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There are five positions open for new members to the organisation's board, and the body's general membership, now approaching 1,000 representatives, will have until 18 January to cast their e-ballots.
The winners will be announced at the IIA's annual general meeting on 24 January at which time the five new board members will take their place next to the organisation's seven existing board members.
Board members serve a term of up to three years, with the possibility for a fourth year for officers. Following the AGM new officers, including a chairman, will be selected by the 12 board members.
The 14 nominees come from a variety of backgrounds and include IIA members from the government, publicly traded firms as well as leaders of smaller Irish businesses.
The nominations are as follows: Rory Power of Enterprise Ireland, Mark Crockett of Colt Telecom, Matt Glowatz of Web IT, Jane Ryan of Esat Business, Fergal O'Byrne of Webbusters, Irene Gahan of Web Intellect, Fergus O'Hehir of FCA BWG Foods Ltd, Cathy McGovern of Inspiration, Daryl Fullerton of Biznet, Michael Higgins of MissionMaker Ltd, Dan Murray of Webtrade, Professor Marie Redmond of X Communications, Ann Corcoran of Eircom Net and Derek Gunn of Esat Business.
Existing board members who are retaining their seats include the Internet consultant Ciara Lawlor, Gary Morrissey of Assurelink, Frank Murray of Ecat, John O'Shea formerly of Webfactory, John Pierce of ICL, John Prendergast of PulseLearning and Patrick A. Tully of Irish Continental Group plc.
The Irish Internet Association is a professional body for those implementing the Internet as a medium for business. It is headquartered in Dublin and has a presence in the South (Cork), South East, South West (Limerick), West (Galway) and Northern Ireland (Belfast).
Over the last few years the organisation has raised its profile significantly from its establishment in 1997. Some recent notable moves for the body include its merger with the Electronic Commerce Association of Ireland in the spring of 2001 and the appointment of its new chief executive, Colm Reilly, to Ireland's new Information Society Commission. Reilly was appointed as chief executive of the Irish Internet Association in June 2001.
"The IIA has grown and has matured over the last few years but has continued to focus on the goals that it set a few years ago," Reilly told ElectricNews.Net. He went on to say that the body had no plans for a radical change in its objectives in 2002. But as the Internet becomes more mature, Reilly explained, the IIA would slowly move away from trying to "de-hype" the Internet. He said the organisation's focus would turn toward disseminating information about what the technology can do, both from a technical perspective and culturally for businesses and individuals.
Reilly also said that in 2002 the organisation would look to continue with much of the work that it started this year, including events, seminars, position papers and member services.
"We published 22 position papers in 2001, some of those will evolve further," Reilly said. "The papers are well focused and widely used by companies in Ireland," he added.
Reilly pointed out that the organisation, which lobbies on Internet and technology issues ranging from infrastructure to cybercrime and technology in the workplace, does not take a confrontational position with the government on most issues. "Instead we prefer to work with the government to resolve issues," Reilly said.
The Irish Internet Association can be found on-line at http://www.iia.ie
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