[Chapter-delegates] Application to form an ISOC chapter in Sierra Leone
Alejandro Pisanty
apisan at servidor.unam.mx
Sun Apr 8 18:47:51 PDT 2007
Dear Anne, and all,
for what I have learned these days, I think we can offer warm support to
the chapter in formation in Sierra Leone.
The fact that many of the members are in diaspora sets out a challenge
(collaboration can mostly be done at a distance, activities in country
require travel, etc.) but also an opportunity, should it happen that the
people outside Sierra Leone can make use and channel resources available
in their present places of residence and work which are of higher
capability than those in place in the country.
The fact that Adel Suliman, the ccTLD manager for SL, is among the members
is heartening in that it particularly ensures a channel for in-country and
global activities and understanding.
In ISOC Mexico we would be glad to assist in the initiation of activities
of the new chapter if it is accepted.
Yours,
Alejandro Pisanty
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dr. Alejandro Pisanty
Director General de Servicios de Computo Academico
UNAM, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
Av. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico DF Mexico
Tel. (+52-55) 5622-8541, 5622-8542 Fax 5622-8540
http://www.dgsca.unam.mx
*
---->> Unete a ISOC Mexico, www.isoc.org
Participa en ICANN, www.icann.org
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
On Sat, 31 Mar 2007, Anne Lord wrote:
> Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2007 05:56:50 +0200
> From: Anne Lord <lord at isoc.org>
> To: Chapter Delegates <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
> Subject: [Chapter-delegates] Application to form an ISOC chapter in
> Sierra Leone
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> The following application for a new Chapter to be formed in the
> Sierra Leone has been received. It is being sent to this list for peer
> comment and review.
>
> Please note that the chapter is not yet formed. If there are people
> on this list that know the individuals proposing to form the chapter,
> feedback is especially welcomed.
>
> The period allowed for comments is 2 weeks and the deadline is Monday
> 16th April.
>
> Please do not hesitate to contact me on or off list.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Anne
>
>
> The Sierra Leone Chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC.SL) Application
>
> A. Proposed name of the Chapter
> The Sierra Leone Chapter of the Internet Society (hereby referred to
> as ISOC.SL)
>
> B. Community of Interest the Chapter will to serve
> The Chapter will serve the country of Sierra Leone, in West Africa.
> All Sierra Leoneans at Home and the Diaspora will be served.
>
> C. Purpose and Scope of Chapter
> ISOC.SL’s principal purpose is to maintain and extend the development
> and availability of the Internet and its associated technologies and
> applications - both as an end in itself, and as a means of enabling
> organizations, professions, and individuals worldwide to more
> effectively collaborate, cooperate, and innovate in their respective
> fields and interests.
>
> Its specific goals and purposes include:
>
> * Development, maintenance, evolution, and dissemination of standards
> for the Internet and its internetworking technologies and
> applications to Sierra Leoneans at home and in the Diaspora;
> * Growth and evolution of Sierra Leone’s Internet architecture;
> * Maintenance and evolution of effective administrative processes
> necessary for operation of the global Internet and internets;
> * Provide education and research related to the Internet and
> internetworking;
> * Harmonization of actions and activities at international levels to
> facilitate the development and availability of the Internet in Sierra
> Leone;
> * Collection and dissemination of information related to the Internet
> and internetworking, including histories and archives;
> * Assisting technologically developing countries, areas, and peoples,
> specifically Sierra Leone, in implementing and evolving their
> Internet infrastructure and use;
> * Liaison with other organizations, governments and the general
> public for coordination, collaboration, and education in effecting
> the above purposes.
>
> ISOC.SL Background Information:
>
> ISOC.SL on the WWW. ISOC.SL is currently located online at
> www.sierravisions.org/isocsl. Eventually the portal will be hosted at
> www.isoc.sl. Establishment of ISOC.SL will encourage involvement and
> contributions to the development of Internet technologies in Sierra
> Leone. Background work on the management of .SL domain can be found
> http://SierraLeonePortal.net/nic
>
> ISOC.SL Mission and Vision:
>
> The mission of ISOC-SL will be largely based on the vision of its
> founding members, member organizations and partners given that
> Internet Development in Sierra Leone to date has been slow and
> dispersed. Internet has been treated much like an imported commodity
> and its potential in the country’s economic development remains
> untapped. There are now signs that key stakeholders are realizing
> that this new medium is open to be employed and developed in a way
> that it serves our cultural, social and economic interests. The
> management of the .SL domain will be central to maximizing this
> potential in a just and equitable manner. The establishment for ISCO-
> SL among other initiatives in the government, private sector, public
> sectors and academic sectors is a testament to this emerging vision.
