Internet Society
Academic background: I am a Bachelor of Arts graduate, with a double major in French and Spanish, obtained from the University of Auckland in 2006. I also have a post-graduate degree in Communication and Public Relations from the Auckland University of Technology (AUT), obtained in 2009. I hold a Cambridge English Language Teaching qualification from Cambridge University and a DELE C1 Advanced Certificate in Spanish from Instituto Cervantes, Madrid.
Please explain why you are interested to participate at the Euro-SSIG:
I am the Stakeholder Relations Manager at the Internet Society. My previous professional background includes eight years working in communications and public relations for consumer technology brands. Entering into the Internet Society has been my first foray into the deep, inner-workings of the Internet. And I strive to understand more. The Internet Society engages in a wide array of issues; Internet Governance forms a chief component. Advocating principles that help governments make decisions that are in the best interests of their people is critical to the work our organisation does and the communities we interact with. The multi-stakeholder, collaborative approach is at our core. All our efforts are centred around ensuring a secure, sustainable Internet is available to everyone, now and for the next billion users. Better understanding the complexities of standard setting, policy-making and infrastructure maintenance of the Internet will be invaluable to the relationships I forge with stakeholders. Grasping their priorities will help me form deeper professional alliances with individual and organisation members, Chapters and beyond. Equally, the opportunity to meet people from around the world who care about the growth of the Internet and want to tackle policy and regulatory challenges would be an immensely rewarding experience.