PacINET 2012 Presenters

These were some of the presenters at the 2012 PacINET the PICISOC annual event held in Suva, Fiji.

Professor Rajesh Chandra – Vice-Chancellor and President

Rajesh Chandra is a Fijian academic of Indian descent. In February 2005 he was appointed the first Vice-Chancellor of the newly founded University of Fiji. He is at present Vice-Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific.

Chandra was born in Maro in Nadroga Navosa Province. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of the South Pacific with distinction and holds a PhD in Industrial/Development Geography, which he completed between 1981 and 1985 at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of more than 45 articles in academic journals and books. He is also the author or editor of five books, including Industrialization and Development in the Third World and An Atlas of Fiji, which is used as a textbook in all Fijian secondary schools.

Presentation slide (click here) : USP_Vice_Chancellor

Anju Mangal – Information Specialist at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) / 2004

Anju is affiliated with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC); she is the information specialist/coordinator for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Information and Knowledge Management (IKM) activities in SPC-LRD and oversees, and provides an advisory role to the staff and Pacific countries. Anju provides leadership and advice as a trainer on the use of ICT, IKM and e-learning platforms in the Pacific. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Governance and her research thesis was on Internet Governance and Multi-stakeholder participation in the Pacific region. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Information systems and Geographical information systems and is certified in knowledge management and ArcGIS/GIS emergency response. Anju was a tutor for DiploFoundation’s ICT Strategy Course, a research expert and an active member of DiploFoundation’s research and teaching faculty.
She is an alumni of the IGCBP 2009 and was an ISOC Ambassador to the IGF in 2008 in Hyderabad, India, and a Commonwealth IGF fellow and member of IGF Secretariat team in Sharm El-Sheikh. She was chosen to represent Fiji and the Pacific region to work as a fellow at the UN IGF Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland. During her tenure at the IGF Secretariat, she was in-charge of maintaining and updating the IGF website and also working with the IGF team to facilitate the Multi-stakeholder meetings. Anju served as a board member of the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society (PICISOC) and is currently the treasurer and chairwoman of the PICISOC Women and ICT group. She coordinates and develops innovative ideas on ICT and KM for development and advocates on Internet governance issues in the Pacific. She is currently the advice/coordinator for the Youth and ICT in agriculture advisory team that is administered under the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Netherlands.

Presentation slide (click here) :  IGF_Diplo_PacificIGF

Andrew Erbs – mHealth and Communications Specialist, JTA International

With a decade working in the Health and Education Sectors supporting and
managing ICT service delivery throughout the Asia Pacific region, Andrew
has experience in a range of technologies with a primary focus on network
communications and hosted infrastructure.

Currently contracted by JTA International as the mHealth and Communications
specialist, Andrew works to augment development programs with emerging,
cost effective and relevant information and communication technologies.

Enthusiasm for building both system and human capacity make him a valuable
contributor to any program utilizing ICT4D principles for the achievement
of national, regional or millennium development goals.

Presentation slide (click here) : Mobiles for International Development – mHealth

Duangthip Chomprang – Regional Affairs Manager at the Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau of the Internet Society

Thip or Duangthip is currently the Regional Affairs Manager at the Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau of the Internet Society. She is based in the Singapore bureau but strategically located in Bangkok , the region’s capital for international policy making. Her current roles include facilitating knowledge (Internet Governance, IPv6, DNSSEC, etc.) and promoting the Internet development topics in various regional platforms such as APECTEL, APTLD, APRICOT, APNIC, etc. as well as directly engaging with the region’s Internet community including policy makers, local chapters, the business/industry and the general public.

Prior to her role in Internet Society, she worked for the various governments in the region including inter-regional organization specifically in Asia-Pacific region, focusing on social-economic development work in areas of nanotechnology, knowledge management and technology transfer strategies for enhancing national/organisational competitiveness. Prior to this, Thip has worked in the private sector for the past 15 years in the telecom and finance industry.

Presentation slide (click here) : Update on IGF Issues & Challenges for PACINET

Damien Whippy – Web Developer

Damien Whippy is a web software developer, visual communication designer and tinkerer. He runs a local company called F1 Mobile Solutions; providing VAS content and technology services for Vodafone, Inkk and TFL networks. In his spare time he enjoys woodworking, classical guitar and photography.
You can reach him at damien@whippy.me or damien@f1.com.fj.

