LACNIC: 15 Years of Building Community

27/04/2017

By Oscar Robles, LACNIC CEO.

LACNIC was founded for the purpose of managing Internet number resources for the region. Since 2002, LACNIC has contributed to the construction of a regional community that has worked towards Internet development, promoting and defending the multiple interests of the different groups that are part of the organization.

Over these past 15 years, the community has constantly supported the definition of the policies for LACNIC services, the open participatory model which embodies our collaborative work philosophy.

The community has also worked on the construction of various spaces for both participation and dialogue created to listen and learn from others and led by many members of the community who volunteer their work. Examples of this include technical forums such as LACSEC, FLIP6, and the Interconnection Forum, as well as other initiatives organized within the framework of our various spaces for permanent dialogue such as our discussion lists, webinars and many other training activities.

At the same time, LACNIC has devoted important efforts to the consolidation of an interactive and collaborative space for multiple organizations throughout the region to work on the construction of a better Internet from their own specific areas of interest. To achieve this, Casa de Internet for Latin America and the Caribbean, our headquarters, shares spaces with RedClara, LACTLD, Asiet, eCOMLAC, ISOC, ICANN, LAC-IX and ALAI, and this encourages continuous collaboration and dialogue among the different working groups of each of these organizations.

In line with the times, since the Global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was established, LACNIC has permanently supported the development of the multistakeholder Internet governance model, promoting initiatives such as LACIGF (for which LACNIC currently serves as secretariat), as well as multiple national spaces that use this model for local participation.

On this occasion, LACNIC would like to highlight the work of the community as the driver of the process for strengthening An Open, Stable and Secure Internet. Our community has played a key role in the construction of the collaborative Internet model, defining the policies for our region’s resources through a plurality of voices and through public, open, transparent and participatory processes.

What is the LACNIC Community?

LACNIC Community is the term used to refer to the region’s entire Internet community and fully embodies the concept of open, multistakeholder, bottom-up processes. Anyone interested in doing so can participate on our discussion lists http://www.lacnic.net/listas, in our meetings http://www.lacnic.net/en/web/eventos/inicio and in our policy development process. http://www.lacnic.net/politicas .

In addition to the efforts listed above, LACNIC also supports its community in various ways, from advocating for special initiatives aimed at strengthening Internet development and the Information Society in our region, to the development of technical capabilities. http://campus.lacnic.net/

The LACNIC community encompasses an exceptionally diverse geographic area that includes territories in North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Its members celebrate unity in diversity, working towards the inclusive development of an open, stable and secure Internet.

We believe we are on the right path and that, with the support of the community, we will continue to generate richer, more substantive spaces that will help build a better Internet and ultimately lead to better societies, which should be the ultimate goal of technology.

In this spirit, we invite you to join us in celebrating 15 years of LACNIC.