Oceania is a geographical (and geopolitical) region consisting of numerous countries and territories—mostly islands—in the Pacific Ocean. It includes countries like East Timor, Australia, New Zealand and many of the island countries like Fiji and the Cook Islands, making it one of the few regions where its land is linked by ocean.

Regional Context

Oceania is home to about 34,700,201 people and hosts a diverse economy which ranges from the global powers of Australia and New Zealand to smaller island economies.

Only 0.5% of the world’s Internet users live in Oceania, but the average penetration rate is just over 60% - nearly double the world average. While Australia and New Zealand are leading the pack in terms of Internet penetration, smaller islands are slowly gaining access through broadband and 3G networks. However, there is still a great deal of work to be done.

How We Work

The Asia-Pacific Bureau acts as an advisor to other Internet Society departments on issues in Oceania affecting our work. Its also provides critical insight on local business, technology and policy issues to the Internet Society and its stakeholders.

The Bureau also work with Chapters to grow individual memberships, support their initiatives and help them advance in their support of the Internet Society's mission and values. This includes the focus on building trust and providing transparent guidance for Chapters and helping each Chapter develop strong projects.

We focus on:

Education - The Asia-Pacific Bureau works to identify needs and opportunities for educational initiatives and priorities for the region related to capacity building. We review proposals sent to Internet Society, identify local initiatives and partners for education activities, and work with local sponsors to plan and provide events.

Policy - We identify and interact with key influencers (focusing on national and regional influencers and policy-makers), provide advice as to how current Internet Society programmes and policies could be better adapted to the regional/local environment; cultivate policy-focused "trusted communities" to act as expert advisors for policymakers and other influencers; and promote the "The Internet Model" (how it works and who makes it work).

Standards/Technology - The Bureau promotes the Internet Society's support of Internet standards development (through the Internet Engineering Task Force - IETF) and evolution of Internet technologies. We support and emphasize the need for a stable, open, and technically secure Internet for the benefit and use of everyone and encourage participation in the standards development process (e.g. through IETF fellowships).