Emani Fakaotimanava-Lui – Owner of Rocket System (Niue) /PICISOC Board Member

Emani has been involved with ICT since the late 90′s.  His company RockET Systems (www.rocketsystems.nu) was formed in June 1999 to support Internet Niue (www.internetniue.nu) but in 2007, it took full control of the local ISP management.  He presented an overview of Internet Niue’s Free Wifi in 2005 at the Kiribati PacINET.  In 2011 he attended the IGF in Nairobi to receive the ISIF Award for Internet Niue’s work on the island in Localisation & Capacity Building.  This year in April 2012 he represented PICISOC at ISOC’s INET.  In June 2012 he attended the NZ NetHui to explore the Internet Governance Forum concept of NetHui and how Rural & Remote areas within NZ can compare with Rural & Remote areas in the Pacific.  His work in Utilising the Internet and ICT as a Catalyst for the Preservation of Vagahau Niue (Niuean Language) was enhanced with the successful Grant from ISOC’s Community Grant 2012.  Being located on one of the Pacific’s isolated islands has helped pave the way for innovation in using Wifi to distribute Internet to remote villages.  With his recent attendance at various Internet related conferences, he has been spreading the good news about PICISOC’s work and main event of PacINET.  People have come to appreciate the work that we are involved with and we need to to collaborate and work together as a Pacific Region to affect others at the international level to hopefully assist our local developments.  This level of committment from all of us will ensure that our struggles and success stories will always be at the forefront of international discussion rooms.

‘Etuate Cocker – PhD Student, Department of Computer Science, University of Auckland / PICISOC Board Member

‘Etuate Cocker is originally from Tonga and a current PhD student at the University of Auckland. He has dedicated his study at the University of Auckland to improving connectivity in remote islands nations of the Pacific. His PhD project includes a longitudinal study of the underlying causes of the slow connectivity and aims to provide a solution to the issue. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of the South Pacific and a Master of Science in Internetworking from the University of Technology Sydney. His professional experience includes a position as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Officer at the South Pacific Geoscience Commission in Fiji and various positions as application developer and network administrator in the Pacific and New Zealand. He was also awarded the Prime Minister’s Pacific Australia and the Australian Computer Society Award while studying in Australia and a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship.

Presentation slide (click here) : jitter_measurement

Gunela Astbrink – ICT policy advisor and researcher

Gunela Astbrink has worked in policy and research on disability and technology issues for the past twenty years both in Australia and internationally. For ten years, she was active in ICT disability advocacy through the federal government-funded TEDICORE (Telecommunications and Disability Consumer Representation).

Currently, her company GSA InfoComm is engaged with Australian and European Commission projects on e-accessibility as well as Internet tools to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Gunela recently completed a research project with Will Tibben of the University of Wollongong on accessibility in public procurement.

Gunela is a long-standing Director on the Board of the Internet Society of Australia (ISOC-AU). She has been funded by ISOC globally to write an accessibility policy paper as well as to develop and run capacity-building workshops on Internet accessibility policy and disability awareness workshops. Gunela has run these workshops at previous PacINETs and is involved with the Pacific region through advocacy to improve Internet accessibility.

Presentation slide (click here) : PacINET 2012 – Accessibility_Gunela

Dr Mahendra Reddy – Dean – College of Business, Hospitality & Tourism Studies, Fiji National University / Chairman – Fiji Commerce Commission

– Dean, College of Business, Hospitality and Tourism Studies, Fiji National University
– Chair, Fiji Commerce Commission (since March, 2009)

– Head of School, School of Economics and Associate Professor of Economics, School of Economics, USP (1st July, 2008 to 30th September, 2008;
– Acting Head of School, School of Economics and Associate Professor of Economics, School of Economics, USP (1st July, 2007 to 30th June, 2008.
– Associate Dean, Faculty of Business and Economics, USP: 2007.
– Co-ordinator, Postgraduate Studies Program, Faculty of Business and Economics.

Presentation slide (click here) : Tel Pap USP ICT_Dr Mahendra Reddy

Maureen Hilyard – Chair of PICISOC

Martin Cocker – NETSafe NZ

I joined NetSafe as the Executive Director in March 2006. Before that I worked in the ICT industry for 12 years. I don’t want to pretend that makes me an ICT expert – they were sales and marketing roles. Sure, in a room full of non ICT industry people I’m a nerd – but in a room full of ICT people, I’m certainly not anointed with that title.

NetSafe can play an important role aiding this country’s transition to an information society by strengthening our ability to manage ICT based risks. For this we need digital age skills – and that includes digital safety skills. Our role is certainly not to attempt to reduce ICT use or to judge the way people chose to use technology. In practical terms this means packaging up digital safety skills into consumable products – like the websites and video resources. It means identifying strategies that work to keep people safer and then implementing them – or lobbying for their implementation. It also means identifying strategies that don’t work and discouraging them.

