AKMS Participates in ICANN?s APRALO Meeting in Bali, Indonesia

DENPASAR/ BALI - The Arab Knowledge Management Society (AKMS) participated in the Asia-Pacific Regional At-Large Organization (APRALO) formation meeting which was held in Bali, Indonesia on February 28, 2007. 

Representing the AKMS in the APRALO meeting, Bilal Beiram, a member in the AKMS, briefed the attendees on the Society?s role and it?s objectives.
?AKMS aims to utilize modern management and technology to effectively develop Arab capabilities to derive social and economic value from an organizations knowledge resources. The AKMS also encourages its members and the community to actively participate in international Internet institutions such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN),? Beiram said.
Beiram, who is also the Internet Affairs Manager at Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAGorg), pointed out that the AKMS was the first At-Large Structure to be certified by ICANN from the Asia-Pacific Region.

Beiram added that the AKMS is expected to be nominated to one of the leading positions during the APRALO elections for 2007 which will take place next week. Nominations will be accepted for Chair, Vice Chair, Regional Secretariat and two representatives for ICANN?s At-Large Advisory Committee.

During the meeting, Beiram met with several representatives from ICANN and other organizations from the Asia-Pacific Region and discussed Internet-related issues.

The APRALO meeting saw the finalization of the operating principles of the APRALO, and the approval of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will be submitted to the ICANN Board of Directors to officially establish the APRALO. The MoU is expected to be signed at a formal ceremony at the next ICANN annual meeting which will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, March 26-30.  
APRALO is one of the five Regional At-Large Organizations (RALOs) formed by the ICANN. Representing the following geographical regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America, the five RALOs were formed to promote structured involvement and participation of the global individual Internet user community in ICANN. The RALOs act as the main forum and coordination point in each region for public input to ICANN.
The APRALO meeting was held in conjunction with the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies (APRICOT).

Held annually, APRICOT is a ten-day long conference that consists of seminars, workshops, tutorials, conference sessions and