By LACNIC and APC Publisher: LACNIC MONTEVIDEO,
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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.
Valeria Betancourt, advancing the information society in Latin America
“We are proud to recognize the work of Valeria Betancourt as the Information and Communication Policies Program Director of the Association for Progressive Communications and also as a prominent personality for the advancement of the Information Society in our region. LACNIC and the Internet community throughout Latin America, are privileged to have a person like Valeria known for her professionalism, warmth, passion and dedication. Congratulations.” Raul Echeberría, CEO, LACNIC.
Find out more about the Trayectoria award.
Photo by @rdelapar Rodrigo de la Parra .
