The Internet Society Qatar Chapter was formally chartered on August 3, 2011. The Internet Society’s global goal is “to maintain and extend the development and availability of the Internet and its related technologies” resonates with those of Qatar’s goals as the rising ‘tech hub’ in the MENA region.

It is essential for Qatar to have a voice on telecom and Internet issues, to have an active technical community that can represent Qatar at various international conferences, and a community that understands how to use the Internet to benefit both in their personal and professional lives. Bringing an Internet Society Chapter to Qatar will enable its people to achieve those goals, while benefiting from the assistance, experience and knowledge base of Internet Society and their various Chapters around the world.

Qatar is the 25th most networked-ready nations in the World (according to the Global Information and Technology Report 2010-2011), and the adoption of ICTs over the last few years has been tremendous. However, there are challenges related to web accessibility, lack of Arabic language content, privacy, and affordability that come in the way of everyone enjoying the Internet to its maximum capacity.

The vision of the Internet Society Qatar Chapter is to make the Internet inclusive and accessible to all, thereby empowering individuals and groups to use the Internet to become active participants of society and to enhance their personal and professional lives. The tentative goals for the Chapter are as follows:

• To create a vibrant environment for technical discussions, workshops and conferences, thereby stimulating and encouraging innovation.
• To create a platform for Internet users to discuss and promote Telecom and Internet issues with the appropriate authorities, thereby raising awareness of Internet issues within the country.
• To bring together different organizations in the technology sector to provide training and leadership opportunities for young people.
• To provide training and capacity building programs for those members of society who have limited access to technology or training to be able to benefit from the opportunities the Internet offers.
• To create awareness of and promote local and accessible web content and product design to make the Internet accessible for all members of society including people with disabilities.

Since the Chapter is just starting out, they would like to get your advice and feedback.

We will keep you all updated as we proceed to develop our website, and conduct activities. We will be holding our first planning meeting in September 2011 (after the Islamic month of Ramadan).  

ISOC Member Newsletter. Suggestions, comments, and questions welcome to, newsletter@isoc.org

ISOC's key initiatives target the critical issues that affect all aspects of Internet development and growth. They embody ISOC's philosophy that the Internet is for everyone and they provide the organization with a solid foundation from which to positively influence standards development, access, business practices, and government policies. www.isoc.org