About the Internet Society 

Awards

Postel Service Award

Coveted Jonathan B. Postel Service Award Granted to EsLaRed

For the first time in its 10-year history, the Jonathan B. Postel Service Award has been granted to an organisation rather than to an individual. And while many organisations have successfully brought the Internet to life in rural, remote, or developing regions, few capture the spirit of Jon Postel’s legacy quite like La Fundación Escuela Latinoamericana de Redes.

For the past 16 years, the Venezuelan-based nonprofit organisation has been training a new, and in some cases the first, generation of Internet trainers and professionals, many of whom are forging Internet access in remote and under-served areas within and outside South America.

EsLaRed’s efforts to facilitate scientific and technical progress in Latin America and the Caribbean has been instrumental in forming what is today a vibrant and dynamic Internet community in the region. And it doesn’t stop there.

President, Professor Ermanno Pietrosemoli accepted the Jonathan B. Postel Service Award on behalf of his organisation

In August, EsLaRed participated in the effort to build a high-speed, 162-km wireless network in Malawi. The network is being used to enhance medical and educational applications at the University of Malawi. It is also responsible for the design of a wireless data network in the Galapagos Islands.

What makes EsLaRed’s approach to network training unique is its insistence on teaching to the technology that is available. "Even if we could afford more sophisticated technologies, what would be the point?" EsLaRed president Professor Ermanno Pietrosemoli asked during an interview in Minneapolis. "It’s more important to have students master what they have and what they need to get the job done." In one case, students were taught how to build an antenna out of a can and they then took the antennas home and made them work. "Most of the time, people don’t see technology as belonging to them," he said. "It’s not part of their daily life. So for them, to build an antenna and realise that it works makes a big difference in their lives."

EsLaRed helped build a high-speed network in Malawi

Seeing the difference that the Internet makes on people’s lives has been a key motivator for both Prof. Pietrosemoli and EsLaRed. "I’m very excited because we are in a part of the world that is not a hot spot for technology," he said. "We can see how the Internet actually changes lives."

Since 1992, EsLaRed, with support from its worldwide and regional sponsors, has conducted network training workshops nearly every year in locations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, including Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. "We have been working at this for many years," said Prof. Pietrosemoli, "and it has been hard at times." In 1998, EsLaRed conducted a workshop in Spanish in Rio de Janeiro as part of the Internet Society’s annual INET meeting and the work they were doing began to gain even broader visibility. The students receive a certificate once they have successfully completed a workshop.

With funding from IDRC (International Development Research Center) EsLaRed led the effort of several Latin American organisations to port to the Latin American APC’s  (Association for Progressive Communications) initiative to develop training materials and conduct wireless training workshops in Africa through the TRICALCAR project. The effort constitutes a successful example of South-to-South collaboration.

Prof. Pietrosemoli was notified about the Postel award only 20 days before the announcement was made at the IETF meeting in Minneapolis last week. A private dinner and ceremony was held to honour EsLaRed as well as to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the passing of Jon Postel, whose pioneering role in the development and management of the Internet standards  process  was commemorated in a speech written by Vint Cerf, co-developer of the TCP-IP protocol, and delivered by ISOC president Lynn St. Amour.

"Always a strong believer in the open and bottom-up style of the Internet," wrote Cerf, "Jon would . . . be pleased to see that the management of the Internet address space has become regionalised and that there are now five Regional Internet Registries cooperating on global policy and serving and adapting to regional needs as they evolve. He would be equally relieved to find that the loose collaboration of DNS root zone operators has withstood the test of time and the demands of a hugely larger Internet, showing that their commitment has served the Internet community well."

Accepting the award, Prof. Pietrosemoli spoke of this an emotional moment for himself, and his organisation. "We have been working for many years in the shadows, without much public fanfare or recognition," he said.

"This is a very special occasion and I am very deeply grateful to the Internet Society and the IETF, which have been supporting us for the last ten years," said Prof. Pietrosemoli. He also recalled the opportunity he had to attend the INET meeting in Geneva in 1998. At that meeting, he said, "I had the chance of knowing personally Professor Jon Postel, who was a luminary, and I really feel very honoured to be somewhat humbly associated with his name."

In a special touch for this 10th Anniversary award, Jon’s mother, Lois Postel, presented the award to Prof. Pietrosemoli on behalf of the Internet Society. Jon’s brother, Russ Postel, was also present for the ceremony.

Jon Postel’s mother, Lois Postel, with Professor Ermanno Pietrosemoli

Lois Postel led the tributes to her late son, speaking of some of Jon’s other passions, particularly for nature and outdoor activities.