[ICANN]<http://www.icann.org/> News Alert https://www.icann.org/resources/press-material/release-2016-08-08-en ________________________________ Inaugural Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy Grooms Young Leaders ICANN and KISA put the spotlight on next generation of the Asia Pacific Internet community 8 August 2016 Seoul, South Korea… 62 youths from 14 Asia Pacific (APAC) economies are being groomed as future leaders as they attend the inaugural Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy. Held at Yonsei University in Seoul, the five-day workshop on Internet governance and Internet-related topics was officially launched by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today. The Academy aims to improve participants' understanding of how the Internet works, the "bottom-up consensus building" model of Internet governance, which has helped shape the Internet as we know it today, and how they can take part in shaping the evolution of the Internet for the next generation. "The Internet is not controlled by any single person, organization, or government. For the Internet to develop and cater to the needs of our region – of which half of the world's Internet users reside – we need to get involved in the various platforms that discuss, develop and evolve the Internet," said Jia-Rong Low, Vice President and Managing Director of ICANN's Asia Pacific Hub. "I would like to thank KISA and Korea for their partnership and leadership during the development and launch of this program. The next billion Internet users will likely come from our region, and today's students are the leaders of tomorrow. We hope that after this academy, they can participate in ICANN, and other relevant platforms, to shape the future of the Internet," Low added. The Academy will introduce participants to various Internet governance platforms, such as the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF), as well as organizations involved in Internet governance work. Speakers from these organizations, such as the Korea Internet Governance Alliance (KIGA), Asia Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC) and Internet Society (ISOC), will share their experiences and work. Yoonhong Cho, Vice President of KISA added, "I am very delighted to see the KISA-ICANN joint project on capacity building for the Asia Pacific region bear such fruitful results, in the form of APIGA. In partnering with ICANN and with the strong support and significant contribution from our 11 sponsor organizations, I believe that the inaugural Asia Pacific event will be fully utilized as an incubating platform for the next generation of global leaders for the future Internet." ICANN and KISA received more than 120 applications from all over the APAC region. Successful applicants are required to attend 25 hours of online learning prior to the five-day workshop in Seoul. After the Academy, they will be invited to participate in regional and global Internet governance events, such as the 57th ICANN public meeting, which is being held in Hyderabad, India, from 3-9 November 2016. The academy is also an extension of ICANN's youth engagement program, which aims to reach out to the next generation and groom future leaders. Another program is NextGen@ICANN, which is held on the sidelines of ICANN Public Meetings. # # # For more information on APIGA, please visit here<https://community.icann.org/display/GSEAPAC/Asia+Pacific+Internet+Governance...>. For photos on APIGA, please visit here<https://www.flickr.com/photos/icann/albums/72157672159086135>. For more information on NextGen@ICANN, please visit here<https://www.icann.org/development-and-public-responsibility/nextgen>. Media Contacts ICANN Liana Teo Head of Communications, APAC Tel: +65 6816 1259 Mobile: +65 9796 5500 Email: liana.teo@icann.org<mailto:liana.teo@icann.org> Fiona Aw Global Communications Coordinator Tel: +65 6816 1264 Mobile: +65 9113 6621 Email: fiona.aw@icann.org<mailto:fiona.aw@icann.org> KISA Minjung Park General Researcher Tel: +82 2 405 6623 Mobile: +82 10 2774 3213 Email: parkmj@kisa.or.kr<mailto:parkmj@kisa.or.kr>, flisha@gmail.com<mailto:flisha@gmail.com> About ICANN ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secure and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you have to type an address into your computer - a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation and a community with participants from all over the world. ICANN and its community help keep the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It also promotes competition and develops policy for the top-level of the Internet's naming system and facilitates the use of other unique Internet identifiers. For more information please visit: www.icann.org<https://www.icann.org/>. About KISA KISA is a government agency dedicated to promoting Internet and information security and contributing to Korea's Global Competitiveness. KISA has set 'Internet Promotion' for the future and 'Information Security' for our safety as its primary tasks, and is focusing on enhancing the information security capacity of Korea's ICT industry while expanding global cooperative partnerships based on the K-ICT Security Development Strategy, in order that these twin pillars may serve as the core competencies of the future Korea in equal and harmonious measure. KISA, founded in 2009 through a merger of three separate organizations, is dedicated to developing Korea's Internet industry and information security capabilities. As an Internet and security promotion agency armed with global competitiveness, KISA will maintain its commitment to creating a safe and happy Internet world.