Media Information
Press Releases
Internet Society Announces New Program to Encourage Developing World Participation in Internet Standards Setting
Establishes the “ISOC Fellowship to the IETF” to send engineers from developing countries to IETF meetings. Google Inc. lends support as a corporate sponsor of the program.
Reston, VA and Geneva, Switzerland - 10th January 2007 - Continuing its longstanding commitment to build technical capacity in less developed countries, the Internet Society (ISOC) today announced a new program, the ISOC Fellowship to the IETF. The program offers fellowships that fund the cost of attending an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) meeting for technologists from developing countries.
The IETF is the Internet’s premier standards-making body, responsible for the development of protocols used in IP-based networks. IETF participants represent an international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers involved in the technical operation of the Internet and the continuing evolution of Internet architecture.
“There are many talented individuals in developing regions that have an interest in and follow the IETF’s work and would benefit from the opportunity to participate in person,” said Lynn St. Amour, ISOC’s President and CEO.
Fellowships will be awarded through a competitive application process. ISOC is currently accepting fellowship applications for two IETF meetings:
- IETF 68 being held in Prague, Czech Republic, 18 - 23 March 2007 and
- IETF 69 being held in Chicago, USA on 22 - 27 July 2007.
Up to five fellowships will be awarded for each IETF meeting.
In addition, the Internet Society is welcoming multiple corporate sponsorships for the ISOC Fellowship to the IETF and is proud to recognize Google Inc. as the program’s first corporate sponsor.
"Google strongly supports the open standards activities of the IETF and is pleased to contribute to the ISOC Fellowship program as one way to achieve broader participation of colleagues who might otherwise not be able to attend," said Vint Cerf, Google's Internet Evangelist and one of the founders of the Internet Society.
“We are very excited about this program and are pleased that Google joined with us and lent its generous support,” added St. Amour.
The Internet Society piloted the fellowship program during 2006 at IETF 66 in Montreal and IETF 67 in San Diego. Five individuals from Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific participated in the pilot phase. Based on the success of the pilot phase, ISOC decided to formalize the ISOC Fellowship to the IETF beginning this year.
Full details on the ISOC Fellowship to the IETF, including how to apply, are located on the ISOC website at www.isoc.org/educpillar/fellowship. Fellowship applications for both IETF meetings are due by 2 February 2007.
About ISOC
The Internet Society is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. With offices in Washington, DC, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world. ISOC is the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and other Internet-related bodies who together play a critical role in ensuring that the Internet develops in a stable and open manner. For over 14 years ISOC has run international network training programs for developing countries and these have played a vital role in setting up the Internet connections and networks in virtually every country connecting to the Internet during this time.
About the IETF
The IETF (/www.ietf.org) is a large open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. It is open to any interested individual.
For further details
Peter Godwin
Communications Manager, Internet Society
E-mail: godwin@isoc.org
4, rue des Falaises
1205 Geneva
Switzerland
