The following are the outputs of the real-time captioning taken during the Tenth Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in João Pessoa, Brazil, from 10 to 13 November 2015. Although it is largely accurate, in some cases it may be incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. It is posted as an aid to understanding the proceedings at the event, but should not be treated as an authoritative record.
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>> KEVON SWIFT: I'm starting the program. I'll hand it over to Mr. Oscar Robles, CEO of LACNIC, who will share some opening remarks.
>> OSCAR ROBLES: Thank you, Kevon. I want to thank you for skipping your lunchtime and attending this awards ceremony. I want to thank, of course, the recipients of the awards for this year. We have eight countries represented among the ten recipients of the awards. So you'll find out in a couple minutes the details of these projects.
I want to thank as well donors, the organizations that are behind all of these efforts. The IDRC and SIDA, and of course are Internet Society is a regional donor.
I want to highlight that this effort, it's a real collaboration. This program aims to promote innovation, to promote the solution of social needs through the use of ICTs.
So you will see, for example, projects of Internet connection in Argentina about Alter Mundi. In a few moments later, to medical needs in Africa. So, this is a very diverse use of ICTs and innovation. We're not doing rocket science, we're not promoting rocket science, butinnovation, the use of ICTs to solve social needs.
What we are doing is connecting the funds that we are receiving from the donors and the recipients, the ones that are actually doing these kinds of efforts. And that's why it requires us, the RIRs, and the coordination efforts, the collaboration efforts, real coordination first inside the region, and second -- and not less relevant -- the collaboration among these three RIRs.
So I just want to thank you again, and I hope to see you in many of these ceremonies next years.
Thank you.
>> KEVON SWIFT: Thank you, Oscar. Thank you for your comments.
At this point in time we are moving straight ahead. I would like to introduce Ms. Sylvia Cadena, who is the coordinator of the FIRE Asia. And she will give you some welcoming remarks and a brief update about the Seed Alliance. Please let's welcome Sylvia.
(Applause)
>> SYLVIA CADENA: Hello. I just wanted to point your attention to the website, the new website for the Seed Alliance. It's the SeedAlliance.net. It's over there on your screen. You'll be able to see the completion report that we are preparing to close up the three years of funding from IDRC and SIDA. It has a map, interactive map, that shows you how many recipients, how many awards, on what topic, how they were assessed and evaluated, how they did get chosen. It's 116 projects over 3 years for $2.2 million. Over 92 capacity building and networking and outreaching opportunities to bring those people closer to make it in the market, or to scale up their resolutions, or make their policies heard in other places. So the Seed Alliance website will show you a lot of that work of how collaboration actually looked like. And we hope that that map and all the sections on the website will allow you to get a feel of what this is about. There is also a section of the -- with the Webinars that we have some USB cards for you, as a little gift to take away. The Seed Alliance team put together five Webinars to help future applicants and grant recipients from any network. Not only for those who apply to the Seed Alliance to improve their grant applications, to report better, to include evaluation and communications as part of the work that they do, and to learn how to fund raise, to move ahead. So please take a look. It's a work in progress. We are supposed to have it ready by February, but we wanted to have a sneak peek today because it's been a lot of work by a lot of people to make this happen. And one of the ISIF award winners that you'll meet later today, said yesterday that "This makes the impossible possible." So that's what I want to close my remarks with.
So we are continuing with the proceeding, and inviting you to check the Seed Alliance website and comment on it.
Thank you.
(Applause)
>> KEVON SWIFT: Thank you. In recognition for their support and trust in the work of the Seed Alliance, we would like to call on the representatives of the IDRC and SIDA to come up right now to receive plaques. These plaques will be distributed by the CEOs of the RIRs present here. Mr. Alan Barrett for AFRINIC. Mr. Paul Wilson for APNIC. And Mr. Oscar Robles for LACNIC.
(Applause)
>> KEVON SWIFT: So just that you know, this is the IDRC program leader for information and networks received the award. Mr. Butterfingers.
And now on behalf of SIDA, we have Mr. Marcin de Kaminski, SIDA's policy specialist for Freedom of Expression.
(Applause)
>> KEVON SWIFT: At this time, FIRE, FRIDA and ISIF Asia would like to acknowledge the support of the Internet Society, which at the regional level supported three programs at various stages of their development. We have some special news to share with you. The Internet Society will be joining the Seed Alliance as for the application cycle of 2016. So please let's welcome them to the Seed Alliance.
