[LACNIC/Anuncios] LACNIC HONORS TEN LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN INTERNET LEADERS

[Alexandra Dans]

LACNIC’s Tenth Anniversary
LACNIC HONORS TEN LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN INTERNET LEADERS

The organization responsible for the Internet in the region honors 
various personalities for their contribution to the development of the 
Information Society.

Montevideo October 31st.- Ten personalities who during the past decade 
have contributed to the development of the Internet in Latin America and 
the Caribbean were honored today with the 2012 Outstanding Achievement 
Award presented by the Regional Internet Registry, LACNIC.

For the first time in the history of the Award, ten leaders of the 
regional Internet community were honored simultaneously for their 
sustained and significant contribution in benefit of the development of 
the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The honorees come from different areas and represent every region of the 
continent: Valeria Betancourt (Ecuador), Luis Furlán (Guatemala), Marcos 
Galperín (Argentina), Demi Getschko (Brazil), Anthony Harris 
(Argentina), Bernadette Lewis (Trinidad and Tobago), Ben Petrazzini 
(Argentina), Loretta Simon (Grenada), José Soriano (Peru), and Edmundo 
Vitale (Venezuela).

Recipients of the 2012 Outstanding Achievement Award were presented with 
their awards during a moving ceremony that took place within the 
framework of the LACNIC 18 meeting, which marks the tenth anniversary of 
the creation of the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Latin America 
and the Caribbean.

LACNIC’s Board of Directors believes it is important to honor these ten 
individuals for their longstanding, dedicated efforts towards the 
development of the Internet and for the example they set to the rest of 
the community.

The honorees have distinguished themselves through their contribution to 
private endeavors, their work with civil society, the promotion of 
public Internet policies, research and academic papers related to the 
Information Society, community building, infrastructure development, and 
technical advances.


THE TEN HONOREES:

* Valeria Betancourt (Ecuador)
Director of the Information and Communications Policies Program at the 
Association for Progressive Communications (APC).

* Luis Furlán (Guatemala)
Guatemalan Internet Pioneer. President of the Board of Directors of 
RedCLARA, the Latin American Cooperation of Advanced Networks.

* Marcos Galperín (Argentina)
Founder and CEO of MercadoLibre.com, one of the most successful private 
endeavors in Latin America and the Caribbean.

* Demi Getschko (Brazil)
Brazilian Internet Pioneer. Director of NIC.BR, the organization 
responsible for domain name management in Brazil.

* Anthony Harris (Argentina)
Executive Director of the Argentine Internet Chamber (CABASE) and the 
Latin American and Caribbean Federation for Internet and Electronic 
Commerce (eCOM-LAC).

* Bernadette Lewis (Trinidad and Tobago)
Secretary General of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), the 
regional Caribbean intergovernmental cooperation organization.

* Ben Petrazzini (Argentina)
Coordinator of the Inclusive Growth Program at the International 
Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada.

* Loretta Simon (Grenada)
ICT Director of the Government of Grenada. She plays an important role 
in Information Society and ICT and Education issues in the Caribbean.

* José Soriano (Peru)
Peruvian Internet Pioneer. Promoter of the Peruvian Scientific Network, 
which made the Internet available to the masses in that country.

* Edmundo Vitale (Venezuela)
General Manager of EsLARed (the Latin American School of Networks) and 
General Coordinator of the Internet Workshops for Latin America and the 
Caribbean.