Leadership change ahead at NetSafe
Internet Safety Group
Media Release
7 March 2006
Leadership change ahead at NetSafe®
The Chair of the Board of the Internet Safety Group (ISG), Rick Shera, today announced the upcoming appointment of Martin Cocker to the position of Executive Director of the ISG. In 1998, Martin joined Renaissance Ltd in Auckland and, since 2002, has been the General Manager of the Itas Educational Division of Renaissance. Martin will bring superb skills, experience and ICT industry knowledge to the role of Executive Director with one of the most dynamic non-profit organisations in New Zealand. He assumes his new role with the ISG at the beginning of May.
Current Executive Director Liz Butterfield has managed the Internet Safety Group since its inception in 1998, and will be stepping aside at the end of April this year. Under Liz's management, the ISG's NetSafe Programme has been recognised as a very effective and well-respected national initiative that offers education to all New Zealanders about safety and security online. NetSafe is also well known internationally for its high quality work and innovation in a fast-changing and challenging field.
Among her achievements in her time at the ISG, Liz instigated a very successful national symposium on the social impact of ICT (2002) and a NZ international conference on the same themes in 2003, both done in partnership with the New Zealand Police and the University of Auckland. As well, Liz initiated a similar conference done in partnership with the Oxford Internet Institute, EURIM and the University of Auckland that was held at the University of Oxford in 2005. She built strong partnerships with the Ministry of Education, New Zealand Police, Microsoft NZ, and Westpac, among others. As well, she co-authored the NetSafe Kit for Schools (2003), wrote articles for national and international professional journals, and spearheaded the recent national Net Basics computer security campaign. Liz was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2003 for her contributions to the community, especially in Internet safety, and was honoured at the NetGuide Web Awards in 2003 with the 'Living Legend Award' for her contribution to the NZ Internet industry.
Liz will be taking up the reins of Hector's World Ltd, an ambitious ISG animation project that she has managed since 2002. Hector's World, which includes the Hector Safety Button, uses animated characters to teach children aged 2-10 about safety and security online, offering very positive role models for the use of ICT.
This project has been co-created with Inkspot Digital Ltd and has Microsoft NZ as Founding Sponsor and HP as a Sponsor (www.hectorsworld.com ). The project has now developed into a separate business entity, owned by the ISG, and has been accepted as an ICT incubator project at The ICEHOUSE. All profits from Hector's World will be used to benefit the non-profit work of the ISG.
END RELEASE
Contact person:
Liz Butterfield
021 72 5864 (09) 362 0971
lizb@netsafe.org.nz
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