IEEE Convenes Internet Inclusion Experts

25 April Washington, D.C., briefing session to outline collaborative roadmaps and progress toward connecting the unconnected

PISCATAWAY, N.J.--()--IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, today announced it will host Internet Inclusion: Advancing Solutions, 24-25 April in Washington, D.C., at the Park Hyatt Washington.

The multi-stakeholder workshop—organized by the IEEE Internet Initiative—will marshal expertise from across the global technology, policy and investment communities to accelerate progress in connecting the estimated 60 percent of the world’s people who remain unconnected to the internet. Policy and impact leaders, media members, technologists and academia are invited to a briefing session 9-11:45 a.m. Eastern on 25 April (also to be live-streamed by IEEE.tv). Vint Cerf, internet hall-of-famer and founding father and founder of People Centered Internet, is scheduled to offer remarks in the briefing session 25 April.

25 April Briefing 9-11:45 a.m.

This open briefing session (with registration/breakfast to take place 8-9 a.m.) will include presentations from some of those directly engaged in driving, supporting and benefiting from internet inclusion projects. It also will feature overviews of progress and plans from internet inclusion working groups that are meeting on 24 April:

  • Community Networks—Addressing challenges toward community involvement in design, construction, maintenance and operation of internet infrastructure
  • Public Access—Dedicated to the proposition that public access strategies, such as connecting libraries and other similar facilities, are critical to internet inclusion
  • Digital Gender Divide—Identifying approaches to build and scale programs that will help close the current gender divide in internet access
  • Innovative Business Models—Identifying barriers to greater investment and supporting activities that boost scalability and impact of innovative models
  • Evidence-Based Research—Bridging technical and development communities in improving and measuring progress in social outcomes driven by universal access

Additional objectives for Internet Inclusion: Advancing Solutions include elevating the issue and fostering advocacy of internet inclusion, advancing and engaging new contributors in the efforts of the working groups, bolstering sustainable local and regional impact projects and identifying opportunities for technical-oriented outputs that support interoperability and scalability.

“The economic and societal benefit that the internet can bring to communities is indisputable, and the IEEE inclusion events are spurring unprecedented cross-discipline collaboration to extend those benefits to more and more unconnected people around the world,” said Oleg Logvinov, chair of the IEEE Internet Initiative. “Internet Inclusion: Advancing Solutions taps the proven IEEE capability for open collaboration and consensus building, while aligning with our mission of fostering technology innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity.”

Collaborating partners with IEEE for Internet Inclusion: Advancing Solutions include Guifi.net, Internet Society, ITU, 1 World Connected, Partnership for Public Access, People Centered Internet, World Bank and World Economic Forum. The workshop will build on a series of related events in 2016 organized by the IEEE Internet Initiative, which advances solutions for a trustworthy and inclusive internet by contributing technology expertise and resources to the policy ecosystem, to help connect the next billions to the internet. An event in October, for example, resulted in a roadmap of next steps, and the working groups were organized around themes emerging from the roadmap.

About IEEE Internet Initiative

The IEEE Internet Initiative promotes thought leadership and innovation and advances solutions for a trustworthy and inclusive internet by contributing technology expertise and resources to the policy ecosystem and providing a collaborative development platform and community to produce action-oriented and implementable outputs. Learn more at http://internetinitiative.ieee.org, and follow @IEEENetPolicy on Twitter.

About IEEE

IEEE is the largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice in a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers, and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power, and consumer electronics. Learn more at http://www.ieee.org.

Contacts

IEEE
Lloyd Green, 732-465-6664
Director, Engagement Marketing & Creative Community Services
l.g.green@ieee.org

Contacts

IEEE
Lloyd Green, 732-465-6664
Director, Engagement Marketing & Creative Community Services
l.g.green@ieee.org