During the 2016 call for nominations, the two award winners were selected out of the 52 nominations received across two categories, covering 11 economies in the Asia Pacific. Nominations from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore and Sri Lanka were assessed by the Selection Committee.

Each winner receives a cash prize of AUD 3,000 to support their work and a travel grant of AUD 4000 for a project representative to participate at the 11th Internet Governance Forum (Guadalajara, Mexico - December 2016) to participate at the awards ceremony, showcase their project, make new professional contacts, and participate in discussions about the future of the Internet.


ISIF Asia award winners at the awards ceremony, along with FIRE Africa and FRIDA program winners, staff and donors.

The Selection Committe was composed by Phet Sayo (IDRC), Jessica Schen (APNIC EC), Rajnesh Singh (Internet Society), Edmon Chung (Dot Asia Organization), George Michaelson (APNIC staff), and David Rowe (ROWETEL, former ISIF Asia grant recipient). We thank them for their service.

The winners for 2016 are:

  • Community Impact:
    Restoring Connectivity: Movable and Deployable Resource ICT Unit (MDRU)

    CVISNET Foundation
    The Philippines
  • Technical Innovation:
    Towards A Fairer Electoral System: 1 Person, 1 Vote, 1 Value

    Tindak Malaysia
    Malaysia

In addition, Tindak Malaysia received AUD 1000 additional cash prize for the Community Choice Award for the project with more votes from community. 

India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were the economies that submitted more nominations, accounting for around 28% of the nominations received. The majority of the nominations received were submitted from the civil society with 34.6% followed by the private sector with 30.8%. The category that received more applications was Community Impact with 32 nominations equivalent to 61.5% while the Technical Innovation category received 20 nominations equivalent 38.5%. 15 applications were selected as Finalists and are publicly available for anyone interested to learn more about the ingenuity and practical approaches that originate from our region. We encourage you to learn more about their wonderful work!