PICISOC
Encyclopedia
The Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society
(PICISOC) serves the Internet Society
’s purposes by serving the interests of the global Internet community through its presence in the Pacific Islands. In addition to ISOC interests, PICISOC also focuses on local issues and developments, and acts as an impartial advisor to governments and the public on matters of significant interest to Pacific Island people concerning the Internet and ICT technology in general.
and SOPAC
, two regional organisations operating in the Pacific. This meant comparing notes, implementation and success stories. The meeting was informal and technical in nature. FFA's IT manager at the time was Sam Taufao and SOPAC
's IT manager was Leslie Allinson.
It was agreed that more organisations should be brought in to the group the following year. Slowly it became apparent that the countries needed to be part of the process and IT-PacNet evolved into a meeting of IT Administrators and Managers from the Pacific region.
At around the same time, Sam Taufao (then working for FFA
) came back from a meeting sponsored by UNESCO
and recommended the creation of PICISOC - the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society.
IT-PacNet slowly evolved into a CROP (Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific) ICT Working Group (and concentrated more on dealing with CROP policies.
Meanwhile PICISOC grew and by 2002 a Board and Executive were in place. The general assemblies (annual meetings) became bigger and thus PacINET was born, and has since evolved to become the premier ICT conference for the Pacific region.
PacINET was able to re-group most of the original functions of IT-PacNet, an event where anyone can speak freely and share views on ICT/Internet for any organisation, government, the private sector, etc. or as an individual.
PICISOC's focus is on ICT and Internet issues for the Pacific Islands region, and it works with various organisations and governments in ensuring the continuing development of ICT in the region.
Andrew Molivurae (Hon. Chairman)
Maureen Hilyard (Hon. Vice-Chairman)
Anju Mangal (Hon. Secretary
)
Les Allinson (Hon. Treasurer
)
Franck Martin
David Leeming
Will Tibben
Annual Conference: PacINET
PICISOC organises a meeting called PacINET
which serves as its annual conference and AGM
.
PacINET is a regional conference for practitioners, developers, researchers and those interested in ICT from all sectors to exchange information on the system design, enabling technologies, and anecdotal experiences related to the use of ICT in the Pacific Islands. It has evolved to become the Pacific's largest annual ICT conference.
American Samoa
- Cook Islands
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- French Polynesia
- Guam
- Kiribati
- Marshall Islands
- Nauru
- New Caledonia
- Niue
- Northern Marianas - Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Pitcairn - Samoa
- Tokelau
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
- Wallis and Futuna
Internet Society
The Internet Society or ISOC is an international, nonprofit organization founded during 1992 to provide direction in Internet related standards, education, and policy...
(PICISOC) serves the Internet Society
Internet Society
The Internet Society or ISOC is an international, nonprofit organization founded during 1992 to provide direction in Internet related standards, education, and policy...
’s purposes by serving the interests of the global Internet community through its presence in the Pacific Islands. In addition to ISOC interests, PICISOC also focuses on local issues and developments, and acts as an impartial advisor to governments and the public on matters of significant interest to Pacific Island people concerning the Internet and ICT technology in general.
History
IT-PacNet was created in 1994 to see what ICT developments were being made by FFAFFA
FFA is a three-letter acronym that may stand for:-Aviation and the military:* First Flight Airport, IATA code for the tiny airstrip in Kitty Hawk where the first flight occurred in 1903.* Free-fire area, in U.S...
and SOPAC
SOPAC
SOPAC has the following meanings:*The Southern Pacific Railroad *The South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission*Social OnLine Public Access Catalog*South Orange Performing Arts Center*Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre...
, two regional organisations operating in the Pacific. This meant comparing notes, implementation and success stories. The meeting was informal and technical in nature. FFA's IT manager at the time was Sam Taufao and SOPAC
SOPAC
SOPAC has the following meanings:*The Southern Pacific Railroad *The South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission*Social OnLine Public Access Catalog*South Orange Performing Arts Center*Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre...
's IT manager was Leslie Allinson.
It was agreed that more organisations should be brought in to the group the following year. Slowly it became apparent that the countries needed to be part of the process and IT-PacNet evolved into a meeting of IT Administrators and Managers from the Pacific region.
At around the same time, Sam Taufao (then working for FFA
FFA
FFA is a three-letter acronym that may stand for:-Aviation and the military:* First Flight Airport, IATA code for the tiny airstrip in Kitty Hawk where the first flight occurred in 1903.* Free-fire area, in U.S...
) came back from a meeting sponsored by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
and recommended the creation of PICISOC - the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society.
IT-PacNet slowly evolved into a CROP (Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific) ICT Working Group (and concentrated more on dealing with CROP policies.
Meanwhile PICISOC grew and by 2002 a Board and Executive were in place. The general assemblies (annual meetings) became bigger and thus PacINET was born, and has since evolved to become the premier ICT conference for the Pacific region.
PacINET was able to re-group most of the original functions of IT-PacNet, an event where anyone can speak freely and share views on ICT/Internet for any organisation, government, the private sector, etc. or as an individual.
PICISOC's focus is on ICT and Internet issues for the Pacific Islands region, and it works with various organisations and governments in ensuring the continuing development of ICT in the region.
Board Members
The current Executive Board (2007-2009) is composed of:Andrew Molivurae (Hon. Chairman)
Maureen Hilyard (Hon. Vice-Chairman)
Anju Mangal (Hon. Secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
)
Les Allinson (Hon. Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
)
Franck Martin
David Leeming
Will Tibben
Annual Conference: PacINETPacINETThe Pacific INET, or PacINET, conference is organised by the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society, and is the leading Information and Communications Technology conference in the Pacific Islands....
PICISOC organises a meeting called PacINETPacINET
The Pacific INET, or PacINET, conference is organised by the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society, and is the leading Information and Communications Technology conference in the Pacific Islands....
which serves as its annual conference and AGM
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
.
PacINET is a regional conference for practitioners, developers, researchers and those interested in ICT from all sectors to exchange information on the system design, enabling technologies, and anecdotal experiences related to the use of ICT in the Pacific Islands. It has evolved to become the Pacific's largest annual ICT conference.
Countries and Territories covered
The chapter covers the following countries and territories:American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
- Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
- Federated States of Micronesia
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia or FSM is an independent, sovereign island nation, made up of four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. It comprises approximately 607 islands with c...
- Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
- French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
- Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
- Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
- Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
- Nauru
Nauru
Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
- New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
- Niue
Niue
Niue , is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and inhabitants of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to...
- Northern Marianas - Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
- Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
- Pitcairn - Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
- Tokelau
Tokelau
Tokelau is a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean that consists of three tropical coral atolls with a combined land area of 10 km2 and a population of approximately 1,400...
- Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
- Tuvalu
Tuvalu
Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...
- Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
- Wallis and Futuna
Wallis and Futuna
Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands , is a Polynesian French island territory in the South Pacific between Tuvalu to the northwest, Rotuma of Fiji to the west, the main part of Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast,...