[Chapter-delegates] Application to form a Chapter in Yemen

[Sabrina Wilmot]

Dear Colleagues,

The following application for a Chapter in Yemen has been received. It is being sent to this list for peer comment and review.
Please note that the Chapter is not yet formed and has not officially been recognised by the Internet Society.
If there are people on this list that know the individuals proposing to establish the Chapter, feedback is especially welcome.
The period allowed for comments is two weeks and the deadline is 3 August 2013.

Please do not hesitate to contact me on or off list.

Thanks,
Sabrina Wilmot
Manager, Chapter Formation
Internet Society

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A. Proposed name of the Chapter
ISOC Yemen Chapter (short for Internet Society Yemen Chapter)


B. Community of Interest the Chapter will serve
Anyone in Yemen as well Yemeni expatriates abroad could become part of the community of interest.


C. Purpose and scope of Chapter
The chapter will be serving the interests of the Internet users by pursuing the following key areas within the boundaries of Yemen as its scope:
•	Raising awareness among the public about the benefits of using the Internet and good practices that would minimize security and other risks to end users as well as promoting the efficient consumption of bandwidth.
•	Encouraging websites to implement new services (applies to governmental, commerce, educational, cultural and other service-oriented websites) and hold contests to recognized distinguished websites.
•	Promoting technical solutions to obstacles preventing effective use of the Internet such as slow speed, malware, etc.
•	Providing opportunities for training, education, networking and knowledge sharing.
•	Cooperating and partnering with entities from the government, civil society, private sector, international community and others to promote the free and effective use to the Internet for the benefit of the society.
•	Promoting a stronger and more robust infrastructure that could allow remote areas to gain access to the Internet in an easy and affordable manner.
•	Promoting reforms and measures to grant allow the private sector to operate facilities, protocols and standards including but not limited to IXPs, DNSSec, IPV6, that promote healthy competition to provide better services to the public.
•	Supporting governmental efforts to establish e-government projects to provide citizens with easier access to various public services.
•	Participating in decision-making processes on all levels that involve Internet services so as to promote the interests of Internet users.
•	Expanding the use of the Internet by lowering costs, enhancing quality of service, and providing a greater array of possibilities.
•	Advocating freedom of expression online and opposing oppressive practices that could limit such freedom
•	Building the capacity of ISOC Yemen members in internet governance issues, and keep them informed about national, regional and international internet affairs.
•	Supporting the development of local content on the web.
•	Promoting the growth and evolution of the Internet architecture .
•	Initiating and supporting educational and research projects related to the Internet.
•	Collection and dissemination of information related to the Internet, including histories and archives.
•	Contributing to the localization and building cultural bridges between Yemen and other nations using the Internet.


D. Outline of key priorities for the first year of Chapter
For the first year after inauguration, the focus will be on the following areas and the given timelines:
Key priorities for the first quarter (months 1->3):
1-	Creating a not-for-profit entity to represent ISOC Yemen Chapter and give it the required official status and recognition to receive tax-exempted funds to carry out its various activities. This includes renting an apartment, printing letterheads, creating a stamp, printing leaflets and other material necessary to introduce the event.
2-	Forming the Standing Committees that will execute the plan set up for the first year.
3-	Creating a PR campaign about ISOC Yemen Chapter.
4-	Preparing and organizing a conference introducing the chapter under the theme ‘Internet in Yemen: Challenges and Prospects’
5-	Networking and visiting potential partners and supporters as well as future funders and member organizations that will be helpful in supporting the chapter’s future activities. 
Key priorities for the rest of the year (3-12):
1-	(months 3-12): Developing a series of workshops in areas related to:
	a.	Cyber security (best practices in dealing with malware, hacking, DDoS, pirated software. etc.)
	b.	Internet for beginners (workshops for those who have just started using the Internet and need guidance)
	c.	Internet for intermediaries (providing tools and tips on using social networking, firewalls, online storage)
	d.	Website development (basic training in purchasing a hosting plan and starting a small-scale CMS- based website
2-	(months 6-12) Holding meetings with government officials on the needs and aspirations of Internet users so as to address issues related to cost, speed, reliability, infrastructure, etc.
3-	(months 6-12) Launching media campaigns to raise awareness about Internet use as well as visiting educational institutes such as schools and universities and give lectures on the importance of Internet accessibility.
4-	(months 6-9) Writing proposals for projects that call for establishing e-government services in some sectors of the government (we shall start with small-scale operations and move to bigger ones in the next years)
5-	(months 9-12) Preparing for the annual summit and preparing with surveys and questionnaires to be sent to members to set up the agenda of the meeting and potential projects to be carried out in the next years towards achieving the goals of the chapter.


E. Founding members of the Chapter
Below is the full list of the 31 founding members of ISOC Yemen Chapter. A meeting took place on July 3, 2013 with many of those founding members and the plan, bylaws, resources, etc. were all agreed upon and it was also agreed that it was time to submit the application to ISOC for consideration. The list includes their names, affiliations and contact information as well as the username they used to register as individual members at Internet Society’s website.

