In the first week of September, SOI Asia representatives Noriatsu Kudo (APIE program lead) and Marcos Sadao Maekawa (APNIC Foundation) attended the APNIC 58 conference in Wellington, New Zealand. It was an excellent opportunity to share SOI Asia and APIE updates with the Asia-Pacific Internet community and explore new collaboration opportunities.
Some of the main keywords from this edition were multistakeholder governance, resilient internet and younger generations. All keywords are relatable to the SOI Asia community. One of the highlights was the first speech of Jia Rong Low as the new APNIC DG (Director General), taking over the position occupied by Paul Wilson since the beginning of APNIC 25 years ago.
Kudo introduced SOI Asia and presented the APIE program in the AP Star Retreat and the NexGen BoF sessions. At the AP Star retreat, a collaborative network of organizations that supports the growth and stability of the Internet in the region, participants raised that all the member organizations should collaborate more and also emphasized the need to bring and focus on younger generations to the Internet community.
The NexGen BoF gathered representatives of programs contributing to building the next generation of community leaders who will continue carrying out the APNIC vision of a global, open, and stable Internet. APIE shared information about one of its online courses, “Understanding the Internet,” available on the MOOC platform FutureLearn. Kudo and Marcos also talked to young participants who were interested in the program.
Most of all, it was also an excellent opportunity to meet and catch up with people related to APIE, including the program funder, APNIC Foundation CEO Rajnesh Singh, e-Workshop guest speaker Vincent ‘Achie’ Atienza, APNIC Academy team Che-Hoo Cheng, Shane Hermoso, Awal Haolader, Makito Lay, and APIE alumni Ibni Inggrianti from ITB, who joined the APIE Camp in ITB in 2023.
The APNIC Conference is an event for the Internet community in the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on Internet infrastructure, networking, and governance. It brings together network engineers, IT experts, and policymakers to discuss issues like IP address management, cybersecurity, and building resilient networks. The conference offers workshops, presentations, and a space for collaboration across the region’s Internet community. Every year, the event calls for fellows, and more information can be found on the event’s website. While APNIC 59 is still to define the economy where it will be held, APNIC 60 is confirmed to be held on 3-11 September 2025 in Da Nang, Vietnam.
