaliu (Papua New Guinea)
Kenneth Katafono (Fiji)
Sarai Faleupolu Tevita (Samoa)
Congratulations to these three successful candidates. The PICISOC board would also like to congratulate all candidates that put their bid in during this round of elections. We would like to thank all members of PICISOC that participated in the elections.
The PICISOC board would also like to thank our outgoing board members Cherie Lagakali (Fiji), Georgina Naigulevu (Fiji) and Kanaan (Kiribati) for their valuable contribution to the work of the PICISOC over the term that they have served on the board.
Some stats from the Election as follows:
The Pacific DC-SIDS IGF 2021 session on ‘The Pandemic Internet: Ensuring SIDS Do Not Fall Behind’ report is now available.
Click to access the report.
CANDIDATES FOR THE PICISOC BOARD ELECTIONS
DECEMBER 2021
The Board of the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society (PICISOC) wishes to inform members of the election period for the PICISOC Board to be opened on the 23 January 2022 23:59 UTC through to 6 February 2022. 23:59UTC.
As announced to members, there are 3 members of the PICISOC Board vacating their roles why we are having elections. The election committee consists of Andrew Molivurae (Vanuatu) and Letitia Masaea (Solomon Islands).
The candidates standing for the election for the Board of PICISOC in 2021 are:
Flare Namaliu – Papua New Guinea
As a young ICT Professional I am bringing in the Energy as well as the experience I have working in the industry with clients across Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. Am very passionate about Technology, and how it can assist all areas and aspects of our lives and business. Being a Solutions Architect designing Customized Products and Solutions based on specific requirements for individual clients across multiple sectors and verticals is part of my everyday role.
At the heart of it all, all these Technologies require connectivity to the Internet to some remote DataCenter to Operate as things are moving more into digitized IoT world where internet is becoming a knowledge bank with just as enough bad as there is good and ensuring that the Internet is safe for use for humankind is an area that we all need to raise our hand to help in.
Setting and ensuring Policies and discussing agenda’s that matter to ensure Internet is Safe and Accessible for us in the Pacific Community is a challenge that am ready to take on at the Board Level. It will also be a great learning experience for me as well and as a fast learner as I am with great analytical skills I am excited to see what I can offer to support the mission with the knowledge I have gained.
I Am Young, Energetic, Tech Enthusiastic, I Love my Role and also as Women within the ICT Space more importantly always encouraging and being a Role Model for more Girls and Young Women to pursue careers within the ICT Space are cause closer to home for me.
With an aim To build a long-term career in my profession within the ICT Space with opportunities for career growth in enhancing my professional skills in a dynamic & stable workplace and to be able to give back to the community. I am happy to raise my hand to give my time to support this worthy cause to ensure we provide a healthy internet ecosystem accessible for all.
Kenneth Katafono – Fiji
I’ll be honest – I don’t know what being a member of PICISOC actually does for me from a professional and personal perspective. Aside from a couple of emails, some entertaining and some divisive, on the mailing list I have no idea what PICISOC does. There don’t seem to be many activities and it seems like only a small group of people are regularly contributing on the mailing list.
I used to tell early career ICT professionals in the Pacific to join PICISOC but I don’t do that anymore because there isn’t much that they’ll get from it.I know this is not what PICISOC was intended to be. After several years of refusing nominations, I’ve accepted to stand for the board this time around because you can’t bring about change by standing on the sidelines.
I’m willing to volunteer my time and resources to serve the members of PICISOC on the board so that members, especially early career ICT professionals, actually get something beneficial out of it. PICISOC was built on the back of some visionary Pacific ICT leaders and we owe it to them to continue that legacy.
I bring 15 years of experience in the Pacific as an ICT professional, entrepreneur, and consultant. A software developer by training, I’ve held technical and leadership roles in regional organisations with my last role being the Manager IT for the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA).
In 2017, I returned to Fiji and started a data company called Traseable Solutions where we build solutions for digitalisation and traceability in the agriculture, fisheries, and forestry sectors. Aside from Traseable, my consulting business has consulted for a number of agencies including the Governments of Marshall Islands and Kiribati, FAO, ESCAP, DFAT, and ADB where I specialise in digitalisation and value chains.
