It is always a pleasure to come to the Caribbean; not only because of the beautiful natural landscape and incredible food but also (and above all) because of its people. The culture and language may be different but yet you feel home. They have this unique hospitality and continuous appreciation for each of the many visitors that come to their countries. That Caribbean spirit permeated and manifested itself in all our activities this week.
The 9th Regional Meeting of the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG) and the 2nd Caribbean edition of the LAC–i–Roadshow were held jointly at the Golden Palm Events Centre in Castries, St. Lucia, from 27 Apr to 1st May 2015.
So what is the LAC–i–Roadshow? The LAC–i–Roadshow is one of the projects of the LAC Strategy developed by the different stakeholders groups represented at ICANN from the LAC region. The aim is to raise awareness across the region on key topics related to the DNS critical infrastructure.
On many occasions, my colleague Albert Daniels (Manager Stakeholder Engagement for the Caribbean) put emphasis in the importance of the collaboration within our region. In that sense, it was exciting to see such a diverse set of speakers, all sharing the same aim: contribute to an un–fragmented, interconnected, interoperable, secure, stable, resilient and innovative Internet, one that will allow us all to participate fully in the global digital economy.
In this 2nd Caribbean edition, we were lucky to have the participation of Carlos Martinez, CTO of the Latin America and Caribbean Regional Internet Registry (LACNIC), who delivered a comprehensive presentation on IPv6 – the most recent version of the Internet Protocol. Tony Harris (GNSO Council member for the ISPC) delivered a remote presentation about the Domain Name System (DNS) industry and business opportunities in the domain name space. From ICANN, we also had a remote participation from Carlos Alvarez about ICANN’s SSR (Security, Stability, Resiliency) team and the connection of its work to securing critical Caribbean Internet infrastructure. ICANN engagement of the local community was strong with the Saint Lucia ICT Association (SLICTA) participating actively in presentations and panel discussions along with several representatives of end users.
For his part, Albert focused on two very relevant issues for our organization: the IANA stewardship transition process and the new gTLD program.
On the transition process, some colleagues at ICANN are signing their emails with this call to action: LEARN MORE, STAY UPDATED, FOLLOW, ENGAGE. That is exactly what Albert is asking the Caribbean and all the region to do: we need you so make your voice count!
Our 2nd day of activities closed with a panel discussion on the new gTLD program. The panel explored ways in which the Caribbean community can get involved and economically benefit from it.
I am happy to report that all the presentations received many interesting comments from the audience and the interest was even palpable in the many TV and radio interview requests that we received during the week.
I will finish by thanking the CaribNOG organizers for a successful event, our LAC–i–Roadshow speakers and partners such as the Saint Lucia ICT Association, the participants for their interest and Albert for his amazingly warm welcome. I hope to see you soon!
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MEDIA:
Radio interview: ICANN, CaribNoG disccuss Internet matters, Radio Saint Lucia (Saint Lucia): http://goo.gl/SSzzwa
Television interviews: DBS television channel 35; HTS News and Think Caribbean Television.
Written article: ICANN launches generic Top Level Domain program in the Caribbean, Breaking News (Trinidad & Tobago) http://goo.gl/ibfXhu
