Re: e-Introduction s - Christine Saegesser / Josiah Chavula

[Josiah Chavula]

Hi Bram,

I am copying the thread into the ISOCMalawi google group.

The group indicates a total of 49 members; maybe we could start by checking if members are still interested to see the ISOC chapter active. If anyone is interested, please send a short response, indicating your present affiliation and location. I suggest we should soon have something like a webnar, in whatever fomart, so we can begin to have an awareness of who is where, and work-out a plan. I am not sure who manages the mailing list, but I suggest we try to invite more/others to the mailing list.

Also, if members could share their thoughts on the idea of a Malawi's annual Internet conference; or anything that we could do to get Malawi talking about its Internet.

Regards.
Josiah.

On Thu, Nov 27, 2014 at 11:45 AM, Bram Fudzulani <beat...@skyband.mw> wrote:

Hi Josiah,

Nice hearing back from you too, we do only have the ICT week you’re right yes and we used to have google barcamps where all engineers and CSO’s government would gather and watch/ listen to talks but it’s been two years now since we last had one. We do also now have a local internet governance chapter. i like the idea of iweek and it’d be easy to implement in Malawi since MISPA is already an active grouping of the ISPs and Engineers…..I had a chat with the MACRA guys on the same idea to have them sponsor a peering session where all ISPs would come together and even the internet end users too…talk about how peering would help lower internet costs and service delivery to our local internet ecosystem and they were willing to do so all we need to do is get organized and move forward.

 

An online campaign is the best way to start yes….let me know

 

 

Bram Fudzulani

M: + 265 (0) 999 962 505

 

 

From: Josiah Chavula [mailto:josiah...@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2014 11:19 AM
To: Bram Fudzulani
Cc: Frank Kamanga; chimwemwe....@gmail.com; muy...@medcol.mw; dch...@malswitch.com; towel...@gmail.com; Clement Nyirenda; Sungani Mtande; Niel Harper; Kondwani Masiye

Subject: Re: e-Introduction s - Christine Saegesser / Josiah Chavula

 

Hi Bram,

Thanks for writing Bram. I wrote to the chapter Google group a few weeks ago, but got no response; How far did the discussions on Chapter formation go last time?

I think we need a strong motivation for people to attend an ISOC chapter gathering.

I suggest we work towards organising a sort of annual Internet industry conference for Malawi (or we have one?, or is it the ICT week we have?). We could work with Internet organisations (ISPs/Telcos), Universities, and civil society, to plan for a Malawi specific Internet conference, to include a series of exhibitions, presentations, workshops, training programs that would be of interest to industry and academia. A few weeks ago I attended a similar gathering of the South African ISPs called iWeek (http://www.iweek.org.za/); and present at the conference were Internet engineers from almost all ISPs and other interest groups. We could work towards having Malawi's version of the same. The point is, we need something that will attract people to come; and it is from such kind of gathering that Malawi's ISOC chapter could flourish. We also need to get to point where local Internet organisations see value in a more cooperative/collaborative/inclusive Internet ecosystem, at that point would be willing to sponsor chapter activities and/or sponsor their engineers attend meetings.

 

In the meantime, we could run an online campaign to identify and solicit interest from Internet engineers and other interest groups.

Thanks, and lets keep talking. I am adding to this thread Kondwani Masiye, also an ISOC fellow.

Josiah.

 

 

On Tue, Nov 25, 2014 at 3:05 PM, Bram Fudzulani <beat...@skyband.mw> wrote:

Josiah,

Its nice to hear that you are so moved to start a local chapter, I am also an ISOC and ICANN fellow and aksed the same and got exactly the same response and when I checked locally people were not willing to travel and meet at a central place and form a committee which would then select chapter executive members and board members to allow formalization of chapter establishment. 

 

What is required is to make this gathering a success and then we kove forward, any suggestions are welcomed. 

