The IUSN Foundation, a Leading Advocate for and Innovator of Internet Governance Launches New Website and Attends Key Regional Stakeholder Meetings

Mission-driven charitable organization creates online space dedicated to helping emerging nations enter the global Internet community

MEDFIELD, Mass.--()--The IUSN Foundation (IUSN), the leading mission-driven organization centered around leading and innovating within key channels of Internet governance and acting as a “good citizen of the Internet,” announces the launch of its new website, www.iusn.org. This site has been created to further help emerging nations enter and grow within the global Internet community.

Since the Internet’s infancy, The IUSN Foundation has been at the center of the global movement to keep it open and safe. Founded by American internet pioneer Bill Semich and run by its current President Per Darnell, the IUSN Foundation is funded by proceeds from the registration of .NU domain names by Internet users in Northern Europe, particularly Sweden, via its business partner World Names, Inc.

As an example of its current work so far, the IUSN Foundation has created a model for innovative provision of charitable services by giving the government and people of Niue, an island nation in the Southwest Pacific, the best Internet service in the Pacific and the world's only nation-wide free Internet. The IUSN Foundation also supports a wide range of benefits for the government and people of Niue, including:

  • Substantial and long-term investment in building and maintaining a locally- and privately-run state-of-the art Internet infrastructure in an isolated island nation where none was previously available;
  • Free Internet and WiFi service across the island nation to 1,400 residents, connecting them to 30,000 Niuean friends and relations living outside the country’s borders in New Zealand, Australia and the rest of the world;
  • High-tech training and education for residents;
  • Funding of local sports teams; and
  • Private sector job creation with the island’s sole Internet service provider, known as Internet Niue, funded by the IUSN Foundation.

“The IUSN Foundation is proud of its success with bringing Internet and opportunity to Niue, and looks forward to helping other emerging nations join and grow in the global Internet community,” says Per Darnell, President of The IUSN Foundation. “Our new website will also be a way to continue to further the Foundation’s mission and goals and bring resources together for an enhanced experience.”

The new IUSN website is designed provide valuable resources for emerging nations entering and growing in the global Internet community as well as to demonstrate innovation and Internet stewardship in furthering the mission of keeping the Internet open and safe.

In support of its charitable mission, and to stay on the cutting edge of Internet technology innovations, The IUSN Foundation maintains a leadership role in all of the major international Internet governing bodies including the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Internet Governance Forum(IGF), The Internet Society (ISOC), Asia Pacific Top Level Domain Association (APTLD), and Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Most recently, the IUSN Foundation sponsored and presented at the APTLD meeting held April 8, and the Pacific Internet Governance Forum (the first-ever regional meeting of the organization to be held in the Pacific) on April 9-10. Key issues discussed along with major international partners including ICANN, the World Bank, UNICEF, and regional Prime Ministers and leadership, among others, were latest innovations in ccTLDs, furthering of mission objectives (i.e. the IUSN Foundation’s focus to bring Internet to the people of Niue), and also connectivity across the region and any array of alternative technologies to be used to improve it, such as fiber, landline, or satellite. The IUSN Foundation was represented by its Chairman, Frank F. Lui, C.N.Z.M. and President Per Darnell. “These meetings have been very fruitful for the region, where these key governance groups can come together to share experiences and new technologies that will improve Internet access and connectivity across the Pacific,” says Frank Lui. Per Darnell notes that “.NU is a consistently leading TLD in the region, and it is only natural for the IUSN Foundation to sponsor the first-ever Pacific IGF meeting as a recognized leader in Internet governance.”

About The IUSN Foundation

The IUSN Foundation, based in Massachusetts, is a mission-driven nonprofit organization and recognized leader in the Internet governance sphere. Currently, The IUSN Foundation has successfully built the world’s first model to provide free Internet and WiFi services, along with related training and education, private-sector job creation and a host of other charitable benefits, for the government and people of the Pacific island nation of Niue. The IUSN Foundation, founded by American internet pioneer Bill Semich and run by its current President Per Darnell, is an internationally respected charitable organization that relies on a longstanding marketing partnership with WorldNames, Inc., operator of the .NU domain name, to generate the funds needed to carry out its charitable missions. A pioneer in the domain business overall, The IUSN Foundation is unequaled in its ability to leverage high-level industry leadership and pioneering technological expertise to support the provision of charitable services furthering its mission of maintaining a free and open Internet. To learn more about The IUSN Foundation please visit www.iusn.org.

Contacts

for The IUSN Foundation (IUSN)
RMR & Associates Inc.
Kate Russell, 301-230-0045 x 190
krussell@rmr.com

Contacts

for The IUSN Foundation (IUSN)
RMR & Associates Inc.
Kate Russell, 301-230-0045 x 190
krussell@rmr.com