(Applause)
So we invite Miss Kathy Brown, CEO at the Internet Society, to come up and receive the recognition plaque, and then by our three CEOs of APNIC, AFRINIC, and LACNIC.
>> KEVON SWIFT: Wonderful. At this point Ms. Kathy Brown would like to share remarks with you.
>> KATHY BROWN: I want to say quickly how much and how deeply I appreciate this alliance and our work together. The technical community, as you know, is dedicated to the Internet for everyone. We have different roles and responsibilities that we take in this community, but we are united in the notion that everyone should have access. And this alliance is one that I think is serving us very well and serving the world beautifully. These maps tell all the pictures.
So congratulations to you and thank you very much for our ability and our entry into this very important group. This is a two-year grant. It's an extension of our own beyond the Net grant program that I also invite you all to look at, and hopefully just extends the understanding and the involvement and engagement of the technical community into the community where we believe it ought to be.
So thank you very much to Raul Echeberria, who leads these efforts. I hope you address your appreciation to him because he is the guywho moves the stuff. So thank you very much.
(Applause)
>> KEVON SWIFT: Thank you very much, Kathy and Raul. And now we are on to the heart of the ceremony. The presentation of the 2015 award winners. So we will begin with a short video on the work of the award recipients for the FIRE program. Please, draw your attention to the screen to my right.
(Video)
>> The Fund for Internet Research and Education, FIRE, is an initiative of AFRINIC, the original Internet for Africa and the India ocean region. The FIRE program was initiated in 2012, and to date there have been three FIRE rounds. The FIRE program's main goal is to support projects and initiatives that actively use Internet technologies to address the unique social and development challenges we face in our region, with the aim to improve the living conditions of local communities.
FIRE honors and encourages innovations that provide creative and accessible -- and acceptable solutions to Africa's ICT challenges byallocating financial grants and award to projects. Specifically, the FIRE awards target outstanding initiatives, already completed or in their final implementation phase.
(No English translation)
>> The code for Ghana is a project by the Work Foundation and Mobile Ghana with support from the African Media Initiative. And it's all about enabling news organizations and NGOs as well as Civil Society organizations to open data. We do this by training journalists in Ghanan newsrooms, using simple and easy-to-use tools that they can use to tell compelling stories. We also organize events where we share skills with developers around Ghana.
>> We are working closely with the Ghana news agency, CTFM, and Graphical Communication. This is the program that we are running, where our data news was skewing data and statistics in all our research subjects. We were admitted in these media offices to help come up with anorganization and user-owned applications which would bring data to the domicile of the ordinary Ghanan and make it more accessible and understandable in a format and organization that they can understand and relate with.
>> This has been a great opportunity for us to create a community, a valuable community of data journalists and open data experts in Ghana. We hope that this community will continue to try and move beyond the capital into other areas in the country.
>> Malisante' is Mali's healthcare information Web Page. It links all the Medical Centers, pharmacies and healthcare professionals of the country. Malisante' came up in 2009 while I was a student in the faculty of medicine in Talamac. During internships in hospital, we had trouble contacting laboratories and clinics which refer patients to health professionals. People were constantly asking me where to findparticular hospitals, clinics and physicians. I figured that there was a pressing need to set up a platform which would regroup all of the necessary information regarding healthcare in Mali in one click.
In 2012, we jumped from 70 to 130,000 visits a month. That shows how helpful Malisante' is to the people and the health professionals. Indeed, Medical Centers, hospitals, and specialists can be reached any time. Malisante' helps us to access pharmacies, directories, and opening schedules. All I need to know about healthcare issues and sanitary measures, I get it all right there.
Our greatest challenge today is to reach the rural population on the large scale. They account for 80 percent of millions, and are mostly illiterate. On the other hand, some forums are affordable and accessible. In Mali and in Africa in general, people own more cell phones than toothbrushes. Cell phones will be great tools to carry out medical information. We will design applications such as voice messages and SMSs suitable for uneducated people. We plan on making Malisante' reachable to all.
(End of video)
(Applause)
>> KEVON SWIFT: Great. At this time I would like to call the FIRE award winners to the front of the room to receive their awards.
That was really, really fast.
Wonderful.
Therefore, in the category of innovation on access provision, the winner is Eagle Sight Limited. And the award will be received by Mr. Chancel Malanga and presented by Laurent Elder of the IDRC. Give a round of applause.
(Applause)
Next in the category of community choice, we have Malisante' Limited, and the trophy will be received by Mr. Tidiane Ball, and it's going to be presented by Marcin de Kaminski of SIDA.