 

Thanks

 

Bram

 

 

 

 

Sent from Samsung tablet

-------- Original message --------
From: Christine Saegesser <saeg...@isoc.org>
Date: 11-25-2014 2:39 PM (GMT+02:00)
To: Josiah Chavula <josiah...@gmail.com>
Cc: Frank Kamanga <kama...@gmail.com>, Bram Fudzulani <beat...@skyband.mw>, chimwemwe....@gmail.com, muy...@medcol.mw, dch...@malswitch.com, towel...@gmail.com, Clement Nyirenda <nyir...@gmail.com>, Sungani Mtande <sungan...@yahoo.co.uk>, Niel Harper <har...@isoc.org>
Subject: Re: e-Introduction s - Christine Saegesser / Josiah Chavula

Dear Josiah,

Thank you very much for your message and your interest in the formation of an Internet Society Malawi Chapter. (And thanks Niel for the e-introductions!)

As you probably know, there is currently no Internet Society Chapter in Malawi, however, the good news is that there is a group of people (copied) in Malawi who are interested in forming a Chapter. I'd suggest you get in touch with them to discuss how you can combine efforts to successfully establish a Chapter in Malawi. The group has put in place a Google Group to discuss the Chapter Formation process at:

                https://groups.google.com/group/isocmalawi?hl=en

As you'll see, the latest discussions in this group date back to 2013. I invite those copied on this message to give you an update on where things are at. Please get in touch to see if you can get together as a group to advance this process. Please feel free to invite others to join the group!

Please let me also use this opportunity to give you all some more background on Chapter formation.

As you know, the Internet Society (ISOC) is a nonprofit organisation founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy.
For more information about the Internet Society please have a look at: http://www.internetsociety.org/
The Internet Society's Values and Principles can be found here: http://www.internetsociety.org/who-we-are/mission/values-and-principles

Chapters are approved by the Internet Society under procedures developed to empower locally meaningful activity while retaining an overall commitment to the joint achievement of the Internet Society's common mission. They are expected to serve the interests of their local Internet community in a manner that is consistent with the mission and core values of the Internet Society. Please see also: http://www.internetsociety.org/who-we-are/chapters

One of the things that the Internet Society looks for in Chapter activities is a multi-stakeholder approach and inclusiveness of different groups. For example one should consider forming networks and relationships with existing ICT related organisations in the private sector, NGO and civil society, academia and government.
The policy for Chapter establishment is here:  http://www.internetsociety.org/who-we-are/chapters/start

Forming a Chapter needs an enthusiastic group of people who are committed to furthering the Internet Society’s goals and objectives within their geographic area. Important is to have partnerships and/or strategic alliances with organisations and individuals that can support the Chapter. A multi-stakeholder approach in this respect is vital and will make a Chapter legitimate and sustainable.

For your information, there are three main steps for establishing an ISOC Chapter:

1. An official Application needs to be submitted, see https://www.internetsociety.org/application-form-chapter

The application is usually filled in by the person(s) forming the Chapter. It will be reviewed by ISOC and will undergo a due diligence process, follow up interviews, reference checks and so forth. This will ensure that ISOC understands the intention behind an application, receives background information on the local circumstances, and that the applicant(s) is(are) aware of expectations from ISOC, ISOC members and the Chapter community.

2. As next step, a completed set of bylaws needs to be submitted. These Chapter bylaws should conform to ISOC policies for forming a Chapter,https://www.internetsociety.org/chapter-formation-policies . A template for the development of Chapter bylaws is available at:http://www.internetsociety.org/chapter-template-bylaw-development

3. Another important step is to show the local support for the Chapter from the community the Chapter is going to serve. A list needs to be provided with at least 25 Members who are subscribed as ISOC members (all members of a Chapter must be members of the Internet Society).

I hope you find this information useful. Please don't hesitate to contact us at <chapter-a...@isoc.org> should you have any further questions.

Best regards,

Christine

---------------------------------------------------------------
Internet Society (ISOC)
Christine Saegesser Baethge
Sr. Manager, Chapter Development
Website: www.InternetSociety.org
---------------------------------------------------------------

[Alinafe Mbendera]

Good idea. Lets do this. I am interested. Alinafe mbendera i am at luanar bunda campus.
Alinafe

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