About the Internet Society 

Media Information

Archived Press Releases

INET'98 Workshops Promote Global Expansion of the Internet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 17, 1998

RESTON, Virginia -- To ensure people worldwide reap the socio-economic benefits of the information superhighway, the Internet Society (ISOC) is hosting training workshops for more than 250 professionals from developing nations, July 11 to 19, in Geneva, Switzerland, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This year marks the first time the workshops will be held in two locations simultaneously. The classes will be taught in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

The Network Training Workshops, held annually since 1993, perform a vital role in training individuals in the technical and operational aspects of establishing and managing network systems. In the last five years, graduates have set up Internet connections and networks in Asia, the former Soviet Union and in more than 20 African countries.

"Information poverty is one of the more important and insidious obstacles to effective exploitation of the technologies that can fuel national economies," said George Sadowsky, vice president of the Internet Society and organizer of the workshops. "Many countries cannot adequately use the technology because of a lack of trained personnel. These workshops help develop the expertise among core groups so they can return to their countries and have an impact."

The workshops will be held in conjunction with INET'98, the eighth annual conference of the Internet Society, July 21 to July 24 in Geneva. The conference provides a forum for international policy makers, Internet pioneers and corporate executives to discuss the evolution of the Internet and its future impact on many key areas of society, from health and education to electronic commerce.

"The training workshops and INET'98 play an important part in ISOC's overall program to encourage global coordination and cooperation on the Internet," said Don Heath, ISOC president. "From commerce to education, to social issues, our goal is to enhance the availability and utility of the Internet on the widest possible scale."

The workshops offer an intensive program of instruction composed of four concurrent instructional tracks. The tracks are Host-based Internetworking Technology, Backbone Internetworking Technology, Network Navigation and Services, and National Network Management.

The "hands-on" training is designed for professionals who will play a vital role in establishing the Internet's presence in their countries or facilitating the efforts of schools, government agencies, businesses, and residents to learn about and exploit Internet services.

"Developing nations stand to benefit greatly from the Internet's communication and information delivery capabilities," said Heath. "Providing individuals with the professional skills to manage and operate their own networks is key to enabling poorer countries to participate better in the global information society. ISOC is committed to servicing this need and the INET'98 Network Training Workshops are a direct example of this effort."

Workshop sponsors include United Nations Development Program; France Telecom; ECMA, an international, Europe-based industry association founded in 1961 and dedicated to the standardization of information and communications technology; Cisco Systems; Agence de la Francophonie; the University of Geneva; and O'Reilly and Associates. Other sponsors include the Canadian government; the SWITCH foundation; the Open Society Institute; International Development Research Centre (IDRC); and the Hemisphere Wide Network, RedHUCyT, a project of the Office of Science and Technology at the Organization of American States. Materials for the workshops will be donated by BSDI.

INET'98 conference details and registration information are available at the Internet Society web site http://www.isoc.org.

Since 1992, the Internet Society has served as the international organization for global coordination and cooperation on the Internet, promoting and maintaining a broad spectrum of activities focused on the Internets development, availability and associated technologies.

ISOC is a non-governmental, international organization and its members include private companies, government agencies, foundations, entrepreneurial organizations and more than 6,000 individual members.

Contacts

Don Heath, heath@isoc.org
Martin Burack, burack@isoc.org
Internet Society (703) 648-9888

Tom Gable, tomg@gablegroup.com
Alice Sachs, alice@gablegroup.com
The Gable Group (619) 234-1300