Mrs Mirjam Kuehne, the Internet Society’s Senior Education Program Manager, Mr Dawit Bekele, Manager, the Internet Society’s African Regional Bureau, Mr Adiel Aplokan, Mr Pierre Dandjinou distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
On behalf of the Internet Society of Mauritius and on my own name, I have the honour and pleasure to welcome you to Mauritius and to the Inet Africa 2006 Meeting.
Au non de ISOC Maurice et a mon nom personnel, je vous souhaite la bienvenue a l’ile Maurice
At the time when the Internet Society Chapter of Mauritius was set up in January 2000, our main program was to bring Internet and its technologies to the door step of villagers and other remote areas of the Island. With that in mind we started touring the island with the regular event called INTERNET MONTH, where within a dedicated month we gave out short training on Initiations to Internet tools. At that time the challenge was also to get these regions acquainted with the PC itself.
We are supported in our activities by the local authorities and municipalities. For instance we had the internet Awareness campaign – with the Port Louis city local authority and the Moka Flacq District Council.
Slide 5 – With the future of the children in mind we also took the opportunity to create links with schools and held events called Internet for School Children event which proved to be a big success.
Slide 6 – The Internet Society of Mauritius brought the « Initiation of the Internet » to the village of Rose Belle with the support of the Grand Port Savanne District Council in the context of the Internet Fiesta 2005.
We organised for that event an essay competition for secondary schools children throughout Mauritius. The title of the essay was “The Internet and its evolution in Mauritius”
Slide 7 – We have been participating yearly in Infotech – the national yearly IT event organised by the Government.
Slide 8 – We have been participating in events both at the local and regional level. For instance we participated at the 6th Annual African Telecommunications Summit.
We helped in drafting the Global Information Technology Readiness Report in 2001, initiative by the World Economic Forum and the Harvard University
Slide 9 – The Internet Society Chapter of Mauritius was nominated as one of the three finalists in 2002 and 2004 for the e-Achievers Award on the African continent. This award goes to an African institution that promotes e-enablement within Africa.
The Internet Society of Mauritius is regularly solicited by the government agencies to give its point of view in policy formulation and awareness programs.
Slide 10 – The Internet Society of Mauritius is very ambitious and we are looking forward for the help of the Internet Society – Head Office to realise our goals. Our immediate plans are: Training and empowerment of our members, ongoing internet and ICT awareness campaigns and continued involvement in policy formulation. Our work does not end here, it is just the beginning. We this in mind, I welcome you again to this meeting and help plenty of success in the deliberations – Thank you. Encore une fois bienvenue a l’ile Maurice et merci pour votre attention
Dave Kissoondoyal – President Internet Society Chapter of Mauritius