> A sense of the ensuing ISOC-SL mission and the length and breath of
> ISOC-SL vision can be found in the intersection of the following
> notes by founding members:
>
> The Diaspora/Non Government (Chrystabel Davis and Cecil John)
>
> The Sierra Leone Diaspora is an international community of Sierra
> Leoneans at home and abroad. We have worked diligently over the last
> two years to evolve ISOC.SL as a professional membership organization
> that includes key institutions, stakeholders and individuals who can
> influence the IT policies and practices around the .SL domain. In our
> efforts to bridge the divide amongst stakeholders, the information
> supplied and activities provided by ISOC would contribute immensely
> to our work.
>
> Sierra Leonean Professionals, academics & entrepreneurs, abroad and
> amongst the Diaspora, are using the Internet more effectively as a
> primary medium for collaboration, social networking and archiving of
> documents and multimedia.
>
> Individuals, and institutional (in the private and voluntary/NGO
> sector) are collaborating towards a common objective of narrowing the
> digital divide between the poor and wealthy in Sierra Leone, and
> between the Sierra Leone indigenes and Diaspora. The establishment of
> ISOC.SL would be an essential catalyst for these processes, as this
> will form a core institutional foundation from which various project
> initiatives could spring.
>
> The formation of ISOC.SL is key to the facilitation of access to
> secondary level domains such as .gov.sl for the public/government
> sector, .com.sl for private and .org.sl for non-profit and non-
> governmental agencies.
>
> Institutional Development of .SL Domain (Adrian Q. Labor):
>
> Institutions are the backbone of strong democratic countries
> irrespective of size. The human resource, the professionalism and
> visionary directions for all facets of nation building emanates from
> the ideas, reviews, discussions, conferences, reports and policies
> that take place with institutional settings. In the digital era, the
> increasing speed and portability of technologies has provided
> unimaginable opportunities for institutions in developing nations
> such as Sierra Leone. The capacity to archive and retrieve all forms
> of media generated by institutional activities from anywhere lends
> itself to our nation’s current decentralization objectives.
> Institutions that are at the forefront of nurturing Sierra Leone’s
> fragile democratic ideals will need the .SL space to be managed
> effectively with agreed upon principles of equality and equitable
> access at all times irrespective of ethnicity, gender and political
> beliefs. The ISOC.SL provides the forum for public Institutions to
> collaborate with Government, Private Sector, Business and others in
> ensuring their vision for information collection and dissemination is
> achieved. Representatives of frontline institutions are already
> engaging this process by getting involved in the establishment of
> ISOC.SL
>
> Internet Related Service in the Private Sector (Conrad Parkzes):
>
> Establishment of ISOC.SL will encourage standardization and
> uniformity as well as collaboration between the different providers
> of Internet related services in Sierra Leone ultimately providing the
> end-users with a much more productive and enriching Internet
> experience. Currently Sierra Leone has approximately ten different
> Internet Service providers mostly centered around the capital city of
> Freetown. ISP use separate infrastructure with no direct inter-
> connectivity in the country. Traffic from one service provider to
> another has to go across satellite links to Europe and/or North
> America before going back down to the other user thereby creating a
> less than optimal Internet experience for users especially when
> trying to access local content such as online newspapers, government
> agency websites, etc. ISOC.SL will work with local government and
> Internet industry stakeholders to work on the creation of a ‘carrier
> hotel’ environment whereby local content is encouraged to remain
> local thus contributing to Sierra Leone eventually becoming a net
> producer as it relates to the Internet instead of the current state
> where the country is a net consumer.
>
> ISOC.SL will also work to encourage the establishment of fiber
> connectivity across key towns/cities in the country as well as
> obtaining access to the SAT-3 fiber link for Internet access. With
> VSAT satellite Internet access being the only option currently for
> outside links to the country, the cost for Internet service to end-
> users is still very high as providers have high backbone costs thus
> severely limiting the rate of Internet penetration in the country.
> ISOC.SL in collaboration with key stakeholders will work to encourage
> investment in Internet backbone bandwidth to help decrease the cost
> of Internet service to end-users thereby helping to bridge the much
> talked about digital divide. The recently formed National
> Telecommunications Commission has established a Universal access
> telecommunications fund that will be used to fund the expansion of
> Internet and Telecommunications services to rural areas. ISOC.SL
> will work with this commission on coming up with solutions such as
> those from companies such as Inveneo and Green Wi-fi that are built
> specifically for energy deprived economies like Sierra Leone.
> Availability of high bandwidth links will have significant economic
> impact for the country as Sierra Leone will then be in a better
> position to take advantage of its low cost, educated English-speaking
> workforce to offer services such as call center outsourcing and banks
> and other businesses. Currently businesses rely on expensive VSAT
> links for connectivity between sites. In future, with high bandwidth,
> they will have lower Internet and connectivity costs and in turn pass
> the cost savings on to the consumers.