See at this point we have Loho, who will present the trophy for Malisante'.
(Applause)
Great. In the category of e-development, we have Mobile Web Ghana. And this trophy will be received by Ms. Florence Toffa and the award will be presented by Mr. Raul Echeberria of the Internet Society.
(Applause)
Thank you very much. Let's just give all the award winners one last round of applause.
(Applause)
Thank you.
Now we move on to the award winners for the ISIF Asia program. We will now watch the second video of the ceremony, which presents the work of the award recipients.
So again, if you'd like to draw your attention to the screens in the center or the screen to my right.
(Video)
>> The Information Society Innovation Fund, ISIF Asia, is a grant and awards programs supporting innovative Internet-based solutions as tools to enhance social and economic development in the Asia Pacific region.
ISIF Asia is a partnership between the Canadian International Development Research Center, the Swedish International Development Agency,and the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre. ISIF Asia also receives generous support from the Asia Pacific Internet Association, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the Internet Society and the DotAsia Organization.
Since 2008, ISIF Asia has contributed around $2.7 million to 67 projects across 22 Asia Pacific economies. In the past eight years, ISIF Asia has received 1055 applications from 27 economies.
Projects that receive ISIF Asia funds showcase technical knowledge and innovation around Internet technologies. The projects contribute to social change by making communication cheaper and more accessible using the Internet to serve communities' needs in their own languages.
The Asia Pacific is experiencing rapid economic growth, and many of these developing economies are represented in the ISIF Asia grantprogram. All final reports are published allowing other projects to build on the technical and practical knowledge gained by fund recipients.
The 2015 ISIF Asia award recognized Internet innovation across four categories:
Innovation on access provision.
Innovation on learning and localization.
Code for the common good.
Rights.
The award package for all five winning projects included 3,000 Australian Dollars to support the project's continuation and a travel grant for a representative to join us here at the Internet Governance Forum in Joao Pessoa, Brazil.
Here is a brief introduction to the winners of the 2015 ISIF Asia award in their own words.
Innovation and access provision. DocHERS. Pakistan. Maya Jeson.
>> I am the co-founder of DocHERS. DocHERS aims to change the face of healthcare delivery in Pakistan. In Pakistan, 58,000 doctors are female, but yet only 7,000 practice. In the same country, 90 percent of the population is devoid of quality healthcare. This represents major market figures. DocHERS aims to bridge this gap. We connect a doctor sitting at home unable to access the workplace to a patient in the community which lacks access to public healthcare via nurse assisted video consultation. How do we do it? We take existing clinics in the communities and upgrade them to doctors clinics by giving them a specialized software. In the process of doing this, a live consultation followed by a follow up. And then they connect to a home-based doctor online in the community.
DocHERS is the beacon of hope for those thousands of doctors who are unable to access the workplace due to the social budget constraintsand those marginalized populations which are devoid of fundamental healthcare.
Thank you.
>> Code for the Common Good, Batik Fractal, Indonesia. Piksel Indonesia Company.
>> Hi. My organization is Piksel Indonesia Company, and our initiative is Batik Fractal. It's been operating in Indonesia since 2009.
Our project is to provide software to create Batik patterns for Batik artisans in Indonesia. Batik artisans usually daily work in Indonesia. So in order to reach them, we use the Internet, online training, or creating a forum and an online networking with them. Internet has helped us so much in reaching the Batik artisans because this is the traditional art of Indonesia. By using our software, we change how the Batik artisans create their work, and we also bridge the traditional art from the older and to younger generations.
>> Innovation on learning and localization. Jaroka Mobile-Based tele-healthcare, Pakistan. UM Healthcare Trust.
>> Hello, everyone. I'm the co-founder of Jaroka Healthcare project, which is designed for rural and disaster hit communities in Pakistan. This project is an effort to provide affordable, accessible, and quality healthcare to far flung and disaster hit communities in Pakistan using web and mobile based technologies.
We harness the potential of short text messaging, multimedia messaging, GPRS, and visa to quickly and efficiently extend medical advice to rural health workers in the field by connecting them to a network of specialties abroad. Using this, the community health workers canregister and have full access to the updated record of the patient. Through the services, the health workers can update themselves with the latest medical knowledge. The project is being replicated in three districts in Pakistan and is current used by over 250 health workers.
We have also developed Pakistan's first live interactive health map surveillance, which is a GIS driven system and plots the latest in live information on Google maps to track patient diseases and pandemics in realtime. To date, we have treated over 135,000 patients, which includes 43 percent of females.
