Day: July 27, 2022

RESTON, Va., July 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The Internet Society Foundation has launched a second round of grants through its Resiliency program, which aims to help communities enhance preparedness and build Internet resiliency when faced with adverse events.  This funding will support projects that increase network resiliency in communities prone to natural and climate-related disasters, ensuring these communities are better able to prepare for and withstand the effects of a disaster on Internet connectivity.  A resilient Internet connection is one that maintains an acceptable level of service in the face of faults and challenges to normal operation.

“Connectivity to the Internet becomes a vital tool when disaster strikes, both for people in need and those responding to the emergency,” noted Sarah Armstrong, Executive Director of the Internet Society Foundation. “Through these grants, we aim to support communities to reduce vulnerabilities and build the capacity and resilience to navigate future emergencies.”

Examples of the types of projects the Foundation will support include: supporting development of  temporary networks for crisis response, protecting data centers and Internet exchange points (IXPs) against environmental threats, fortifying sub-sea cables and/or stations, and supporting Internet service providers (ISPs) to upgrade infrastructure.

Organizations currently implementing projects around the world through the Resiliency grant program include Help.NGO, NetHope, Inc., and Télécoms Sans Frontières.

The Resiliency program will open for applications between 25 July and 19 August. Grants of up to US$500,000 will be awarded for projects lasting up to 12 months.

More information on the grant including the application process can be found at: https://www.isocfoundation.org/grant-programme/resiliency-grant-program/

About The Internet Society Foundation:

The Internet Society Foundation was established in 2019 to support the positive difference the Internet can make to people everywhere. Guided by our vision of an Internet for Everyone, the Foundation champions ideas and enables communities to unlock the Internet’s potential to tackle the world’s evolving challenges. Focusing in five program areas, the Foundation awards grants to Internet Society Chapters as well as non-profit organizations and individuals dedicated to providing meaningful access to an open, globally connected, secure and trustworthy Internet for everyone.

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WASHINGTON and PARIS, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The Rockefeller Foundation’s Pandemic Prevention Institute (PPI) and the Pasteur Network have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance early detection and reporting for emerging and reemerging diseases and build a robust decentralized global surveillance network that strengthens local capacity for sharing high-quality data across countries. The collaboration aims to enhance the effectiveness of the Pandemic Prevention Institute and the Pasteur Network’s 33 member institutions in both addressing infectious diseases, such as COVID-19 and monkeypox, and informing interventions against them.

“Our work with the Pasteur Network will undoubtedly make a transformational impact on global health security, leveraging the ability to advance equitable data-sharing practices that will provide key stakeholders and decision-makers with timely, more accurate and relevant information to make critical health and policy decisions,” said Dr. Rick Bright, CEO of The Rockefeller Foundation’s Pandemic Prevention Institute. “Our collective aim is to advance access to pathogen surveillance, genomic sequencing, analytics, and data sharing tools in low- and middle-income countries and to foster sentinel laboratory networks for early disease detection.”

“This MoU is a major milestone in our collaboration with The Rockefeller Foundation and the PPI that could lead to significant impact in epidemic and pandemic preparedness. Together, the Pasteur Network and PPI are an effective combination of complementary talents and capacity to address global health threats said Dr. Amadou Sall, President of the Pasteur Network.

“We are proud to support this initiative. This important, historic partnership will provide much-needed support to capacity building and epidemic intelligence,” said Professor Stewart Cole, President of the Pasteur Network foundation that contributes to the Pasteur Network’s development.

Over the coming years, the partnership will focus primarily on the following areas:

• Advancing global equitable data sharing to provide key stakeholders and decision-makers with an analytical toolset that leverages timely, more accurate and relevant data and information
• Bolstering epidemiological and genomic surveillance in low- and middle-income countries to track emerging pathogen variants and transmission for real-time analyses, as well as advancing access to pathogen surveillance and analytical tools, such as digital apps
• Enhancing discovery of emerging and reemerging high consequence pathogens, generating a diversity of essential disease surveillance data streams in areas such as zoonosis, anti-microbial resistance and water borne diseases
• Building fit for purpose data analytics and disease discovery and forecasting systems, informed by the organizations’ partner networks, that are relevant, sustainable, and equitable at the local, state, and pan-regional level

The partnership will also focus on interdisciplinary research projects addressing the causes of outbreaks and epidemics. The combined networks will maintain local and regional structures to foster a permanent operational force and share technologies, systems, practices, and techniques with their networks.

Pasteur Network, previously known as the Institut Pasteur International Network, is a worldwide network of members which contribute to global health. This unique model of cooperation brings together, beyond the independent public or private structures that form the Network, a human and scientific community collectively mobilized for both local, regional and global health priorities. The members of Pasteur Network share the same mission to improve health through biomedical research, public health activities, training, and innovation. For more information, visit: https://pasteur-network.org/en/about/who-we-are/ and follow-on Linkedin: Pasteur Network and Twitter:@InstitutPasteur

The Rockefeller Foundation’s Pandemic Prevention Institute (PPI) is mission-driven to contribute to the crucial work of building systems that detect, prevent, and mitigate pandemic threats, leading to rapid, effective containment. The PPI is pursuing its mission through the integration of cutting-edge technology and analytic approaches that turn data into action that drives life-saving decisions; a federated network of data users and holders with global representation; and collaborative leadership at the global level. For more information on partners, data solutions and more visit www.ppi.org and follow us on Twitter: @PPI_Insights and LinkedIn: The Pandemic Prevention Institute..

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation to enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We work to promote the well-being of humanity and make opportunity universal. Our focus is on scaling renewable energy for all, stimulating economic mobility, and ensuring equitable access to healthy and nutritious food.  For more information, sign up for our newsletter at rockefellerfoundation.org and follow us on Twitter @RockefellerFdn.