>
>
> Private Sector’s Competitive Advantage in Delivering IT Services
> (Daniel Chaytor):
>
> It is well known that the strategic use of information technologies
> such as the Internet can work as a catalyst for a country’s
> development and contribute significantly to its competitive
> advantage. The ISOC.SL initiative provides a unique opportunity for
> private sector IT firms in Sierra Leone to network and partner with
> similar firms both within Sierra Leone and in the sub-region and the
> rest of the world. It also allows the achievement of economies of
> scale by providing training, assisting in the production of local
> content and providing content production and hosting services to
> other organizations wanting to produce their own content and make it
> available online.
>
> ISOC.SL will work actively to pursue funding to tap into the SAT-3
> Fiber link that encircles the African continent. This will provide
> robust, affordable, high-speed internet access for Sierra Leone. As
> in the case of the Gambia, Internet service providers can benefit by
> providing new access technologies to end users once the link is in
> place. A more efficient means to administer and manage the .sl domain
> also becomes a reality.
>
> Extract from National Communication Project (Lionel George)
>
> The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) Communications Strategy,
> adopted by cabinet in November 2005 as the National Communication
> Strategy, identifies “public information dissemination” as “crucial
> to democracy and instrumental to sustaining peace in Sierra Leone.”
> The GoSL Communications Strategy document, now constituted in the
> GoSL Communications Strategy project with funding from the United
> Nations Development Program (UNDP) County office, noted the
> ineffectiveness of government at “communication some of the
> undeniable gains made since the war”/ It argues for a newly
> resourced, strategic and business-focused communication approach for
> public information” in the country. The document proposes “open
> channels of communication approach for public information” in the
> country. The document proposes “open channels of communication” among
> its identified stakeholders as a lead to an informed citizenry and an
> attractant for foreign investment capital, while helping to build
> confidence in the GoSL with “all constituencies, national and
> international”.
>
> The project implementation strategy lays out key “strategic
> management objectives”: information coordination, information
> management and dissemination.
> This involves coordination of information at the line ministry level
> and a regular, efficient and effective information management and
> dissemination approach targeted to key constituencies. In a general
> sense, the project calls for the provision of “strategic assistance” in:
>
> * Capacity building (training, technical assistance and exchange of
> experiences to strengthen national communication offices and functions
> * Support to Execution (specific, tailored support in media
> relations, opinion polling)
> * Advocacy (facilitating dialogue between GoSL and Journalists,
> consensus building and policy advisory as required for project
> implementation).
>
> Hi Anne:
>
> Apologies for missing out the contact details. Please see the
> attached two tables below, and let me know if you need anything else.
>
> Regards,
> Chrystabel Davis
> cdavis at sierravisions.org
>
> D. List of Founding Members.
>
> Chrystabel Davis
> E-Mail: cdavis at sierravisions.org
> Phone Number: 1 240 328 0728
> Mobile Number: 1 240 328 0728
> Fax Number: 1 240 554 1555
>
> Adrian Labor
> Email: aqlabor at sierraleoneportal.net
> Phone Number 240 271 4602
>
> Cecil John
> E-Mail: cj at virtualdeveloper.com
> Phone Number: 703 5974378
> Fax Number: 202 3187673
>
> Daniel Chaytor
> Email: chay at tmm-web.com
> Phone: +232-22-240747
> Fax: +232-22-240747
> Mobile: +232-76-60520
>
> Lionel George
> Email: lag at ipam-usl.org
> Phone Number: +232 76 608450 /33 608450
>
> Maxwell Massaquoi
> Email: mmassaquoi at broadrangesolutions.com
> Phone: +232 (33) 312920
>
> Conrad Coyanda-Parkzes
> E-Mail: cparkzes at apafrica.com
> Phone: +1 703 935 1566
> Mobile : +1 703 300 2032
> Fax : +1 703 656 4752
>
> Bimbola Carrol
> Email: info at otolo.net
> Phone: +4420 7193 4532
> Mobile: +44 7939 016 405
> Fax: +44 20 8181 6571
>
> Evelyn Lewis
> Email: elewis at sbtsgroup.com
> Phone: +232-33-344-266, + 1-202-595-1955x555
>
> Agyeman Taqi
> E-Mail: tiqtaq2001 at hotmail.com
> Phone Number: +232 22 223736
> Mobile Number: +232 76 655998
> Fax Number: +232 22 226143
>
> These are members who’ve already signed up as Individual Global ISOC
> Chapter Members:
>
> Mr. Adel S. Suliman
> Mr. Ansumana J Kaikai
> Mr. Vivian Sidney Gorvie
> Mr. Aiah Kortequee
> Mr. Alvin Emerson-Thomas
> Ms. Tayseer Abdel-razig
> Mr. Chinya Harleston
> Ms. Chrystabel Davis
> Mr. Cecil John
> Mrs. Malak M Abdel-razig
> Mr. Kizito Kaloko
> Mr. Adeyemi Browne
> Mr. Alphonso Pratt
> Mr. Ishmael Kargbo
> Mr. Claudius John
> Mr. Tamba Kortequee
> Mr. Joseph James
> Mr. Momoh Conteh
> Mr. John Awoonor-Gordon
> Dr. Abdul Karim Bangura
> Mr. Linford Roy-Macauley
> Mr. Chrisford Davis
> Mr. Martin Malamah-Thomas
> Mr. Michael Kowa
> Mr. Adrian Labor
> Mr Ayodele Spencer
> Mr Maxwell Massaquoi
> Mr. Desmond Bishop
> Mr Claribel Hinton/Sawyerr
> Mr Mamesho Macaulay
> Mr Ade Daramy
> Dr. Bidemi Carrol
> Ms. Giileh Scholtz
> Ms. Edleen Elba
> Ms. Noellen Barber.