>> Rights. I Change My City. India. Janaagraha Center for citizenship and Democracy.
>> The rate of growth of Indian cities is exponential. As a result, the pressure to develop infrastructure that will both aid and accommodate such a growth is intense. However, the present rate of growth of infrastructure development is failing to keep pace with the growth rate of our cities. There is a final disconnect between the civic representatives and citizens. Where even a small task, such as finding information to contact your local civic agency, becomes a Herculean task.
I Change My City was developed to address these issues. The primary aim of the website was not only to bridge the gap by providing citizens with dynamic online tools that they can use to highlight specific issues, but also to tap them into active citizens that lies dormant in all of us. The unique part of I Change My City is that it connects people online to bring them together offline for civicengagement on the ground.
Today there are over 3 million visits, users, and 27,000 companies with the resolution rate of 50 percent. We can proudly say that we are well on our way of achieving our ambition.
>> In addition, one of the four winners will receive an additional $1000 Australian Dollars for the Community Choice Award, given to the project with the highest number of votes during the ISIF Asia awards. We congratulate the ISIF Asia award winners and trust that the support received will help them to continue the journey, innovate, addressing development needs in the Asia Pacific region through creative Internet-based solutions.
As proud members of the Seed Alliance, we are committed to helping ideas grow. We are continuously seeking partners, sponsors, and supporters to be a part of the continuation and evolution of ISIF Asia. If you are interested to support ISIF Asia, please contact the Secretariat at [email protected].
(Applause)
>> KEVON SWIFT: In the category of rights, the winner is I Change My City India. Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy. The trophy will be received by Rajith Shaji and it will be received by Mr. Laurent Elder of IDRC. Let's give Rajith a round of applause.
(Applause)
Next in the category of innovation on access provision, the winner is DocHERS, Pakistan, and the trophy will be received by Sara Saeedand received by Mr. Edmund Chung of DotAsia. And Mr. Chung is on his way.
Please let's give Sara a round of applause.
(Applause)
In the category of innovation on learning and localization, the winner is Jaroka Mobile Based Tele-healthcare, Pakistan. UM HealthcareTrust. The trophy is received by Shamila Keyani and it's given by Mr. Raul Echeberria of the Internet Society.
Please a round of applause.
(Applause)
In the category of Code for the Common Good, the winner is Batik Fractal, Indonesia of the Piksel Indonesia Company. And the award will be received by Nancy Margried and distributed by none other than Mr. Edmon Chung of DotAsia. Please give Nancy a round of applause.
(Applause)
And, finally, we have Miss Sylvia Cadena, who is announcing the Community Choice Award.
>> SYLVIA CADENA: It goes to I Change My City, from India.
(Applause)
>> KEVON SWIFT: Congratulations to Rajith.
So we have one last photo opportunity.
So at this point in time, last but not least, I would like to introduce the FRIDA award winners. We will watch the third video of this ceremony today.
Presenting the work of the FRIDA award recipients.
(Video)
>> Regional Fund for Digital Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean. LACNIC, the registry for Internet address and the Caribbean. FRIDA is originally for digital innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a LACNIC initiative aimed at contributing to the development of the information society in the region. FRIDA supports NGOs, foundations, private companies, Governments, universities that are working on research and/or deployment projects in the field of ICT in Latin America and the Caribbean.
With the support of the International Development Research Center, the Swedish International Development Agency, Internet Society, and LACNIC, FRIDA is a proud member of the Seed Alliance, helping ideas grow. An initiative launched with fellow programs, ISIF Asia and FIRE as a space for International collaboration seeking to promote innovation and facilitate social development on a larger scale.
Since 2004, 112 grants awards and scale-up funds were granted through the program. 18 countries in the LAC region have been enrichedand benefit through supported projects. And more than $1.4 million were given out in the form of grants, awards, scale-up support, as well as capacity building and networking.
Awards plus, FRIDA has been rewarding innovative and successful initiatives that make creative use of ICTs for development in the region since 2015.
Based on Internet governance, Team Awards give Internet access, rights, and freedoms. Since 2013, small scale-up grants were incorporated to extend activities related to projects --
(Video stopped)
>> KEVON SWIFT: Just a small technical difficulty that we will resolve very shortly.
>> SYLVIA CADENA: One second everyone. We are getting our backup copy of the video. We will play it in one second.
