Reflections on Three Years on the ISOC Board of Trustees Thumbnail
Building Trust 31 May 2017

Reflections on Three Years on the ISOC Board of Trustees

By Gihan DiasFormer Member, Internet Society Board of Trustees

Editor’s Note: At the Internet Society’s Annual General Meeting in June 2017, Gihan Dias will be leaving the Board.  Thank you Gihan for your service and contributions.


Although I have been a Trustee of the Internet Society for three years now, my relationship with ISOC goes back much further – to 1995 when I attended the ISOC networking workshop for developing countries, held in Prague, Czech Republic. It was a really fantastic experience. Not only did we learn how to build the Internet, but we also met many of the people who actually built it!

I then realised that many of these people are members of the Internet Society and that the society helps to keep the Internet going in many ways. Over the years, I continued to interact with ISOC, and its Sri Lanka chapter, which I led for over two years.

I also wanted to contribute to the society at a global level, and in 2014 was elected a trustee of the Society. I approached my first board meeting with some trepidation, since I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. However, I found that the trustees – while being an eclectic bunch – were both professional and dedicated. Together, we have been able to achieve much.

Our biggest achievement was to provide our members – through their local chapters – with more resources, more than tripling the funds for chapters, and making it easier for chapters to do both chapter administration as well as run events and projects. A major part of this was the setting up of the Chapters Advisory Council. We have also provided more services to our organisational members. 

However, challenges remain. I believe The Internet Society – ISOC – should be a household word and be the place individuals, organisations and governments turn to as the trusted resource concerning the Internet. We need not only to have Internet available to more people – in their own language and more effectively – but also have people be able to trust the Internet. 

While I think the Internet will continue to grow and become more and more ingrained in our daily lives, it does face several dangers. One is that may become a set of walled gardens; where people only access a limited set of services. This may be due to commercial or political reasons. Another is that it may be perceived as unsafe; where people fear for their financial and reputational safety. ISOC has a major role to play, both in guiding the Internet in a people-friendly path, as well as avoiding pitfalls. 

Although I’m now leaving the board, I’m not leaving the Society. I plan to continue to work with the Society for many years at national, regional and global levels.

Disclaimer: Viewpoints expressed in this post are those of the author and may or may not reflect official Internet Society positions.

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