In conjunction with the INET'97 Conference, the Internet Society will again, as in 1993 through 1996, sponsor a Network Technology Workshop prior to the conference itself. The workshop will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the Permata Training Centre, during June 15-21, 1997. The focus of the workshop will be upon assisting countries that are either not yet connected to the Internet or are in the process of developing and enhancing an initial national Internet.

Attendance at the workshop includes mandatory attendance at the Internet Society's annual conference, INET'97, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur during June 24-27, 1997 following the workshop.

This workshop is an outgrowth of and builds upon the experiences of four similar workshops held during 1993-1996 at Stanford University, U.S.A., Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic, University of Hawaii, U.S.A., and McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

The goals of the workshop are:

1. To train a critical mass of trainer/professionals in network infrastructure, transport, services, and management to be able to support an extension of meaningful Internet-related activities within the countries represented.

2. To identify and share individual and institutional contacts as well as information sources that will assist the process of national development, using international Internet connections.

3. To build robust professional linkages between all participants in the programs so that the mentor-student and colleague-colleague relationships formed during the workshop and conferences will remain strong and of continuing usefulness well beyond the workshop and conference.

4. To increase the level of cooperation among existing projects and activities for establishing public data networks in developing countries.

5. To train people and groups of people who will return to their country and region and who will teach others what they have learned at the workshop.

An intensive program of instruction is planned for the workshop, composed of four instructional tracks, plus a supplementary pre-workshop session for some specifically invited participants.

Participants attend only one of the four tracks, since the tracks run concurrently (with the exception of the pre-workshop UNIX track).

All participants (except the National Network Management track) will engage in extensive hands-on training, either setting up a prototype network or using actual Internet resources or both, as appropriate, using facilities at the Permata Training Centre.

The course descriptions below include for each instructional track:

1. Who should attend this course.
2. What you need to know to enter this course and benefit from it (Prerequisites).
3. What you will learn in this course.
4. What you should be able to do after completing the course (Goals).

The workshop activities will be held at Permata Training Center near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Participants will be housed at the training center during the workshop, and at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur during the INET'97 Conference. Taxi transportation is available from the airport to workshop accommodations.

The working language of the workshop will be English; good comprehension of spoken and written English will be required of each participant. Some members of the instructional staff will have some degree of proficiency in languages other than English.

Participants should plan to arrive in Kuala Lumpur on or before 1800 hours on Saturday 14 June, and leave after 1300 hours on Friday 27 June. Workshop sessions will be held starting in the afternoon, Sunday 15 June, and end in the evening of Saturday 21 June. At the end of the workshop, participants will be transferred to a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, where they will live through the end of the INET'97 Conference. Once participants have arrived at the workshop site, all required transportation to workshop and conference events will be provided.

Workshop attendees who will be attending the preliminary UNIX courses will be expected to arrive on or before 1200 hours on Wednesday, 11 June. Notification of UNIX course attendance will be distributed with admission decisions.

INET'97 begins at 1800 hours, Tuesday 24 June and ends at 1230 hours on Friday 27 June.

The workshop is specifically directed toward the needs of people from developing countries who are playing or will play an important part in introducing and extending public internetworking in their countries and regions. Attendees should be involved in planning to establish or in establishing the Internet's presence in their countries and regions, in institutionalizing its operation, and in assisting the country's schools and universities, governmental agencies, local firms, and residents in learning about and exploiting the range of services available through the net. By the Internet, we mean the publicly accessible Internet, with unrestricted access for educational institutions and the not-for-profit community.

Staff members of international and bilateral technical co-operation agencies, as well as professionals having substantial involvement in international technical assistance activities, are also eligible for admission as space allows.

Participants who have attended one or more previous Developing Countries Workshop will be considered eligible to attend the 1997 workshop; however, these former participants must apply for a course of study other than subjects studied previously. Their request must be consistent with their responsibilities in a national and/or regional context, and a convincing argument for repeated attendance must accompany the application. This should include a statement of the activities carried out as a result of the previous workshop. Less financial aid will be available for repeat attendees than for first-time applicants.

Applicants have been notified of their acceptance to the program and the amount of financial aid available to them.

Please note that in this context, the workshop activity includes attendance at the INET'97 Conference. If you are admitted to the workshop, you should NOT register separately for the Conference; that will be done automatically for you.

Every visitor to Malaysia must have a valid passport in order to obtain the necessary visa from Malaysia. If you apply to attend the workshop, be prepared to obtain a passport immediately upon receiving an invitation to attend, or sooner if practical, since visa procedures may be lengthy.

It is the responsibility of participants to ascertain the visa requirements that apply to them and to obtain any appropriate visas (including transit visas) needed to attend the workshop and the related conference. The Internet Society will assist applicants in this matter by providing visa application information as well as information regarding the Workshop, the Society and its professional goals and activities.

The cost of attending the workshop and associated events is U.S. $3,000. This fee includes:

• All tuition and fees for the workshop, including the UNIX pre-workshop course, if you are selected.
• All lodging charges from Saturday, 14 June through Friday, 27 June (and also covering the period of the pre-workshop UNIX course if you are selected to attend it).
• All meal charges for the period starting with dinner on Saturday evening, 15 June through breakfast on Friday morning, 28 June (and also covering the period of the pre-workshop UNIX course if you are selected to attend it).
• Transportation from Permata Training Center to Kuala Lumpur at the end of the workshop.
• Registration at the INET'97 Conference (24-27 June), including those meals and social events included in conference registration.

Participants should bring the equivalent of U.S. $30 for airport transfers and departure tax. They may wish to budget approximately U.S.$50-250 for optional travel and other needs and activities (laundry, etc.) from Sunday, 23 June through the morning of Tuesday, 25 June.

For some candidates, the Internet Society will provide financial assistance to cover a part or all of each participant's overall expenditures. If you request financial aid for the workshop, please be certain to provide the financial information that will be requested in the application for admission. Financial aid will take the form of either pre-paid airline tickets for travel to and from Kuala Lumpur, partial or total coverage of the workshop fee, or both.

The overall amount of aid available will be limited. Please make all possible efforts to secure whatever funding is possible from sources known to you. If you are requesting financial aid, please tell us why it is necessary, how you expect to fund part of your expenses, and what efforts you have made and are making to obtain additional aid. Aid from ISOC may depend upon your ability to obtain partial financial support from other sources.

Specific questions regarding the workshop may be directed to Jo-Anne Scott by sending email to workshop-info@isoc.org or sent by postal mail to 1997 Workshop Info, Internet Society, 12020 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 210, Reston, VA, 20191, USA.