Internet Society Announces New Program of Strategic Global Engagement

Business Wire, Feb 13, 2008

Former Canadian Diplomat, Bill Graham, to Spearhead Effort

RESTON, Va. & GENEVA -- The Internet Society (ISOC) announces new strategic efforts to engage global policy makers on critical issues related to Internet policy.

Bill Graham, formerly an official with the Canadian government, with extensive international experience in Internet policy and global telecommunications and technology issues, will lead the Internet Society's effort.

The Internet Society is widely recognized as a trusted partner of many important organizations including the OECD, the ITU, UNESCO and others.

"With this new program of Strategic Global Engagement, the Internet Society seeks to develop strategic positions on key Internet issues and to engage the highest level of global policy makers on those emerging issues," says Lynn St. Amour, ISOC President and CEO.

The Internet Society has long held a unique leadership position on Internet-related technical, operations and standards issues as the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the global Internet standards body.

In addition, the Internet Society has deep roots in the global Internet community through its more than 90 chapters worldwide with over 28,000 individual members, and its relationship with more than 90 organizational members.

"Our goal is to bridge our unique knowledge of Internet standards and operations with the global needs of policymakers," says Lynn St. Amour. "Bill Graham's global policy experience will help us inform policy makers about the vital implications of ongoing policy decisions for the continued development of the Internet."

Bill Graham joined the staff of the Internet Society in December of 2007. Previously, he was Director, International Telecommunications Policy and Coordination in the Canadian federal government department of Industry, where he was responsible for coordinating Canadian participation in multilateral organizations, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), APEC Telecommunications and Information Working Group, the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL), ICANN Governmental Advisory Council, and for bilateral relations on telecommunications policy issues for Canada.

In addition, he was substantively in charge of Canada's participation in the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), served as Vice-Chair of the ICANN GAC, and as a member of the Advisory Group to the UN Secretary General on convening the Internet Governance Forum.

About the Internet Society

The Internet Society (www.isoc.org) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. With offices in Washington, DC, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world.