Delegates In Honiara For Leading Pacific ICT Meet

Hundreds gather in Honiara for leading Pacific ICT meet

Some 200 local, regional and international delegates are expected in the Solomon Islands this week for PacINET 2007.

PacINET is the annual gathering of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) experts organised by the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society (PICISOC).

The meeting is being held this year at the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) conference centre in Honiara, Solomon Islands, from the 15th to 21st August 2007, with the theme `National ICT Strategy Building'.

"We have a record number of participants pre-registered to PacINET this year," says PICISOC Chair, Rajnesh Singh.

"It is very encouraging to witness the development of ICTs in the Pacific increasingly becoming a priority, as reflected by the meeting's participation, as well as by the range of pertinent issues to be covered by our agenda."

PICISOC is an active chapter of Internet Society (ISOC), covering 22 Pacific island states and territories with a membership of over 400 individuals across the region. ISOC is a professional membership organisation with around 100 organisational and over 26,000 individual members in more than 180 countries.

Guest speakers at PacINET 2007 include John Crain, ICANN CTO and Dr Jimmie Rogers, Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). Dr Vinton G. Cerf , considered one of the fathers of the Internet and Vice President at Google, has also prepared a keynote message to participants via video.

A Pacific ICT Regulators' Summit will be convened tomorrow (14th August) preceding the conference, supported by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat [1].

"It will be an opportunity for the overseas speakers to exchange information with the region's policy makers," explains Mr Singh.

Also on the side of the conference will be an Asia Pacific Top Level Domains (APTLD) association meeting, and an IPv6 Forum (IPv6 is the next generation Internet).

The main conference is split in two strains - policy and technical - where workshops will be conducted providing training to participants.

Some 30 participants at PacINET 2007 were sponsored to the meeting by Pacific Internet Partners (PIP) [2], Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) [3]and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat [1].

Comments from participants of PacINET 2006, held in Apia, Samoa, follow:

"It was such a privilege to be chosen by the conference chairman to be part of a panel during the "Internet Censorship" forum especially when someone like Dr Vinton G. Cerf is in the room" - Andrew Moliware, VANUATU.

"This has been a great opportunity for the Cook Islands and for me, in my work, has come at a very good time as I am writing the policy for ICT in education for the Cook Islands. " - Alexis Wolfgramm, COOK ISLANDS.

"Meeting Dr. Vinton Cerf was a privilege. His vision for the Internet and interest in its development in the Pacific Region is motivating. The simplicity with which he explained this vision makes it easier for Pacific Islanders to comprehend the future development of the Internet and how we can embrace the technology and utilize it to our advantage." Christina Kuper Wini, SOLOMON ISLANDS.

"My area of most interest is how computers can be used with people with disabilities thus the presentation 'a day in the life of a enabled pacific village' that Mr Don Hollander gave at the Conference was very informative and enlightening and most relevant." Mary Raui, COOK ISLANDS.

"Discussions on IPv6 sparked a new area of interest for me. Although, it does not relate to my specific area of duty the knowledge gained from the tutorial conducted by APNIC's Miwa Fuji has certainly help me to attain a better understanding of this issue and be aware of the implications IPv6 will have on ICT globally and also in the Pacific Region." Lynnold Misifea Wini, SOLOMON ISLANDS.

"I found my conversations with John Crain the CEO of ICANN about DNS management and the imminent arrival of IP6 very instructive. The depth and scope of issues like Net Neutrality were also new to me, something that Vint Cerf emphasised also during his keynote. The presence of Digicel, and their presentation on their 'aggressive marketing strategy' was also provocative. " Robert Whelan - FIJI.

ENDS

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