( Replay of video)
>> Regional Fund for Digital Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean. LACNIC, the Registry for Internet Address and the Caribbean. FRIDA is originally for digital innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a LACNIC initiative aimed at contributing to the development of the information society in the region. FRIDA supports NGOs, foundations, private companies, Governments, universities that are working on research and/or deployment projects in the field of ICT in Latin America and the Caribbean.
With the support of the International Development Research Center, the Swedish International Development Agency, Internet Society, and LACNIC, FRIDA is a proud member of the Seed Alliance, helping ideas grow. An initiative launched with fellow programs, ISIF Asia and FIRE as a space for International collaboration seeking to promote innovation and facilitate social development on a larger scale.
Since 2004, 112 grants awards and scale-up funds were granted through the program. 18 countries in the LAC region have been enriched and benefit through supported projects. And more than $1.4 million were given out in the form of grants, awards, scale-up support, as well as capacity building and networking.
Awards plus, FRIDA has been rewarding innovative and successful initiatives that make creative use of ICTs for development in the region since 2015.
Based on Internet governance, Team Awards give Internet access, rights, and freedoms. Since 2013, small scale-up grants were incorporated to extend activities related to projects. Here are the 2015 FRIDA award winners.
>> Alter Mundi's goal is to allow technology appropriated by the community to become a vehicle for inclusion and balance of opportunities.
Our work focuses on the needs of small towns far from Argentina's capital.
In recent years, Alter Mundi's work has focused on providing Internet access in regions not served by commercial providers, who don't view them as an opportunity to profit.
Our work covers several areas:
Developing open software to allow persons with no prior knowledge to deploy their own networks.
Organizing in-person workshops on how to assemble local infrastructure.
Ongoing support to existing community networks.
Representing community network interests to institution, corporations, and Government agencies.
And national and International dissemination of experiences and tools that developed through the project.
In the province of Cordoba, the network model proposed by Alter Mundi was initially deployed in the Town of Jose de la Quintana and has been adopted in numerous villages in the Paravachasca and Traslasierra valleys.
In June 2015, combined, these networks carried more than 400 GB of weekly traffic through a backbone managed jointly by Alter Mundi andthe communities involved in the project.
The network connects the villages with the data center at the National University of Cordoba, through more than 100 km of point-to-point links, including a hop over the Altas Cumbres mountains, 2300 meters a.s.l., with solar energy self-sufficiency.
2015 will see the growth and consolidation of community networks as a concrete alternative for digital inclusion, based on the self-provisioning of communications services and remote towns and villages.
>> My name is Jose Isabel Ramirez Mosquera and right now I'm an inmate at La Blanca prison. A prisoner. I have six children. One of them used to say "Daddy, I want lecherita, condensed milk. Please, bring me Lecherita." I would say "O Lord." Anyway, I would somehow bring him lecherita.
And then I picked up a lecherita and some sweets, and sent them to him.
When I got here, I felt practically trapped, forgotten. I was in despair, when sleeping, when eating. Crying, I'm not a shamed to say so. I was very depressed.
The doctor came to the yard and made an appointment for those of us who were depressed. I was registered and we began my treatment. They would take me outside, we'd talk. I saw that this was good for me.
>> The project began as a field test to validate the effectiveness of applying telemedicine to psychiatry, specifically working with patients who were prison and penitentiary inmates. This is what makes the project special and innovative, as it deals with an area that is largely unexplored in Colombia and Latin America.
>> I wish you'd travel the country, visit all prisons and provide support for all inmates.
I would like to say a huge thank you.
We need a person like you to help us, just as you're helping me. I was depressed. You gave me great strength. I wasn't expecting this. But you came to me and I feel happy. I wish it were more often. I wish you'd visit not only me, but all inmates in the yard.
Being here and being ill... you can imagine. It's like serving several sentences.
>> (Applause)
>> KEVON SWIFT: Of course, for an awards ceremony on innovation and problem solving, we needed to show you a live demonstration in terms of the AV skills. We hope you appreciated it.
So now we will introduce the award recipients. In the category of the devices, infrastructure, and technologies, broadening and accelerating ICT adoption. The winner is Alter Mundi. And the trophy will be received by Nicolas Echaniz and will be received by Mr. Sebastian Bellagamba, the Regional Bureau Director for the Latin America and the Caribbean, Internet Society. Please give Nicolas a round of applause.
(Applause)
In the category of Internet for promoting, guaranteeing, and exercising human rights and fundamental freedoms, telepsychiatry in prisons by the University de Caldas. And the trophy will be received by Camilo Alberto and Barrera Calencia, and it will be distributed by Mr. Laurent Elder. Please give Camilo a round of applause.
