PRESS RELEASE

[Washington, D.C., USA and Geneva, Switzerland, 02 April 2012] – The Internet Society is excited to announce that Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, and Mitchell Baker, Chair of the Mozilla Foundation, will be keynote speakers at Global INET 2012. The event, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Internet Society and offers an inspired look at the future of the Internet, will be held 22-24 April at the Centre International de Conférences Genève in Geneva, Switzerland.

Jimmy Wales is an Internet entrepreneur, wiki pioneer, and technology visionary, who is well known as the founder of Wikipedia. Jimmy will provide his insights into the future direction of the Internet with an inspiring opening keynote at the Global INET on Monday, 23 April. His visionary perspectives will complement the other opening keynote speakers that include Leonard Kleinrock, who will reflect on the early days of the Internet, and Lynn St. Amour, Internet Society President and CEO, who will address today's most pressing issues and concerns for the advancement of the Internet.

As co-founder and Chair of Mozilla, Mitchell Baker is deeply committed to an open, innovative Web and the infinite possibilities it presents. Mitchell has received numerous prestigious awards for her innovation, creativity, and leadership. Her keynote address, which will reflect her unique style and vision for the future of the Internet, is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, 24 April 2012, during the closing session of the Global INET.

The Global INET will facilitate the convergence of global Internet leaders in technology, business, and policy, addressing issues that will shape the Internet’s future, including how to preserve an Internet responsive to all stakeholders while extending access to the Internet’s power as an engine for education and economic growth. Together, attendees will also celebrate the Internet Society’s 20 years of global efforts to help advance the Internet.

The Global INET has confirmed an impressive array of speakers, in addition to Jimmy Wales and Mitchell Baker, for the three-day conference, including:

• Vint Cerf, Vice President & Chief Internet Evangelist, Google

• Lesley Cowley, Chief Executive, Nominet

• Steve Crocker, Chair, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Board of Trustees

• Raúl Echeberría, Executive Director, Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC) and Chairman of the Internet Society’s Board of Trustees

• Francis Gurry, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

• Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Director General, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)

• Russ Housley, Chairman, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

• Tarek Kamel, former Egyptian Minister of Communication and Information Technology

• Janis Karklins, Assistant Director General, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

• Leonard Kleinrock, Distinguished Professor at UCLA and pioneer of the mathematical theory of packet networks

• Nii Quaynor, Chairman, National Information Technology Agency (Ghana)

• Lynn St. Amour, President and CEO, Internet Society

• Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

“We are delighted to have such an exceptional assembly of pioneers, thought leaders, visionaries, and Internet game changers to share their insights at this important event,” said Walda Roseman, Chief Operating Officer at the Internet Society. “The Global INET will feature powerful keynotes, engaging roundtable discussions, and cross-generational opportunities to network with pioneers, entrepreneurs, civil society, UN agency officials, and technical and policy experts from across the global Internet community.”

The Internet Society is pleased to announce Verisign as a Platinum Sponsor of Global INET. Verisign manages and protects the domain name system (DNS) infrastructure for several of the world’s leading top level domains, such as .com and .net, and is working with the Internet community to deploy new technologies including IPv6 and DNSSEC (DNS Security Extensions).

“Verisign is proud to join leading Internet visionaries and stakeholders at Global INET to discuss policies to ensure the future Internet is open, easily and fully accessible, and designed to meet the needs of the next billion users in the developing world,” said Dr. Burt Kaliski, Jr., senior vice president and chief technology officer of Verisign. “As a trusted steward of critical Internet infrastructure, Verisign supports the Internet Society’s multi-stakeholder vision of Internet development and is dedicated to protecting the security and stability of the DNS, while providing new opportunities for organizations and users across the globe.”

For more details on the Global INET 2012 and to register for the event, visit: www.internetsociety.org/globalinet

About the Internet Society

The Internet Society is the world's trusted independent source of Internet leadership. With its principled vision and substantial technological foundation, the Internet Society promotes open dialogue on Internet policy, technology, and future development among users, companies, governments, and other organizations. Working with its members and Chapters around the world, the Internet Society enables the continued evolution and growth of the Internet for everyone.