During the ICANN meeting two weeks ago, we conducted a special university outreach event at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade de Lisboa). ICANN Board Chairman Vint Cerf gave a very interesting introduction on the development of the Internet and some insight into its future to a group of computer science and computer engineering students and faculty. The event was well attended, and also featured brief presentations from Pedro Veiga of FCCN, myself, Tina Dam and Kieren McCarthy. The event was ably moderated by Giovanni Seppia, ICANN’s Regional Liaison for Europe.
I would like to thank Giovanni and Pedro once again for helping make the event a success, and thank Vint, Tina and Kieren for taking time to participate during the hectic ICANN meeting. We hope to continue this type of outreach with students and professors in the future.
I started following ICANN back in early 2000, while I was a law student in Indiana. ICANN has come quite a long way in encouraging participation in the coordination of the Internet.
There are many ways in which students can get involved – through remote participation during meetings and webcasts, through a constituency, by conducting research or writing on timely issues being considered within ICANN’s advisory committees and supporting organizations, or through direct input to ICANN. If you have an interest in international multistakeholder structures and the coordination of the Internet, I encourage you to learn more about ICANN and consider participating in its processes.
