Dear Members, Friends, and Colleagues,
As we enter 2011, it seems appropriate to reflect on the past year. For the Internet itself, 2010 will be marked as the year the number of Internet users surpassed 2 billion. While media reports focused on the sheer magnitude of the number, we understand the true significance is that the Internet provides each and every user the opportunity to improve and enrich their lives as well as the lives of others.
At the Internet Society, our strength lies in a shared vision, expressed by our Mission:
"The mission of the Internet Society is to promote the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world."
This Mission is realized through the actions of a global community of individual Members, Internet Society Chapters, member organizations, and our partners in the Internet Ecosystem. Each of us working to ensure that in the future, Internet users will continue to have access to the same open, global Internet we benefited from.
A testament to our collective efforts, I am extremely pleased to report that we have seen increased impact and significant growth in virtually all areas of the Society's activities over the past year. The Internet Society community is larger and more active today than any time in its history. Over the past year, the number of active Chapters increased by nearly 50%, and we added a significant number of new Organizational members. In addition, the number of individual Members increased to 45,000, and we set a target of doubling the number of individual Members each year for the next five years, with a goal of 1 million members by 2017.
A key investment area in 2010, and one that continues into 2011, is the further empowerment of Internet Society Chapters and Regional Bureaus. In 2010, we focused on building local roots and global engagement. In conjunction with Chapters, twelve INET events were held, as well as five regional Chapter workshops. Staff and members developed Chapter toolkits and Primers on a variety of issues such as Public Policy, Mobilizing Volunteers, and Network Neutrality. And, we provided substantial additional direct funding opportunities for Chapter activities.
Through the launch of the Next Generation Leaders programme - built on the successful Internet Society Fellowship to the Internet Engineering Task Force, and the Internet Governance Forum Ambassadors programme - we expanded our efforts to foster Internet knowledgeable policy makers and policy savvy technologists around the world. And, wherever we could, we helped catalyze support for a multistakeholder approach to discussions about Internet matters.
We advocated globally for the deployment of technologies key to the future of the Internet, such as IPv6 and DNSSEC. On the Development front, we actively supported the launch of several IXPs in Africa, and supported many other regional developmental efforts and policy forums, such as the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) in Latin America.
The coming year holds the promise of even greater accomplishments and growth. As outlined in the multi-year Business Plan recently approved by the Internet Society Board of Trustees, we plan to take additional steps to support local globally integrated action in support of our Mission. Strengthening support to and providing additional resources for the five Internet Society Regional Bureaus will be a central focus.
We continue to build our leadership development efforts, such as the Next Generation Leaders programme, and embed them in all we do. Revenue growth and diversification remains a key developmental area and we will focus on mission integral programme expansion as well as new opportunities to deliver substantial growth in 2011 and beyond. In addition, we have elevated our priority on Strategic Development programmes; these will be driven from the Office of the President and CEO while shifting full responsibility to our Regional Bureaus for implementation of all regional programmes. There are so many highlights from the past year, and exciting possibilities for the year ahead, that it is simply not possible to recognize them all here.
However, at this time of year, when those closest to us are usually remembered, I would like to recognize the Internet Society Members, Chapters, Board of Trustees, and staff for all their contributions, as well as the Board and staff at the Public Interest Registry (PIR), who through their support enable much of our success. I also extend thanks to our colleagues in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), and the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) without whose contributions and dedication to an open Internet, the Internet as we know it, would not exist.
By focusing on collaboration and keeping our Mission central to all we do, we will all help to make ISOC's Vision "The Internet is for Everyone" even more of a reality in 2011.
Warm regards and best wishes to all of you and your families.
Lynn St.Amour
President & CEO, Internet Society
