Sponsors

The primary sponsor of the ISG is the Ministry of Education.  The Ministry began working with the ISG back in 1999 with partial sponsorship of the Internet Safety Kit.  They have remained a generous partner in working to ensure every school in New Zealand maintains a cybersafe learning environment and that school staff have the information and assistance they need to achieve this important goal.  They were the primary sponsors of the NetSafe Kit for Schools in 2003 and the sole funder of the development of the NetSafe Training Modules for Schools which were launched by the Hon Trevor Mallard at Parliament in 2004.

The Ministry of Education is now the primary funder of all NetSafe education programmes. Their support has been crucial to the success of the NetSafe initiative and their in-put on a number of different issues has been invaluable.  Murray Brown, head of the ICT Unit, has coordinated MOE support of ISG since 1999 and we are very grateful for his vision and commitment.  New Zealand is extremely fortunate to have a Ministry of Education that has been so pro-active regarding safety and security education for all.  They have set a benchmark internationally in both their school ICT initiatives and their support of NetSafe's comprehensive cybersafety education.

The New Zealand Police, one of the original five organisations represented on  the Internet Safety Group, have been incredibly helpful and supportive in their on-going liaison with ISG.  They were one of the sponsors of the Internet Safety Kit 2000 and of the NetSafe Kit for Schools 2003.  They were partners in producing the NetSafe symposium with the ISG and the University of Auckland and were partners in the NetSafe II International Conference in 2003.  In truth, no national Internet safety initiative could succeed without the advice and support of the nation's Police.  Both Police Commissioner Rob Robinson and Assistant Commissioner Howard Broad, have given generously of their time and attention to further this important safety education.  The Police Youth Education Service(YES) is also now working closely with the ISG.  This sponsorship relationship is an outstanding example of an effective and innovative community and law enforcement partnership.

Sanitarium Health Food Company has been an early supporter of the work of the Internet Safety group with young people and parents.  By displaying key Internet safety messages and the ISG website address on over 4 million packages of Weet-Bix and on their website, they have helped get that information to 75% of New Zealand homes with children.  In 2003, this vital safety information was displayed on over 7 million boxes of Weet-Bix.  Sanitarium was also a sponsor of the NetSafe symposium in 2002.  The ISG is grateful for their on-going support and assistance.

THE OUTFIT has worked with the Internet Safety Group since 1999 on website development.  They have donated much time, energy and expertise to helping the ISG present safety information in a clear, user-friendly manner online.  In 2002, they completely re-designed the NetSafe site in order to accommodate the extra content, which seems to grow exponentially.  General Manager Jon Beattie has been the soul of patience with a barrage of rapidly changing and expanding information and resources. THE OUTFIT continues to offer connected business systems to rapidly growing organisations.

Multi Serve is a leader in the provision of professional development and ICT advisory services for New Zealand schools.  This organisation has been working cooperatively with the Internet Safety Group to support schools in their development of cybersafe learning environments.  In 2002-3, they generously sponsored a three-day a week position of School Education Manager (which is now full-time).  In March 2005, Multi Serve again offered essential support to the ISG with the partial sponsorship of the position of School Education Specialist.  In addition to this, Multi Serve is a licensed provider of NetSafe Training Modules for Schools, delivering modules across New Zealand for staff from a diverse range of schools. 

The ISG began a dialogue with Westpac because of our desire to use their website's privacy declaration as a 'model of best practice' on the NetSafe site.   Westpac has put an enormous amount of time and effort into developing a safe and secure banking environment for its customers.  The synergy with the efforts of the ISG to keep New Zealanders safe online became obvious.  Westpac and ISG will be working together on both cybersafety education for Westpac staff and developing new public education initiatives utilising their expertise in both secure online transactions and e-commerce.  In July 2004, Westpac and the ISG co-hosted an invitation-only summit on computer security.

Microsoft NZ Ltd began working with the Internet Safety Group in 2001 when they came on board as sponsors of the NetSafe Symposium.  They went on to become Gold-level sponsors of the July 2003 conference, NetSafe II: Society, Safety & the Internet.  In 2004, Microsoft NZ became the Founding Sponsor of the Hector's World animation project aimed at 3 to 10 year olds.  The Hector Safety Button was launched in November, 2004, at their offices in Auckland.

It is wonderful for ISG to work in partnership with such a key player in the ICT field.  Microsoft NZ has a wealth of technical expertise and industry knowledge which can assist the ISG in its cybersafety education. We look forward to more collaborative projects in the future.

IBM New Zealand 

InternetNZ and the ISG have been working together since 2000.  InternetNZ is at the core of the Internet industry in New Zealand.  The staff and member expertise and the wide networks of this organisation have been of enormous help to the ISG over the years.  As well, InternetNZ was a sponsor of both the NetSafe Symposium in 2002 and the international conference, NetSafe: Society, Safety & the Internet in 2003.  In 2004, this organisation has become a general sponsor of the NetSafe Programme.  InternetNZ now have their Auckland office within the ISG offices, allowing for frequent consultation on a wide range of issues.   We look forward to even greater collaboration in the coming months.

MYOB New Zealand began collaboration with the Internet Safety Group by generously encouraging their business customers to participate in an ISG online safety survey for businesses. Almost 2000 customers responded and the results will be used to guide the development of NetSafe education for SMEs in the next 12 months. The ISG and MYOB are planning on-going collaboration to help small businesses get the information they need regarding online safety and security.

Rick Shera, a partner in the law firm of Lowndes Jordan in Auckland, has been an active member of the ISG for a number of years, and is now the Chair of the ISG Board.  Through Rick, the relationship between the ISG and Lowndes Jordan has grown and matured.  This firm has provided superb assistance on a number of projects and the ISG has called on its expertise again and again in a number or areas, including ICT, media, copyright and privacy law.  The rapidly changing online environment continues to present new and complex legal challenges.  We are therefore grateful for the generous support and wisdom of this firm.  

AMPM Marketing Limited has been an integral part of the success of the ISG’s NetSafe Programme.  In close consultation with ISG staff, they designed the NetSafe logo and came up with the ‘look and feel’ for resources such as the NetSafe Kit for Schools.  We have valued both their talented work and their sage advice on how best to visually communicate our message.  We are grateful for their enthusiastic support of our education and the extra time and effort the AMPM team has given to ensuring that the ISG’s NetSafe Programme image is consistent and effective.

Network Service Providers Ltd (NSP) and the ISG have been working together since mid-2003.  This innovative company offered us valuable feedback on security issues, particularly for businesses.  In December 2003, this relationship became an official sponsorship, with NSP helping the ISG with maintenance of the ISG network and individual computers.  We are grateful (and relieved) to be able to rely on their expertise to keep everything running smoothly.