LACNIC On the Move heads to Dominican Republic’s capital

By Gerard Best
CJ Contributor

Tech experts from Latin America and the Caribbean will gather in Santo Domingo this month for an important meeting of the region’s Internet community.

LACNIC On The Move, a meeting organised by the Internet Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean (LACNIC), will open a weeklong conference expected to bring together representatives from several international bodies working to grow the global Internet.

“The Internet is for everyone,” said Oscar Robles, CEO of LACNIC, the organisation responsible for assigning Internet number resources in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“When LACNIC was created, average Internet penetration in Latin America was about 10 to 15 per cent. Today, this figure has grown to 55.9 per cent. Our goal is to connect the 44 per cent of Latin Americans who still aren’t connected to the Internet.”

LACNIC On The Move is free of charge and open to the public. It runs from August 22 to 23 at Barceló Hotel.

“A big attraction of events like these is the prospect of networking with like-minded technology professionals from across the region. These meetings bring together several key players in the global ecosystem of Internet governance,” said Kevon Swift, Head of Strategic Relations and Telecommunications at LACNIC.

A parallel event, AMPARO, will run from August 22 to 24. AMPARO is a closed workshop aimed at technical staff of government institutions in the Dominican Republic and members of LACNIC. It is part of an ongoing initiative by LACNIC to strengthen the security capacity of the regional Internet community.

“We promote the construction of an open, stable, and secure Internet at the service of the economic, social, and cultural development of Latin America and the Caribbean,” Swift said.

Both events are being held as part of the weeklong celebration of the 25th anniversary of the .do domain, organised by the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra, through the .do domain registration office (NIC.DO).

Called Internet Week, the event is jointly organised by the Telecommunications Authority of the Dominican Republic (INDOTEL), the Organization of ccTLDs of Latin America and the Caribbean (LACTLD), Dominican Republic Chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC RD), and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

LACNIC has provided training to some 15,000 technology professionals throughout the region, through in-person forums, online centres and collaborative initiatives with other organisations, such as LACTLD, ISOC and ICANN.

“The collaboration between LACNIC and other important actors in the global Internet community plays a key role in enhancing the technical and security capacity of the region,” said César Diaz, Head of Strategic Relations and Telecommunications at LACNIC.

A Technical Forum organised by LACTLD will bring together domain name organisations in the region for two days of cooperation and exchange of information and experiences on August 22 to 23 .

Also on August 23, a public Internet Governance Forum organised by ISOC RD is intended to sensitise all Internet users to their right to participate in the formation of public policies that promote the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world.

On August 24 to 25, ICANN will host an open forum on the global Domain Name System, focusing on the Latin America and Caribbean market.