Oliver Popov

Country of citizenship: Macedonia
Place of residence: Skopje, Macedonia
E-mail address: oliver@marnet.mk
Employer: Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University St. Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Macedonia

Statement of Qualification and Experience

Worked for four years along the international community, to bring the first Internet connection to Macedonia, and consequently implemented the first IP addressing schema in MK; research and teaching interests include: the Internet Technology, Computer Networks and Distributed Systems, Information Society and social implications of networking.

Author of the first project that was funded by the Republic of Austria and the ACONet on establishing the external IP connectivity in MK, Principal researcher and designer of the University of Bitola (St. Clemente Ohridski) computer network and University St. Cyril and Methodius.

Lived for extended periods in: Germany, Slovenia, and USA. Worked for the last ten years with networkers from USA, Canada, Australia, Western Europe, ASIA and moreover with all of the countries members of the CEENet such as Albania, Armenia, Austria, Bulgaria, Belorus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldovia, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Uzbekistan, soon to be joined by Greece, Turkey, Kazakstan, Kirgistan, and Tadjikistran.

Representation of general networking communities from all the countries in Central and Eastern Europe, less developed countries, a genuine belief that the Internet is one of the rare technological developments and resources that contribute to digitally unite, rather the to digitally divide. These communities have undergone or are still going through enormous political, social and economic transformations, yet most all of them have recognized the power of networking and the global connectivity as one of the major vehicles towards the Information society, that actually stands for a civic and democratic society for which it is necessary to have a free flow of information.

Volunteer Roles and Accomplishments

• Member of the CEENet Management Committee (1995-present), Associate Member of the NATO Advisory Panel on Networking (2000-present),
• Director of CEENet Workshops and Conferences (1995 - present), Programme Chair of the CEENet Workshops on Network Technology, Policy and Management (Warsaw-95, Budapest-96, Zagreb-97, Bratislava-98, Budapest-99, Budapest-2000,Tartu-97, Yaroslav-98, Tbilisi-99,Ohrid-2000), NATO CP county co-director of ISOC NTW 1998 and 1999, Editor of the NATO/CEENet Editions of Proceedings,
• Member of the INET '98 PC and INET'2000 PC,
• Deputy member of the TERENA GA
• President of the Executive Board of MARNet - (Macedonian Academic and Research Network), Deputy Chairman of CEENet (Central and Eastern European Networking Association),
• Advisor to the President of Macedonia on Information Technology (member of the Presidential Steering Comittee on Information Society)

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Personal Statement

The advent of networking, which is basically the symbiosis of computing and communication technology, and entirely consistent with our tool-making civilization (homo faber) has opened another stage in the continuum of the mankind, after the agrarian, industrial and service dominated societies. Epitomized by the Internet, and the possibilities offered by the Information society, where the information (read knowledge) is both the generator and the product of all forms of human activity (the rise of the homo informaticus), global networking through the newest basic human right, the one to communicate, has joined the other two older human rights and freedoms, those of an opinion and of an expression.

This phenomenon of the Internet, with the potential to compress time and space, and based on the attributes of openness and sharing, while does not change the geography of the world; it most certainly transforms its logical topology. The Internet and networking are not only about the technology, it is about people and how their everyday life is being affected. It is so much more about the convergence of people, rather then the convergence of media.

Working with Central and Eastern European Networking Association (CEENet) and being associated with some of the ISOC activities, I have had the privilege to be a witness to a genuine impact of the Internet technology, and consequently the build up of a trans-national and a trans-border human network.

Technology, most of the time, reflects the needs and the interests of the social forces. Contrary to some believes, technology has never been quite politically neutral. The road to an admissible level of neutrality is via the elimination of inadequate policies and the increase of the degree of social maturity and awareness, which also includes the concept of self-governance. The establishment of ICANN is a result of a vast amount of efforts of so many individuals, the desire for consensus and mutual understanding, and the ability to create at least a part of the semantics of the Internet (while the technology is only its syntax), which will be the basis for the digitally unite.

Eventually, ICANN and other similar international non-for-profit bodies might become primers for international cooperation through the mechanisms of self-regulation.

Europe should bring and maintain the tolerance of diversity and the sensitivity of difference, the need for an equity and fairness, and if possible based on technical excellence. It should provide much needed balance between the inevitable commercial interests, as well as among unwarranted political pressures (which is most of the time a results of misinterpreted ambitions and egocentric and short term visions). And the inclination that certain items in the domain of ICANN interests are indeed national and international resources, and should be treated that way.

Some of the relevant links:

http://ii.pmf.ukim.edu.mk
http://www.ceenet.org
http://www.ohirdanw2000.marnet.mk
http://www.politik-digital.de/netzpolitik/icann/popov.shtml