ABOUT TADAO TAKAHASHI

Eduardo Tadao Takahashi is a name of great importance to the history of the Brazilian and global Internet. He played a fundamental role in the planning, implementation, and development of the Internet in Brazil. Born on December 16, 1950, in Marília/SP, Tadao studied Computer Science at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), graduating in 1972. He earned a master's degree in Technology and Informatics from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, 1977-1979, under the guidance of Kenzo Inoue. A man of many facets, he also graduated in Social Communication from PUC Campinas, 1968-1973. He became a professor at the Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Scientific Computing at Unicamp in 1972, a position he held until 1985. The thematic focus of his research and teaching activities included Programming Languages, Operating Systems, and Technologies for Education. During this period, he participated in the MEC's ​​PREMEN Program, focusing on the production of methods and materials for teaching computing to laypeople. Tadao was the IT manager at the TELEBRÁS-CPqD Research and Development Center in Campinas/SP, from 1981 to 1989. He contributed to making CPqD one of the first institutions in the country to implement a computer network interconnecting VAXes, PDP-10s, and UNIX and MS-DOS microcomputers via coaxial cables and fiber optics, operating multiple protocols (DECNET, TCP/IP, and others). Deservedly recognized as one of those responsible for the implementation of the National Computer Network, Tadao contributed to the planning, implementation, and adoption of the Internet in Brazil and other Latin American countries. He was the founder and director of the Brazilian National Research Network (RNP) (1989-1996), an academic network connected with other national academic networks to form what would become the backbone of the global internet and the basis of the Brazilian internet. Under his management, the RNP planned, coordinated, implemented, and operated the first comprehensive internet service in Brazil. Conceived and launched within the UNICAMP/PUC-RIO/IMPA/RJ axis with support from CNPq, it became, within a few years, a project of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT), with support from UNDP, UNESCO, OAS, NSF/USA, DFN/Germany, RedIRIS/Spain, etc.

He was also the creator and president of the National Program for the Information Society (SOCINFO), 1999-2003, an initiative launched by the Presidency of the Republic and coordinated by the Ministry of Science and Technology. He conceived and coordinated strategic actions in the Federal Government for digital inclusion, e-commerce in SMEs, digital content in major application areas, including government, education and health, and others, acting as a "second round" of Internet development in Brazil. Tadao also helped shape public policies in information and communication technology initiatives as founder, member and coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations ICT Task Force (2000-2003). The UN ICT Task Force was created by the United Nations based on recommendations from a working group coordinated by José Figueres, former president of Costa Rica. Tadao was part of this group.

Tadao was responsible for the guidelines that led to the creation of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee - CGI/BR by the Ministry of Science and Technology together with the Ministry of Communications. A member of this committee from 1995-1996 and 2001-2002, he played a strong role in its implementation and legal institutionalization. He was president of the Board of Directors of TV Educativa do Brasil (2005-2008), which was operated by the Associação de Comunicação Educativa Roquete Pinto – ACERP, a social organization created by the MEC and SECOM/Presidency of the Republic, until the creation of the Empresa Brasileira de Comunicação in 2007. Tadao was president of the ACERP board during the transition period. One of my last projects, as general director of the i2030 Project, was a strategic planning initiative encompassing Brasília and its surroundings, aiming to propose guidelines for the integrated and sustainable development of the region up to the horizon of 2060. It brought together researchers from UnB, UCB, UniCEUB, and several NGOs for research, outreach, and training.