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A group of Solomon Island IT professionals met yesterday at the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency headquarter to begin the ground work towards establishing an IT society for the Solomon Islands.  Speaking with Lifhaus yesterday, the group spokesmen said "this is long overdue and a few of us are taking the initiative to begin the task towards starting a professional body that will represent all IT professionals within the Solomon Islands."

"This is perhaps the first important step to getting things off the ground.  So a group of us called on those that we know and whom we believe would be interested in an initiative of this nature and organized the meeting to kick start the process.  The resolution reached during that meeting was to form an interim committee whose primary objective will be to formulate a concept paper on what the society will be.  With a plan in hand we can then present it to every IT professionals in the country and through concensus and dialogue, we will hopefully produce a comprehensive framework upon which an IT society for Solomon Islanders can be formed."  The group revealed that many of them do not have any experience of forming a grouping of such nature, "but the lack of experience will not deter us from seeking out ways to establish this group."

"We hope it will be a home grown solution tailored to fit our circumstance.  We are a small island state with many challenges in IT which most other developed nations of the world do not see so it is important that we establish a body that will advise, coordinate and ensure that we derive the best out of IT."

The group is committed to establishing a society by the end of the year or by early next year.  "This interim body is only mandated to create the concept paper by sourcing ideas from all IT professionals in the Solomon Islands and when it has achieved that it will make way for the election of office bearers to run the society."  The group yesterday appointed Lynnold Wini, Assistant Engineer - Webmaster at Our Telekom to the position of interim chair and resolved that the position of secretary will be revolved to involve everyone else who is member to the interim committee.

"I am keen to take on the challenge, it will be a difficult task to compile a concept paper for presentation on November 17 2009 but I know I can count on the collective brains of all IT professionals in the Solomon Islands." said the interim chair.  "We have to start somewhere and I feel like this is the first most important step.  Those who attended the meeting yesterday have offered valuable insight on how we will proceed and we are moving ahead."

Beside producing an initial concept paper for the establishment of an IT society, members of the interim committee will embark on the tedious task of identifying all IT professionals presently practising in the Solomon Islands as well as those currently studying at various institutions within the region and overseas.  "We are compiling a list of everyone in IT and these are the people we will present the concept paper to in our next public meeting."