Minneapolis, USA - 19 November 2008 - The Internet Society (ISOC) today awarded the Jonathan B. Postel Service Award for 2008 to La Fundación Escuela Latinoamericana de Redes (EsLaRed) of Venezuela for its significant contributions to promote information technologies in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is now ten years since the passing of Internet pioneer Jonathan B. Postel, the inspiration for this prestigious award. To mark this event in a special way, ISOC formed a "10th Anniversary Award Committee", including all the past award recipients, which has formally recognised EsLaRed for "its sustained efforts to bring scientific, technical, and social progress in Latin America and the Caribbean through education, research, and development activities on technology transfer." The Internet Society presented the award, including a US$20,000 honorarium and a crystal engraved globe, during the 73th meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in Minneapolis, USA. Accepting the award for EsLaRed was its President, Professor Ermanno Pietrosemoli. "We're very excited to be honored in this way," said Professor Pietrosemoli. "In the developing world, having access to the Internet, which gives us access to things like scientific journals and medical information, is not easy and it is not taken for granted. It is wonderful for us to be able to help people improve their conditions and to see first hand how the Internet can change people's lives," he said. "On behalf of the ISOC community, it's my great pleasure to congratulate Professor Pietrosemoli and his dedicated colleagues at EsLaRed for their achievements over the years," said Lynn St.Amour, President and CEO of ISOC. "EsLaRed's commitment to the Internet has been at the forefront of regional development and their leadership has been an instrumental element in forming today's dynamic Latin American and Caribbean Internet community," said Ms St.Amour. The award was formally presented during the plenary session of the IETF's Minneapolis meeting on 19 November and will be celebrated with a special anniversary dinner on 21 November, to be attended by past recipients of the award, the ISOC Board of Trustees, and some of Jon Postel's close friends.