Ida Holz “LACNIC played a major role in the creation of Casa de Internet”

30/08/2017

Ida Holz is a noted Uruguayan engineer who pioneered the construction of the human network that would later allow developing the Internet in Latin American and the Caribbean.

With her deep knowledge of the region’s digital community, Holz speaks with authority when reviewing the 15 years of the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Address Registry (LACNIC).

In the 1990s, this scientist helped gather the critical mass of engineers who were to lead the development of the first national networks that served as the basis for the Latin American Internet we know today.

Recipient of the 2009 LACNIC Lifetime Achievement Award and 2013 inductee into the Internet Hall of Fame, Holz’s review of the past 15 years highlights the creation of Casa de Internet as an umbrella for the region’s major Internet organizations.

What was your relationship with the world of ICTs like 15 years ago?

I’ve been involved with the world of ICTs since 1989, when I was in charge of setting up the first email node at the University of the Republic.

When and how did your relationship with LACNIC begin?

I began taking part in preparatory meetings in 1997 and later attended the meeting in Santiago, Chile, during which the agreement for the creation of LACNIC was signed. Since then, I have followed the organization’s successful journey and have always supported its activities. In 2009, LACNIC presented me with its first Lifetime Achievement Award.

What role do you think the LACNIC community has played in the management of number resources over the past 15 years?

I believe the organization has worked very well and fulfilled its main goals. I also believe that LACNIC played a very significant role in understanding the importance of bringing together Latin American and Caribbean Internet organizations by inviting them to join Casa de Internet for Latin America and the Caribbean.

How do you envision Internet governance 15 years from now?

It’s difficult to say. It was just 23 years ago that the Internet stopped being a means of communication used strictly by academics and started to expand to the general public. This tool accelerated the exchange of information, allowed social networks to be developed, resulted in significant changes in the way people work. Today we are facing the Internet of Things, 3D printing, a changing environment, electronic glasses for the blind, the development of weapons of mass destruction, fundamental political changes, and many other disruptions. We still don’t know what their impact will be. I find it difficult to imagine what the future evolution of technology will look like and how it will affect policy in general.