(Applause)
Of course, 2015 has been a very important year for the FRIDA program, as it marks the tenth anniversary. It has been one decade now of hard work, dedication, and accompanying projects which have brought a lot of impact to the region. LACNIC and FRIDA staff couldn't do it all by themselves. So today we would like for you to join us in thanking and acknowledging the work on support of FRIDA's jury and capacity building facilitator.
So the FRIDA jury will be making their way to the front of the room. And joining us to give in the recognition plaque, we have Miss Laura Kaplan, Development and Corporation Manager at LACNIC. Maria Gayo, Communications Manager, will hand awards.
So, first, we would like to call Ida Holz Bard, jury of the FRIDA program.
Applause for Ida.
(Applause)
Valeria Betancourt, jury of the FRIDA program.
(Applause)
And Amparo Arango Echeverri.
Jesus Martinz Alfonso, and Miss Ana Rivoir, capacity building facilitators of the FRIDA program.
(Applause)
Mr. Vitale Dori, who is a member of the jury program, he could not make it here with us, but we would like to recognize Mr. EdmundoVitale Dori for his contribution.
(Applause)
Wonderful. Please one last round of applause for this wonderful team.
And now, unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. For some closing remarks I'd like to introduce Mr. Paul Wilson, the Director General at APNIC at this time.
>> PAUL WILSON: Thank you very much. Thanks to all of you who spent your lunchtime here with this ceremony. I really hope you've enjoyed it.
I hope you don't mind if I spend a few minutes just on a short personal story that relates to the main sponsor of this event, IDRC, whose name you heard quite a few times.
They have been involved with ICT networking support projects for many years, for decades in fact. And my association with them started in the early 1990s, through the Singapore office, that establish something called the Pan Asia networking program. And I was asked to give some advice about the formulation of that program and on some of the projects.
And that I did. And I -- in 1993, I was taken on the first PAN project to Mongolia, where there was a nice ISP needing some help. And it wasn't obvious to me then why start in Mongolia, but it was pretty soon clear that it was simply a matter of choice and judgment. And the project in Mongolia which started without any Internet access in '93, blossomed and I went back in '95 and there were URLs on the side of buses. It was incredible judgment to actually pick that as the first project. It became a flagship.
Another part of PAN was something that took a while longer. It was a small grant program for R&D in networking. And I was involved through a number of years, and I was quite impatient about why the small grant program was taking a while. And Maria Eng, the project officer who made the judgment about Mongolia, said I was anxious with the small grant program because it was going to be a lot of trouble andI couldn't understand it. I thought what would be hard about a bunch of small grants? But she insisted. It took a while for it to happen. By the early 2000s, I guess, we had the PAN Asia R&D program, the small grants program, which had several successes and has now become this global thing.
So I guess I just wanted to tell that story, because it's a credit to IDRC, who has given this amazing show of faith and trust and confidence in this process year after year. They are the originators of what we have seen today, the backbone and leader. And I'm just very happy that it's -- that IDRC is still with us in such force and will continue their support.
So a credit to IDRC, but also of course thanks to SIDA who has given huge support over the last three years. Also to the partners, DotAsia and ICANN and ISOC amongst them. The RIRs are partners. We all make financial contributions into the pool as well as hosting theseprograms. So, LACNIC and AFRINIC as well as APNIC, we have in fact hopefully RIPNCC in the near future as well.
So really, there has been a lot of organizations behind this. There has also been quite a few key people. So Laurent, whose name you heard, and Yents from SIDA put a huge amount of work into working with us and have become fantastic colleagues in this whole process. Last but not least, there are the people who do the work that I was warned about by Maria way back when. And which I now understand actually is a huge challenge and not one for the faint hearted.
So these days it's Laura, in LACNIC. It was Patricia in AFRINIC until recently. And last but not least is APNIC's own Sylvia Cadena, who has really been a backbone. Sylvia, running the Secretariat for the program as well.
(Applause)
So a credit to you all. Thanks so much and thanks again to you all for taking an interest.
(Applause)
>> KEVON SWIFT: Thank you, Paul, and thank you everyone for joining us for this year's Seed Alliance award ceremony at Internet Governance Forum 2015. If you are not staying on for the next activity, we would like to invite you to join us outside of the room while we can continue socializing a bit. And see again next year in 2016.
Do have a good rest of your day.
(Applause)
>> SYLVIA CADENA: Can we have all the award winners and sponsors for a big photo shoot. And Vint, would you mind to join us for this one as well, please.
(End of session 13:50)