Local Internet Society hosting training sessions for parents

A local Chapter of the Internet Society has been formed.

The Internet Society (ISOC) is an American non-profit organization, founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet-related standards, education, access, and policy. Its mission is “to promote the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world”.

It was July of 2017 that a group of 43 professionals formed a Chapter in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), under the leadership of Roxanne John. The Internet Society seeks to improve the quality of people’s lives in all parts of the world, by providing them meaningful access to an open, trusted, and global Internet.

As part of the local chapter’s mandate it has developed its first project to assist citizens of SVG called a Chapterthon, mainly in the Sandy Bay and Canouan areas.

For this project, training sessions will be held for young parents (aged 15-35) on what is the Internet, its use; teaching parents to assist their children in research and study on the Internet; and other interesting topics. The project theme is, “Digital skills empowerment for young parents in the two underserved areas.”

The training will take place in October 30 – November 3, 2017, simultaneously. The target will be 50 parents and two sessions, one in Canouan and the other in Sandy Bay.

SVG’s ISOC Chapter has partnered with Jax Enterprises, Digicel and NTRC for the success of this programme.

A Chapterthon is a global Internet Society (ISOC) Chapters’ marathon, where ISOC Chapters can participate by developing a project within a timeline and budget to achieve a common goal for the development of education and the Internet.

We have always seen the Internet as a critical enabler for sustainable development and believe that access to it will help accelerate the achievement of all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). (Contributed by Kerry Kerr)