I-CAFÉ PILIPINAS

Accomplishment Report

September 2009 - April 2010 In its first eight (8) months of existence from September 2009 to April 2010 as the national advocacy organization of the Internet café industry in the country, I-Café Pilipinas has been very busy seeking recognition, creating linkages and participating in various activities that would help in attaining its prime objective of making a better i-café industry in the soonest possible time. I-Café Pilipinas, a non-profit organization gained the recognition of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) right after its incorporation in late August 2009 and had, since then, organized various events aimed to benefit stakeholders of the industry. It also attended various symposiums, workshops and discussions tackling issues and concerns in the realm of information and communications technology (ICT). I. Events Organized and Held

A) First Internet Café National Summit (FICNS): A whole-day affair held in October 21, 2009 at CICT Audio-Visual Room, C. P. Garcia Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City with i-café owners from various parts of the country in attendance and participated in by big companies with stakes in the industry.

B) Second Mindanao Internet Café Association Summit (2nd MICAS): Organized in collaboration with the Internet Café Association of Davao (ICAD) Inc., the two-day event was held in February 18 and 19, 2010 at SM City Event Centre in Davao City with the sponsorship of national and local ICT companies and some non-government organizations (NGOs) in the region.

C) Microsoft I-Café Program Presentation: A half-day gathering of i-café owners from

Metro-Manila and nearby areas in April 7, 2010 at Max’s Restaurant, Gateway, Cubao, Quezon City where Microsoft Philippines presented their MS I-Café Program and answered the various queries about it.

D) Idea Camp I-Café: Another whole-day event attended by i-café owners and held at

PTTC Conference Room A & B, Buendia Ave. cor Roxas Blvd., Pasay City where they listened at the experiences and success stories of fellow i-café owners plus new business opportunities in the industry.

E) Intel I-Café Technology Update: Held in various areas of Cavite, Laguna and

Pampanga in the month of March 2010, the half-day events were attended by i-café owners who were briefed on the new and upcoming processor technology by Intel.

II. Workshops, Symposiums and Meetings Attended

A) Round Table Discussion on Internet Governance and Social Controls: Organized by the La Salle Institute of Governance (LSIG) and held at St. Benilde International Conference Center, Malate, Manila in August 2010, the whole-day meeting with representatives from various government agencies, media organizations and the academe tackled issues and proposals on how the Internet must be regulated, if ever.

B) Drafting of IRR for Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009: Organized by Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), three (3) consultation meetings and workshops to prepare the draft of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Republic Act No. 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 were held in different venues in the months of March and April 2010 and attended by I-Café Pilipinas with the purpose of protecting the i-café industries against harassments if rules will be promulgated to the detriment of i-café business.

I-CAFÉ PILIPINAS

C) Review and Updating of the Country’s ICT Roadmap: Organized by CICT, the whole-day symposium was held in March 19, 2010 at CICT Audio-Visual Room where various ICT sectors presented their accomplishments and proposals for consideration in the updating of the country’s ICT Roadmap for 2010 to 2016.

D) Deployment of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6): Also organized by CICT, various sectors concerned in the migration from IPv4 to IPv6 met for one day in March 25, 2010 at CICT Audio-Visual Room to discuss the country’s readiness to deploy the new protocol and its benefits when migration is fully implemented.

E) World Bank Study on Universal Access Service (UAS): Held in November 25,

2009 and March 29, 2010 at Discovery Suites, Ortigas Centre, Pasig City, representatives from various ICT sectors discussed in whole-day symposiums organized by CICT the World Bank study on various policy options to stimulate ICT universal service and increase Internet connectivity in the country.

F) Turnover & Launching of Telecentre.org in the Philippines: The Telecentre.org, an

international NGO managing the funds for the programs aimed at increasing Internet connectivity in third-world countries relocated its headquarter from Canada to the Philippines and turnover ceremony was simultaneously held with its launching in the country last March 3, 2010 at New World Hotel in Makati City. We were invited and we attended the whole-day affair.

III. Other Accomplishments

A) Awareness on I-Café Pilipinas’ Existence: Aside from CICT, other government agencies like DSWD, DTI and NTC are now fully aware of I-Café Pilipinas’ existence as the advocacy organization of the i-café industry in the country. In the private world of business, I-Café Pilipinas has already established linkages with big ICT entities like Intel and Microsoft as well as the telecommunication companies (telcos) like Bayantel, Globe and PLDT.

B) Call Center Career Processing Program: I-Café Pilipinas in collaboration with Cyber City Teleservices (Phils) Inc (CCTP). introduced a new income opportunity for Internet cafés who will participate in a campaign to process the online applications and interviews of would-be call center agents in exchange for referral fees from CCTP.

C) Strong Web Presence: With a top-level domain, icafepilipinas.org registered

sometime in November 2009 and the creation of a main website and three (3) sub-domain sites in March 2010, I-Café Pilipinas now has a strong web presence that has its constituencies, the i-café owners and linkages as regular readers.

By: Edgardo C. Zafra Lead Convenor