Washington, D.C. and Geneva, Switzerland, 19 September 2011 – The Internet Society today announced that it has selected 11 new Ambassadors to attend the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Nairobi, Kenya, 27 – 30 September 2011. Five returning Ambassadors will also attend the IGF meetings.
The IGF Ambassadors programme gives Internet Society members the opportunity to participate in IGF meetings and add their significant local and regional experiences to discussions during the sessions and workshops. Following IGF, the Ambassadors will return to their own communities to apply the knowledge and experiences gained in Nairobi, and continue to participate in global discussions on Internet governance.
This year, the Internet Society received more than 140 applications for the Ambassador programme from individuals in 75 countries. The Ambassador programme is a component of the Internet Society’s Next Generation Leaders Programme. As part of its mission and vision, the Internet Society is dedicated to cultivating a new generation of Internet leaders who will address the critical technology, policy, business, and education challenges that lie ahead.
New Internet Society Ambassadors to the IGF (11):
- Philip Adar (Kenya) is a Lecturer at the Faculty of IT at Strathmore University and Project Manager at Nokia Siemens Networks, where he is responsible for managing the deployment of 3G broadband networks for service providers in six African countries. His research interests include mobile access to the Internet and quality of service management for wireless networks.
- Farzaneh Badiei (Iran) is an Intern at the Internet Governance Forum Secretariat. She holds an LLM in International Commercial Law and has carried out research at Geneva University on the role of the Internet in facilitating commercial dispute resolution. Her research interests include the role of the Internet in facilitating access to justice, e-governance and dispute resolution, the use of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) in developing countries, and dispute resolution strategies in e-marketplaces.
- Luca Belli (Italy) is a PhD student in Public Law at Panthéon-Assas University, Paris. Mr. Belli’s research interests include the differences between Internet governance and Internet regulation, global administrative law, freedom of speech, and data protection.
- Fatima Cambronero (Argentina), a lawyer by profession, graduated from Universidad Nacional de Cordoba and received a Diploma in Law and Technology from the Universidad Blas Pascal. She is a Consultant and Research Director at AGEIA DENSI Argentina. She is also Alumni at the DiploFoundation and ICANN, and Visiting Professor at DENSI at Faculty of Law in Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Ms. Cambronero is involved in Internet Governance issues.
- Marcin Cieślak (Poland) is an ICT consultant focusing on implementing workflow and trouble ticketing platforms for ISPs and telecommunication companies. Mr. Cieślak has been involved with the Internet Society since 2000, when he was one of the founders of the Internet Society chapter in Poland. He has served on the Advisory Board of the chapter since 2004, and in January 2006 he was elected to the interim board and then elected as chapter President in June 2006. He has co-authored reports on the electronic signature (2006) and electronic voting (2007), which were widely publicized in the Polish media.
- Elif Küzeci (Turkey) is an Assistant Professor at Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Law. Her areas of interest include data protection, freedom of expression, intellectual property rights on the Internet, and computer crime.
- Antonio M. Moreiras (Brazil) is a Computer Engineer at NIC.br, where he is in charge of IPv6 dissemination, and other projects related to the Internet infrastructure. He has an MBA in Business Administration, an MSc in Computer Engineering, and is also an alumni from DiploFoundation and SSIG’10 Internet Governance courses.
- Paul Muchene (Kenya) is a software entrepreneur and technology aficionado at the iHub, Nairobi’s premier innovation hub. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Nairobi and is an ISOC Fellow in the Next Generation Leaders programme. His interests encompass Internet protocols, cyber security, cloud computing, and privacy.
- Stanely Osao (Papua New Guinea) is an ICT Consultant and Trainer at PNG University of Technology and he works with civil societies, NGOs, and schools in ICT literacy programs and Internet technology training. He also provides technical information support to academia and private sectors. His interests include Universal Access Scheme (UAS), Rural Internet Connectivity, and IPv6.
- Madeeha Rehman (Pakistan) is working as a Solution Architect in Nexus Telecom AG, Pakistan where her duties include designing technical specifications of network monitoring and management solutions for GSM and GPRS networks. Her interest areas are Wireless Technologies such as WiMAX, HSPA, LTE; transition from IPv4 to IPv6; and Network investigation and management.
- Sorina Teleanu (Romania) is currently working in the Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of Romania, where she deals with ICT-related legislation. She is also a representative of Romania to ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee. Her main interests include management of Internet critical resources, e-government, privacy, and data protection and freedom of expression.
Returning Internet Society Ambassadors to the IGF (5):
- Maria Casey (Ireland)
- Rafid A Y Fatani (Saudi Arabia)
- Rajendra Prasad Poudel (Nepal)
- Hempal Shrestha (Nepal)
- Siranush Vardanyan (Republic of Armenia)
“We have an outstanding group of new and returning Ambassadors this year. These individuals bring tremendous local and regional experience to the Internet governance topics being discussed in Nairobi,” said Toral Cowieson, Senior Director of Internet Leadership Programmes for the Internet Society. “The Internet Society’s continued investment in the IGF Ambassadors demonstrates our commitment to ensuring these diverse and dynamic individuals have a seat and voice at the table for the governance issues that impact the Internet today and beyond.”
Find out more
- IGF Ambassador Programme
- Read the 2011 IGF Ambassador’s blog
- Find out more about the 2011 IGF
About the Internet Society
The Internet Society is the world’s trusted independent source of leadership for Internet policy, technology standards, and future development. Based on its principled vision and substantial technological foundation, the Internet Society works with its members and Chapters around the world to promote the continued evolution and growth of the open Internet through dialog among companies, governments, and other organizations around the world. For more information, see: http://www.internetsociety.org