> Ms. Angeline Bishop
> Mr. Conrad Parkzes
> Ms. Leah Mansaray
> Mr. Bimbola Carrol
> Mr. Daniel Chaytor
> Mr. Agyeman Taqi
> Mr. Lionel George
> Mr. Daniel Chaytor
> Mr. Evelyn Lewis
>
> E. List of ISOC.SL Supporting Organizations/Partners.
>
> E. List of ISOC.SL Supporting Organizations/Partners.
>
> Sierra Leone National Telecommunications (NATCom)
> Maxwell Massaquoi
> Email: mmassaquoi at broadrangesolutions.com
> Phone: +232 (33) 312920
>
> Sierra Visions
> Mamesho Macaulay
> mamacaulay at sierravisions.org
> Phone: 1 240 328 0728
>
> Sierra Leone Network
> Amadu Massally
> amadu.massally at gmail.com
> Phone: 703 9559212
>
> Sierra Leone Telecommunications Limited (Sierratel)
> Claudius John
> Email: support at sierratel.sl
> Phone Number: +232 22 235981
>
> APA
> Mohamed Hersi
> mhersi at apafrica.com
> Phone +1 703 626 2651
>
> SBTS Group
> Roselynn Lewis
> rlewis at sbtsgroup.com
> Phone: +232-76-768-440
>
> Virtual Developer
> E-Mail: cj at virtualdeveloper.com
> Phone Number: 703 5974378
> Fax Number: 202 3187673
>
> Tiwai Memory Masters
> Mohamed Alpha Turay
> pheaus at tmm-web.com
> Phone: +232-76-602729
>
> BroadRange Solutions
> Maxwell Massaquoi
> Email: mmassaquoi at broadrangesolutions.com
> Phone: +232 (33) 312920
>
> Digitized Networks
> Adrian Q. Labor
> DNetWorks at sierraleoneportal.net
>
> CISCO
> Gordon Williams
> Email: gowillia at cisco.com
> HP
>
> Bolaji Olutade
> Email: bolajio at sbcglobal.net
> IBM Corporation
>
> Leah Mansaray
> Email: mansaray at uk.ibm.com
> Phone: + 44 793 9455782
>
> Otolo Web Solutions/ VisitSierraLeone
> Bimbola Carrol
> Email: info at otolo.net
> Phone: +4420 7193 4532
> Mobile: +44 7944 356 110
> Fax: +44 20 8181 6571
>
> QuantumNet
> Agyeman Taqi
> E-Mail: isoc at quantum.sl
> Phone Number: +232 22 223736
> Fax Number: +232 22 226143
>
>
> F. Local Requirements
>
> The local requirements to qualify the Sierra Leone Chapter as
> Organization with Legal Entity Status that have been completed are as
> follows:
>
> 1. Developed and lodged an ISOC.SL Deed of Establishment at an
> Sierra Leone Public Notary. (See Appendix A)
>
> G. Additional Information
>
> Additionally, we have attached an excerpt of the National
> Communication’s (NatCom) .gov.sl Project (See Appendix B)
>
> H. Your Contact Information
> Name: Chrystabel Davis
> Business Address: P.O. BOX 3271, Laurel, MD 20708
> E-Mail: cdavis at sierravisions.org
> Phone Number: 1 240 328 0728
> Mobile Number: 1 240 328 0728
> Fax Number: 1 240 554 1555
>
>
>
>
>
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