During the 2018 call for nominations, the two award winners were selected across two categories. 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 USD 3,500 to support their work and a travel grant for a project representative to participate at the 13th Internet Governance Forum (Paris, France 12-14 November) to participate at the awards ceremony, showcase their project, make new professional contacts, and participate in discussions about the future of the Internet.

Community Networks Award:

  • Community Cellular Networks in Rural Aurora, University of the Philippines – Diliman, The Philippines.

In partnership with a local telecom, the team has developed and deployed a GSM Community Cellular Network in rural Philippines to bridge ‘last mile’ connectivity issues in isolated and relatively poor communities. As of 2017, they have also begun deploying them in partnership with local NGOs, primarily cooperatives, to provide basic cellular services to subscribers.

Gender Empowerment and Innovation Award

  • Tech Age Girls Myanmar, Myanmar Book Aid and Preservation Foundation, Myanmar.

This initiative has successfully supported female community leaders (aged between 16-20) through the ‘Tech Age Girls’ program from community libraries that have been playing a key role in digital inclusion and gender equality in Myanmar. The finalists are selected to implement their own community projects ideas to support their communities.

Two Selection Committees assess the applications according to the categories for 2018. We thank them for their service:

  • The Gender Empowerment and Innovation Selection Committee was composed by Jessica Schen (APNIC EC), Kalyani Menon-Sen (appointed by IDRC), George Michaelson (APNIC staff), and David Rowe (ROWETEL, former ISIF Asia grant recipient).
  • The Community Networks Selection Committee was composed by Phet Sayo (IDRC), Naveed Haq (Internet Society), Edmon Chung (Dot Asia Organization), David Rowe (ROWETEL, former ISIF Asia grant recipient), Dr Wanqing Tu and Mike Jensen.