You can't have an ICT meeting without ICT in hand.
October seems to be unofficially ICT month in our fair city. There are no fewer than five Internet-related gatherings on the books. That’s nice and all, but for the rest of the year, what we’re really thinking about is how to leverage these closely timed events to upgrade our internet and downgrade our costs. Any ideas?
Inaugural Meeting of the Internet Society Lebanon Chapter
Habtoor Grand Hotel, Sin el Fil
Thursday, October 14
9:00 a.m. –5:15 p.m.
ISOC will inaugurate its Lebanon chapter and a variety of Lebanese and international speakers will talk about challenges and opportunities facing ICT in the country, the business of social networking, content delivery, and child safety online. Registration is free but closed, though you can still register the day of the event until they run out of space.
US-Lebanon Information and Communication Technology Forum
Hashtag: #uslebict
BIEL Center, Beirut
Thursday and Friday, October 14-15
4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
The U.S. Embassy, in collaboration with the American-Lebanese Chamber of Commerce and the Union of Arab ICT Associations (IJMA3), is hosting this two-day evening exhibition showcasing American ICT products and providing an opportunity for Lebanese and American businesses to explore potential commercial relationships. In addition, there will be seminars for startups, a Cisco-hosted session about the next steps for broadband, and a panel discussion called “ICT for Development: A Vector of Innovation,” including SMEX. In fact, we are helping Ijma3 get the word out about the panel and are looking for volunteers to help with social media coverage. We’ll provide the Flip cams. Entrance is free, and no registration necessary. Download the conference program.
Women in Technology Local Networking & Sustainability Conference
Crowne Plaza, Hamra
October 20-22
All day.
This conference brings together Lebanese women who have developed their computer and business skills over the past three years in the Women in Technology program administered by the International Institute of Education and funded by MEPI. During the three days of sessions, most of which will be held in Arabic, women will have an opportunity to network with each other and turn their attention to converting their training into sustainable enterprise. SMEX will organize discussions about various aspects of social media, including content, licensing, and training on Friday, October 22, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Expert Group Meeting on the Regional Roadmap for Internet Governance
UN House, Beirut
October 25–26
9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., both days
This is a by-invitation meeting that will deal with internet governance in the Arab region, referring to a draft regional roadmap and including putting the final touches on the implementation and regulation of .arab and .عرب domains. Participants have been asked to take a survey in advance of the sessions that included questions about what the value propositions of having these domains are, as well as who should manage the process and what restrictions should be placed on who can register a .arab or .عرب domain. Two outputs are expected from the meeting: 1) a final draft of a regional roadmap for Internet governance, and 2) a call from Arab stakeholders to establish and Arab IGF. If you feel like you should be there, get in touch with ESCWA at escwa-ictd [at] un [dot] org.
Creative Commons Is Back in Town
American University of Beirut
October 25–26
Time to be announced.
Rumor has it—but it’s still unconfirmed—that CC superstars Lawrence Lessig and Joi Ito will touchdown at AUB to talk about all things shared and shared alike. We’re still waiting for all the details, but save the date, and meanwhile, if you can stream video, watch this: