Bevil Wooding

In 2009 Bevil Wooding and Stephen Lee with support from the Caribbean Telecommunications Union co-founded the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG), as a volunteer-based association and forum for computer network experts and enthuasists to exchange knowledge and ideas. CaribNOG is one of several Internet network operators' groups world wide. CaribNOG holds two regional meetings each year where topics such as cloud computing, IPv6 and cybersecurity are discussed.[22][23] The inaugural regional gathering was held in St. Maarten in August 2010, with participation from across the Caribbean as well as the United Kingdom, North America, Mexico, New Zealand and Argentina.[24][25] The 2018 gathering placed emphasis on the role and responsibility of regional technology professionals in the area of cybersecurity.[26] The first National CyberSecurity Symposium in Belize was organized by Wooding and the CaribNOG team, in collaboration with the Belize Public Utilities Commission and other partners and sponsoring organizations.[27][28]

Wooding is the co-architect and first Program Director of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union's (CTU) Caribbean ICT Roadshow.[2] The Caribbean ICT Roadshow was launched in 2009 as a public awareness and education campaign designed to demonstrate how technology can be used to transform Caribbean society and economies.[29][30] The initiative targets governments, entrepreneurs, the elderly and youth, through customized programs ranging from lectures to hands-on workshops and panel discussions.[31][32] As of 2018 there have been 23 editions of the CTU Caribbean ICT Roadshow in 18 countries.[33][34]

In his role as an Internet Strategist for Packet Clearing House, Wooding has worked to raise awareness of and advance investment and development in Internet exchange points (IXPs) across the Caribbean. Instead of Caribbean countries relying on international exchange points to carry local data between Internet service providers (ISPs), developing local IXPs can help countries to conserve operating costs, boost digital security, improve internet quality, and increase internet access.[35] He has contributed to the establishment of IXPs in Barbados, Belize, BVI, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.[7][36][37] At the launch of the first IXP in Belize, Wooding stated that this type of internet infrastructural development is a “small but vital step in the journey toward the development of the Belizean and the Caribbean Internet Economy”.[38]

Wooding co-founded the Caribbean Peering and Interconnection Forum (CarPIF), a regional event to bring together senior decision makers from internet service providers, cloud providers and content delivery networks.[39][40] He describes CarPIF as “where the economic underpinnings of the traffic exchange and peering relationships that define the Internet are discussed using Caribbean data and Caribbean examples, to a Caribbean audience.”[41] CarPIF addresses challenges to internet connectivity, access and affordability.[42][43] The inaugural event was held in Barbados in 2015. Since then, host countries have included Curacao, St. Maarten and Belize.[44][45][46]

Network resilience and cybersecurity have been high priorities for Wooding, who has conducted numerous workshops and presentations raising awareness about the threats facing the Caribbean and the work of organizations such as CTU, CaribNOG and ARIN to build local capacity, strengthen networks and protect the regional internet.[47][48][49][50] Resilience refers to “the ability of a network to maintain acceptable levels of service in the face of a range of challenges, including cyber-attacks and natural disasters, and even user-errors.”[51] Made up of numerous small-island states, the Caribbean region is particularly susceptible to the effects of extreme weather events and natural disasters, such as hurricanes.[52]

Through ARIN training events across the region, Wooding has been educating regional agencies about how to strengthen and secure local networks. In 2018, St. Kitts & Nevis became the first in the Caribbean to be assigned its own autonomous system number, or ASN, taking the first step towards network autonomy.[53]

Wooding together with Sir Dennis Byron is a co-architect of the non-profit agency APEX, established by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in 2016. Since then he has been instrumental in coordinating development and delivery of technology for Caribbean courts and the justice sector in the region. APEX technology has been implemented in several countries, including Barbados, Belize, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago for electronic filing, case management and court performance management.[11][54][55]

In 2006 Wooding founded the BrightPath Foundation, a non-profit organization providing values-based technology and digital content training. He serves as Executive Director with oversight for current initiatives including mobile app development, classroom technologies, digital publishing and photography training.[56] In 2012 he coordinated the development and implementation of the BrightPath Jumpstart program, an initiative that brings high school students together with practicing professionals who provide mentorship, training and ICT industry insight. The program was launched through a pilot project at NorthGate College in St. Augustine, Trinidad.[57]

Following St. Lucia's first-ever Mobile App Development workshop in 2012, the National Youth Council of St. Lucia signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BrightPath Foundation to collaborate on a range of technology education initiatives targeted at the youth.[58] TechLink – a regional program offering hands-on training in digital content creation and related technology skills - was launched in Grenada in November 2013, and by the end of 2014, over 400 educators, entrepreneurs, young people and parents had participated in TechLink events held in Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago.[59][60]

In 2012, Congress WBN signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), focused on providing values-based leadership and supporting ICT education delivery.[61] Through this partnership, Wooding worked closely with CXC to create the Caribbean's first-ever Digital Media syllabus, along with a training toolkit of instructional videos and resource materials to assist educators with implementing the curriculum in their classrooms.[62][63] The Digital Media examination was the first to be delivered electronically.[64]