On June 3, 2014, in the presence of His Excellency Minister Alain Hakim and Mr. Fadi Chehadeh President of ICANN, a press conference was held at the Ministry of Economy and Trade (MoET) to launch the ‘Lebanese Internet Center’ (LINC), whose role consists of organizing and registering domain names with the ‘.lb’ root. The center will also launch and manage a new domain. Previously the .lb root was handled by the American University of Beirut ( AUB).
The center is a multi-stakeholder project created by the government and the private sector. Along with MoET, the initiative was jointly founded the Ministry of Telecommunication, the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture, the Internet Society in Lebanon (ISOC), the Lebanese Internet Technology Association (LITA), Women in IT, along with the Bar Association and Berytech Foundation. LINC will be located at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), an international nonprofit organization which coordinates the Internet’s global domain name system, had already advised about the necessity of establishing this center. Mr. Chehade wants the LINC to be a real showcase for the region and the world as a true multistakeholder initiative.
The center will support and organize all activities related to developing and improving the local Internet network, and building the capabilities of local society in this growing industry. Introducing new Arabic domain names such as .loubnan would motivate SME’s to develop their e-commerce activities using Arabic content.
LINC elected it’s assembly board on June 13, 2014 as such: Dr. Nabil Fahed (President), Mrs Salam Yamout (Vice-President), Dr. Imad Hobballah (Secretary General) and Mr. Bassam Jaber (Treasurer). Mr Nabil Bukhalid was elected CEO of LINC.
(some excerts were taken from http://www.businessnews.com.lb/cms/Story/StoryDetails.aspx?ItemID=4125)
