Paola Perez, Vice- President of Internet Society Venezuela, Chair of LACNIC Public Policy Forum will present a breakfast briefing "Internet in Venezuela: past, present & future"

According to reports, Venezuela has the slowest internet in the Western Hemisphere. The government has declared it a "luxury service" in direct defiance of UN human rights policy, & restricted development. See

https://panampost.com/sabrina-martin/2015/09/01/venezuelas-internet-runs-at-snails-pace-by-design/

The Internet Society's Latin America Bureau has expressed 'deep concern' about Internet blocking in the country..

https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2017/05/internet-society-deeply-concerned-about-internet-blocking-in-venezuela/

Paola will use the Venezuala scenario to explore the "developing country" experience & what users as stakeholders can do to try to improve it.

Paola Prez is a computer systems engineer & currently Vice-President of Internet Society Venezuelan chapter. Chair of LACNIC public policy forum. Human Rights activist for the Network of Citizen Activists - (REDAC), CEO of the Non Profit Foundation "Lids for Life Merida", helping since 2013 children with cancer in Venezuela through the recycling of plastic lids, part of the IT Women Working Group on LACNIC & Project Manager of the Project: Digital Educational Network in "Eloy Paredes" in Merida, Venezuela related to the Chapterthon 2017 Internet Society World Wide Contest.

In 2016, Paola was a Google Policy Fellow in Peru with D&D International & the winner with 60% of the votes of the Internet Society's "Chapterthon 2016" contest against other regional projects: "Empowering the People of The Nevados through the use of ICT for social benefit. " Promoting Internet access to rural areas & improving the quality of life of citizens in Merida - Venezuela ( http://bit.ly/2hBSsCp ).

This briefing is sponsored by the Internet Society New York Chapter https://isoc-ny.org with support from Civic Hall http://civichall.org It will be livestreamed.