CaribNOG conference brings Internet experts to Barbados

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados. April 5, 2019—Technical experts from the global Internet community and other stakeholders from across the Caribbean and North America convened in Bridgetown, Barbados for the seventeenth regional meeting of the Caribbean Network Operators Group, called CaribNOG 17.

CaribNOG is a volunteer-based community, largely drawn from the professionals who design, build, use, maintain and safeguard the region’s computer networks. Like many other network operator groups around the world, CaribNOG is dedicated to advancing members’ technical capacity and developing stronger networks in the region. 

The keynote at this month’s meeting, delivered by Edward Mc Nair, Executive Director of the North American Network Operators Group (NANOG), focused on the crucial role that network operator groups play in supporting the human network needed to facilitate physical network development. McNair is also the co-founder of Kaskadian, an agency that provides branding, marketing and sales support for startups and new businesses.

“Network operator groups serve the critical function of enabling the human connections that undergird the development of computer networks. In 2019, CaribNOG is focused on deepening those human connections, both within the region and beyond,” said Stephen Lee, Program Director of CaribNOG. 

The CaribNOG meeting focused on a range of cybersecurity and network resiliency issues that are central to the development of a more open, resilient and secure Internet. These meetings target network administrators, information technology managers, computer engineers and security professionals from across the region.

Presenters and panellists included several regional and international experts on a range of issues including security, cloud services, Internet exchange point implementation, and the deployment of next-generation Internet Protocol, called IPv6. Among the presenters are Brent McIntosh (Columbus Communications), Owen DeLong, Jon Worley (ARIN), Matthew Wilder (Telus), Steve Feldman (NANOG), Edward Winstead (ISC) and David Huberman (ICANN).

CaribNOG 17 immediately followed the public policy and members meeting of the American Registry of Internet Numbers, called ARIN 43, which took place at the same venue from April 7 to 10, 2019. 

A longtime supporter of CaribNOG, ARIN provided a fellowship program to support persons interested in participating in the ARIN 43 and CaribNOG 17 meetings. The ARIN Fellowship Program offered the opportunity to attend the meetings at no charge, as well as hotel accommodation, round-trip economy class airfare and a stipend.  

“ARIN has a long track record of supporting Internet development initiatives in the Caribbean outreach program,” said Bevil Wooding, CaribNOG co-founder and Caribbean Outreach Liaison at ARIN.

The Barbados chapter of the Internet Society provided local coordination services. The high-profile meeting was also supported by the Internet Society, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the Caribbean Telecommunications Union, the Latin America and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry, Arkitechs, Packet Clearing House and RL Mark. 

Presentations are available at the meeting resources link below.Meeting resources, including the full agenda and recap, presenter bios and downloadable presentations, are available on the CaribNOG website through the link below.