I’m very interested in emerging technologies and how we can use them in the Pacific in a way that adds value to our people, is affordable, and is sustainable with a strong local technical community. And I’m always willing to lend my time and talents to help others progress in their ICT careers.
Swaran S Ravindra – Fiji
Swaran is involved in the training of industry and academic programs, industry consultancy and research in ICT related areas at Fiji National University- National Training and Productivity Centre. She has over 15 years of work experience including substantial international experience with partnering universities such as University of West Indies where she served as an exchange lecturer for undergraduate and post graduate programs in ICT, research on Assistive Technology, program creation for Post graduate ICT/Education programs, training on Managing ICT professionals, Project Management and the establishment of Diversity and Inclusive Services. She has also taught Post graduate programs in Masaryk University (Brno, Czech Republic), and has been trained in National Institute for Rural Development and Punchayati Raj as well as Apollo Hospitals- Bangalore India.
She has had the opportunity to represent Fiji at Asia Pacific Organisation- Bilateral Cooperation between National Productivity Organisations- Mission to Sri Lanka and Korea (Productivity Promotion, Innovation and Industry 4.0) and been part of International Center for Democratic Partnerships-Pacific Dialogue for ICT Influencers and Entrepreneurs. She holds a Masters in Information Systems by thesis (Medical Informatics). She is currently pursuing her PhD in Information Systems, specializing in Assistive Technologies for Inclusion of Persons with Special Needs and Inclusion of marginalised communities in the South Pacific. She is also one of the fellows at Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum for 2020 and 2021. She is interested in designing, creating & utilizing ICT tools and techniques for Pacific Islanders in hopes to utilize ICT as an enabler and a catalyst for inclusion and positive change for rural development and for persons who are differently abled.
Kushal Pillay – Fiji
I am a software engineering leader and technologist at heart. I am from the Fiji Islands and live in the capital city of Suva. I have a bachelor’s degree in Computing Science and Information Systems, as well as a post graduate Diploma in Computing Science with a focus in Artificial Intelligence.
I strongly believe in the notion of embracing open standards, open-source tools, and community in helping to build the future of the technology landscape. I look forward to actively contributing towards projects which are rooted in strengthening the Internet through such ideals.
As part of the IGF 2021 Youth Ambassadors Programme, I actively participated in discussions closely related to this year’s theme of “Internet United”. I contributed in the Collaborative Leadership Exchange, as well as participated in most of the IGF sessions, which was held virtually this year. We also conducted mock IGF sessions in united nation format in which I chose to represent the Technical Community – World Wide Web. I look forward to participating more in dialogues surrounding Internet and its Governance.
With the experience of the IGF and a keen interest in the pacific scene, I hope to make a strong impact within the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society. Through collaborations I hope to shred light into the issues, concerns, and opportunities surrounding Internet Governance amongst the pacific people. When I am not working on software, I love to spend time with my family, and go for runs.
Sarai Feleupolu Tevita – Samoa
Sarai Faleupolu Tevita, NUS ICT Director, from National University of Samoa. Born in Samoa. Attended University of Southern Queensland, Toowomba, Australia in pursing Masters in Information Technology and Systems. Attended Massey University, NZ in pursing Bachelor of Business Information Systems and Technology.
Professional goals: Oversee the infrastructure of technical operations of an organization especially in education sector, manage team of IT people, track technology in order to minimize security risks, increase user satisfaction, and achieve operations and business goals .
Personal goals: Stay proactive and open minded to new opportunities and learn to accept limitations.
Work experience : About 20 years work experience in IT field in financial, agricultural and education sectors in Samoa.
Contribution to the PICISOC : Enhance collaborative work with the communities and be responsible and accountable of any plans and actions to be implemented for the benefit of the Pacific Community. I understand that this forum considers transparency and accountability and good governance in its operation and I totally agreed with this practice. We can share a common goal and work together to take as the Pacific Way.
*Candidate bio’s can be found here.
Dear PICISOC Members,
The Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society would like to announce the 2021 PICISOC Board elections. On this election, three positions are up for grabs. The Election committee members are: Aisyah Shakirah Suhaidi (Community Engagement Manager, Asia Pacific, ISOC) Letitia Masaea (Board member, PICISOC and Andrew Molivurae (Board member, PICISOC). As such the election committee is looking for individuals that have some of the following qualities:
The PICISOC Board role may require 5-10 hours of work per week on an average alongside with International travel opportunities (where applicable). Access to a reliable Internet connection for audio online meetings is necessary to fulfill the tasks expected of board members. Please note that these leadership roles are purely on voluntary basis and are NOT compensated.
The new PICISOC Board will take up their roles at the first 2022 Board meeting. You can nominate someone or you can self nominate. Submissions are to be made to the election committee by November 30, 2021 23.00 hours UTC at: picisocboard@gmail.com
Nominations will need to be seconded by another member as well as the nominee agreeing to stand for the election. Further details of the election process and EoI are below.
I. Board Positions
There are three positions to be filled for a term of two years. The 3 positions up for election have been held by the following Board members: Cherie Lagakali, Gina Naigulevu and Kanaan Ngutu.
This election is for Board positions only and the Board officer positions, will be elected by the Board at the first meeting. Officer positions entail additional commitment of time and responsibilities.
II. Timetable
The process begins November 15, 2021. The timetable will be as follows:
15 November – 30 November 2021: Candidate nomination submission
06 December – 20 December 2021: Election period / Voting
05 January 2022 – Results announced
All confirmed candidate names and bios will be sent to the PICISOC mailing list by the election committee before the voting. Once the nomination period lapsed, ballots will be notified by ISOC via Survey Monkey to all eligible PICISOC chapter members and voting will occur over a 10-day period. ISOC staff will then run the tally and confirm the vote.
III. Candidate Statement (EoI)
Once confirmed by the Election Committee, the Nominees are asked to submit a statement for the PICISOC membership as candidates for the PICISOC Board. This statement should include answers to the following questions:
1. Why do you want to serve on the PICISOC Board and what you can bring to the board to enhance PICISOC activities?
2. Provide a brief biography about yourself.
The statement should be relatively concise and to the point.
Looking forward to receiving your nominations.
On behalf of the Board.
The roles and responsibilities of PICISOC Members and the Election Process
To build legitimacy and credibility for the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society (PICISOC).
Election Committee Composition:
The Election Committee will administer the election process.
The Election committee will ensure that the election process is conducted efficiently and smoothly as per the announced election schedule (cycle).
The Election Committee will have at their discretion the ability to reach consensus decision as much as possible before consulting the PICISOC Board.
The following are the minimum expectations and responsibilities of the Election Committee with the help from the Secretariat:
Criteria for Candidates
Nominations for candidates for a position on the PICISOC Board are open to all PICISOC members and also for anyone who is not yet a member but currently active in PICISOC events and activities.
It is desirable that candidates possess the following qualifications.
Nomination process
The Election Committee is responsible for the receipt of all nominations.
All nominations must meet these expectations
Criteria for Voting
Voting is a right that we would hope that all eligible PICISOC voters will take advantage of the opportunity to participate in the selection and election of the best candidates to the leadership positions on the Board of the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society (PICISOC)
Election Timeframe
The following election timeframe is generally followed.
However, there may be changes to the actual dates for specific election processes, such as the starting period for voting, depending on when the elections is held. For example. if the election is held at the end of the year during the Christmas and New Year holiday period, then the actual voting may commence after this period.
| Timeframe for each election process | Election process |
| At least 4 weeks prior to the commencement of the election process | The election calendar and other requirements for the election cycle are determined and endorsed by the PICISOC Board and the Board announces the commencement of the elections. |
| At least 2 weeks before the nominations open | Appointment of the election committee and familiarisation with the election process and election committee responsibilities |
| (Monday start) | Nomination period opens |
| Two weeks for nominations, ending on Friday | Nomination period closes |
| One week later, starting Monday | Opening date of voting period |
| Ending Friday of the same week | Closing date of voting period |
| Following Monday | Announcement of Final Result |