Full Name, Affiliation & Location:
Abdellah Fayea, Engineer, Tafeel for IT Co. Ltd. - Sana’a
Abdulsalam Arif, Student, U. of Science & Technology - Sana’a
Abrahim Alahdal, IT Engineer, Yemen Net - Sana’a
Adli Al-Kharasani, Trainer and activist (Sana’a)
Ahmed Alashawl, Web Programmer, Yemen-Hosting - Sana’a
Ahmed Almarwani, Logistics Assistant, WFP, Hodeidah
Ahmed Abdulsattar, Computer Engineer - Aden
Aiman Al-Wasai, System Analyst, Ibda'a Soft - Sana’a
Akram AlMulsi, Marketing Manager, Yemen Net - Sana’a
Ala’a Assamawy, Lecturer, Sana’a Community College – Sana’a
Ameen Algithi, Freelancing network engineer - Sana’a
Ammar Alareefi, Sana’a University Student - Sana’a
Amr Sattar, Network Assistant, Orient House - Sana’a
Aws Aleryani, General Manager, Design Group - Sana’a
Ebraheem Al-Moayed, TEDxSanaa Volunteer - Sana’a
Hizam Alahdal, IT Engineer, Ministry of Telecom. Sana’a
Ibtihal Muharram, Billing Support Engineer – Y Telecom - Sana’a
Madiha Kamal, Management Assistant & PR officer, AlKurby Co for Oil Services - Sana’a
Mishaal Thabit, Security Engineer, Y. Telecom., Sana’a
Mohamed Abdulmalek, YouTube clip presenter and producer (Coosh Malek), Sana’a
Mona Alhadadi, Radio anchor on Yemen FM - Sana’a
Mulk Khaleel, Software engineer, Yemen Soft - Sana’a
Nagib Abse, Executive Manager, Socotra Holidays - Socotra
Osama Mostafa, Software developer, WHO - Sana’a
Sami Qhtani, Trainer, General Telecom. Institute - Hodeidah
Waleed Saleh, Charging Engineer, Y Telecom - Sana’a
Walid Al-Saqaf, University Lecturer & Software Developer (Sana’a, Yemen and Orebro, Sweden)
Yusri Alathwari, CEO of Warzan E-Marketing - Sana’a
Zakaria Alaya, Freelance designer and photographer - Sana’a
Zakaria AlKainai, Software Developer - Sana’a
Mohammed Rashed Al-Dhaifi,  Head of System and Hosting Department - , Yemen Net - Sana’a 


F. List of supporters and partner organizations
Below is a list of organizations and bodies will believe will be supporting or partnering with our chapter. We have established preliminary contacts with those organizations and have received encouraging statements of support from key staff members once ISOC Yemen Chapter is launched.
- Corporate
	•	YemenNet – Official Internet Service Provider for Yemen (Run by Ministry of Telecommunication)
	•	TeleYemen – Registrar of .ye domains and international carrier
- Educational
	•	Computer Science Department – Sana’a University
	•	General Telecommunication Institute
	•	Darassalam International University
	•	University of Modern Sciences
	•	Limkokwing University (Yemen).
- Private Sector
	•	Sahafa.net – Yemen’s most widely viewed website (news aggregator)
	•	Warazan – An e-marketing and e-commerce portal
	•	Design Group – For website design and development
	•	Yemen Sat – VSAT Service provider for Yemen
- Civil Society
	•	Lawyers Syndicate – advocating for Internet access as one of its main points of their concern
	•	Teachers Syndicate – advocating for Internet access to schools including staff and students
	•	Labor Union – advocating for reducing cost of access to laborers
	•	International organizations (there are several international organizations and bodies that will be approached for support including UNDP, Oxfam, Mercy Corp) for support in projects that involve using the Internet for development
	•	Democracy School in Yemen – advocating promoting democracy by expanding access to the Internet to all sectors of the Yemeni population
	•	Yemeni Women Union – advocating for gender equality in access to the Internet
	•	Youth Leadership Development foundation (YLDF) for support in projects that involve using the Internet for development, also advocating for gender equality in access to the internet.
	•	Yemeni Association for IT (yait.org)


G. Membership
Members will be invited to join through a number of methods including the following:
-	Social networking: A Facebook page will be created to invite members and ask them to join by indicating the benefits and dues to join
-	Media coverage: Some of the founding members have good connections to the media and they will be producing news reports and press releases about the chapter and will use the media to invite members to join and support the chapter.
-	The conference to kick start the activities of ISOC Yemen Chapter will be a great opportunity to introduce the chapter to potential members and call upon attendees to sign up for membership on the spot and introduce them to the Internet Society as well as ISOC Yemen Chapter.
-	Various training activities that will involve non-members will be used to attract members and explain to them the advantage of joining
-	Students will be approached via university and high school visits and banners as well as other similar activities to invite them to join, indicating the 50% discount for full-time students.
-	There will also be other creative methods to get members to join and those will be developed and encouraged as time progresses.


H. List of requirements
The requirements to form a not-for-profit organization includes having all the required documents (application, bylaws, etc.) plus a fee and a bank deposit of around $5,000 (YR 1 million). There is also an annual renewal fee of less than $100. The founding members of ISOC Yemen Chapter would also be the founding members of the organization.


I. Additional information
Yemen is among the countries that are well below the world average in terms of Internet penetration and quality of service. The Web Index 2012 showed Yemen on the bottom of all surveyed countries, reflecting an urgent need to help improve Internet services and expand access to the whole population. The poor infrastructure, stringent regulations, slow speed, low bandwidth, low awareness, service monopoly, and high costs are some of the obstacles keeping the Internet from growing and prospering in the country. Although there were a few ad-hoc events and appeals to address those severe problems, there was really no institutional effort to do so and we feel that ISOC Yemen Chapter could be the real start of such an effort.
Our efforts will focus primarily on making the Internet used more effectively to serve development and progress and to make it more accessible, free and of high quality by pursuing the goals set forth in the application and bylaws. Luckily, Yemen has a large youth population that is increasingly interested in using the Internet for various purposes such as education, career advancement, work, etc. and hence, ISOC Yemen Chapter comes at a very good time to help bring the Internet to its true potential for Yemen’s development.


J. Your contact information
 
Name: Walid Al-Saqaf
Affiliation: Director/Founder, Alkasir (alkasir.com) - Lecturer, Orebro University
Yemen

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