Presentation slide (click here) : Opening Remarks by Martin Cocker — Pacinet_Digital_Citizens

Michelle Foster – Disaster Information Officer (Emergency Management Cook Islands)

Michelle Foster – is from the Cook Islands and has been working as a young professional in the current position as Disaster Information Officer with SOPAC and Emergency Management Cook Islands (EMCI) for 6 months. It is the first position in a government environment where previous work related to other industries in the Cook Islands.

The presentation covers an introduction to the Disaster Risk Reduction Project Portal (DRR PP) with activities, results, challenges and next steps.

Presentation slide (click here) : DRRPP_COK_PacINET

Dr Muhammad Aslam Hayat – Director PiRRC

Muhammad Aslam Hayat is Director Pacific ICT Regulatory Resource Centre (PIRRC), an ICT resource Centre for providing support to the governments and regulators in the Pacific Island Countries and is funded by World Bank and Asian Development Bank. He is an ICT legislation, policy and regulation expert. He is Senior Research Fellow at LIRNEasia (http://lirneasia.net/), a regional ICT think tank based in Sri Lanka and is a Board member of Communication Policy Research South (CPRsouth: http://www.cprsouth.org/), a capacity building initiative to develop Asia-Pacific based policy intellectuals on ICT policy regulation among junior to mid-level scholars.

Presentation slide (click here) : Regulatory Environment in Pacific countries, Competition in the international connectivity

Patrcik Queet – General Manager at PacCERT

Patrick Queet has worked in the ICT industry in Fiji for the past 9 years as a Database administrator and application developer. The last 6 years of his career was spent working with the Reserve Bankof Fiji and in the financial sector as an  Anti-money laundering IT expert. Patrick was responsible for establishment of many of the electronic Anti-Money laundering reporting systems used by financial. Patrick now heads the Pacific Computer Emergency Response team based at the University of The South Pacific.

Presentation slide (click here): paccert_Patrick Queet

Savenaca Vocea – Manager, Regional Relations, Australasia / Pacific Islands

As a member of the Global Stakeholder Engagement team, Save will be accountable for the development of stakeholder engagement and outreach within countries in Australasia and the Pacific Islands.

Save joined ICANN in October 2006 as Regional Liaison, Australasia/Pacific Islands to help raise awareness of ICANN issues in the Australasia/Pacific Islands region through outreach and engagement with that community. He has helped in facilitating strategic partnerships with regional organizations and new memberships for the GAC, ccNSO and APRALO to enhance participation and contribution in the ICANN space.

Before ICANN, he held managerial roles with organizations including APNIC, the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association and Telecom Fiji. He is also one of the founding member of the Pacific Network Operators Group (PacNOG) that delivers capacity building for network/ISP engineers from the Pacific sub-region.

Presentation slide (click here) : ICANN_TLD_Save

Sivanjni Anamika – Research Assistant PiRRC

Sivanji has worked in the ICT industry since she completed her university studies in 2007. As Research Assistant, she is responsible for analyzing regulatory developments and challenges in the field of ICT in the Pacific. She is also responsible for developing good working relationships with international telecom organizations and trade bodies, as well as preparing strategy and communication plans on ICT best practices. Overseeing and helping implement strategic projects of regulatory bodies and PIRRC’s development partners is also part of her focus.

Presentation slide (click here) : Web Presence of Regulatory entities in the Pacific_PICISOC

Todd Sutton – Business Development Director at Hawaiki Cable

Presentation slide (click here) : Hawaiki Cable project presentation – Fiji session

Jutta May – Adviser, Information and Database Management / Pacific Disaster Net Team Leader (SPC / SOPAC)

Jutta May – has been working with SOPAC since 6 years and is originally from Germany. She is the Adviser for Information and Database Management / Pacific Disaster Net Team Leader with a background in information management. Before coming to Fiji Jutta worked in Switzerland to develop new solutions for a comprehensive integrated library system in a large consortium.

The presentation covers an overview of the Pacific Disaster Net (PDN), its new Strategic Plan, the upcoming re-design and opportunities for collaboration and exchange.

Will Tibben- Lecturer, University of Wollongong / Outgoing PICISOC Board Member

Will is an outgoing board member of PICISOC and is currently a Lecturer in the School of Information Systems and Technology at the University of Wollongong.  He has recently completed his PhD which investigated community technology centers (CTCs) in regional NSW Australia. He has also completed a Masters by Research which looked into the challenges faced by technicians and engineers in isolated locations of the Pacific. Will has recently completed a research project with Gunela Astbrink that investigated the power of public procurement to make accessible ICTs more available and affordable in Australia.

Presentation slide (click here) :  Telecentre presentation