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Events

Explore our upcoming events, find video and audio from our past events, and subscribe to stay updated on all of our talks, panels, and live webcasts.

Welcome to the Berkman Klein Center’s events. These get-togethers are all about having great conversations and making new connections in a friendly and inclusive space. We believe everyone has something interesting to say. Please bring your ideas, experiences, and unique perspectives. Feel free to critique ideas and speak from your own experience, all in the spirit of lively and respectful discourse.

Thanks for helping us create a great community atmosphere!

Our hybrid and virtual events are hosted on Zoom with closed-captioning. Questions can be submitted to the moderator, who will highlight popular and emerging themes and relay them to the speakers. Please note that translation services are currently unavailable.

Public event recordings will be available one week after the event. You can find them on the event page or BKC’s YouTube channel. For the latest updates, follow BKC on X or LinkedIn.

Respiratory illnesses like flu, COVID-19, and RSV affect millions annually. Protect yourself and others by wearing a high-quality face mask in crowded indoor settings and staying home if you're unwell.

Harvard University and the Berkman Klein Center welcome individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact our Event Specialist at events@cyber.harvard.edu in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for American Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance, if possible. Please note that the University will make every effort to secure services, but that services are subject to availability.

For further questions about accessibility on Harvard's campus, we invite visitors to check out Harvard University Disability Resources page and the Digital Accessibility page.

For in-person attendees, below is a list of resources regarding parking and accessibility at HLS. Harvard is a tough area to find parking, but we do have a number of options around Lewis.

For those with accessibility needs who have handicap parking permits:

  1. Private HLS parking is available at 10 Everett St Garage (the garage recommended for events) for a moderate fee. Passes must be purchased in advance and printed ahead of time. For more info on Accessible Parking at HLS click here.
  2. Public handicap spots are spread out throughout Cambridge. Click here for a guide to public Cambridge parking, and click for campus interactive accessibility maps. The closest spots within reasonable walking distance and NO major roadways to cross are located at 2 Kirkland St, 23 Everett St, and 12 Oxford St. All 3 locations are located within 1 block of Lewis. Please note, so long as the driver has a legal handicap permit, they can park at any public, paid metered spot, or "Residents Only" spot in Cambridge, but MUST have their permit displayed at all times in their car window. If the permit is not visible, they will be ticketed and/or towed. They do NOT need to park in a handicap spot so long as their permit is visible.
  3. The most accessible streets to park on (meaning no major roadways to cross and within reasonable distance of Lewis) are Everett St, Oxford St, and Kirkland St.

For those not using handicap parking permits:

  1. Private HLS parking is available at 10 Everett St Garage, 52 Oxford St Garage, and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. These are the 3 privately owned Harvard garages recommended. Click here for daily permit purchasing information, which must be done ahead of the event. A day rate is $25. Click here for Harvard’s Parking Map.
  2. Public, metered parking spots are available. They range in maximum parking time limit from 2-4 hours for $1.50-$2.00/hour. Please note, if you pay using the mobile Passport Parking app, you will NOT be able to renew your session once it ends. You will have to feed the meter using coins as the app will not permit you to surpass the maximum parking limit. (continued below).
  3. Car-pooling and public transportation are great ways to save money and time. These methods of transportation are highly recommended to those who can do so! 

The Berkman Klein Center is located on the 4th and 5th floors of the Lewis Law Center. The street address is 1557 Massachusetts Avenue. Most events occur in the 5th floor multipurpose room. The Center is wheelchair-accessible and includes accessible restrooms. The building is key card access only. For public events, staff will be stationed at the door to allow entry.

If an event is being catered, it will be noted in the event description and you will be prompted to indicate your dietary preferences on the RSVP form. Food is always offered on a first come, first served basis. The more we know, the better we can prepare, so please always RSVP. If you were unable to RSVP, please still come but consider not taking a meal unless there is an abundance.

Using a variety of local caterers, BKC does its best to provide an assortment of clearly labeled dietary options at all catered events. We usually have vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options available.

For all event related needs or concerns, please contact someone on our Events Team at events@cyber.harvard.edu or call our Event Specialist at 617-384-0596. Thank you.

Past Events

Nov 14, 2008 @ 12:00 PM

Craig Newmark

Founder of Craigslist

Craig Newmark gave an informal talk at the Berkman Center on his current work.

Nov 13, 2008 @ 6:00 PM

"The Secret Lives of Robots.txt" / "The Ethical Visions of Copyright Law" / Yale University Libraries, Digital Technology..."

Joris van Hoboken, James Grimmelmann, Charles Cronin and Melanie Dulong de Rosnay

Event
Nov 12, 2008 @ 2:00 PM

The Google-Publishers Copyright Lawsuit Settlement

Join Jeffrey Cunard, one of the lead counsel for McGraw Hill and other publishers in their landmark copyright lawsuit against Google for its Google Library book search project, as…

Nov 12, 2008 @ 6:00 PM

Second Life: Open Education and Virtual Worlds

Charles and Rebecca Nesson

Professor Charles Nesson and Rebecca Nesson will introduce and present on Second Life in the context of Open Education.

Nov 11, 2008 @ 12:30 PM

Open Source at Microsoft: Opportunity or Threat?

Bryan Kirschner, Director of Open Source Strategy and Mario Madden, Open Source Licensing Counsel at Microsoft

Bryan and Mario will discuss what expect from Microsoft and its work in the open source field in the future.

Nov 4, 2008 @ 12:30 PM

Information Technology and Political Campaigning

Professor D. Sunshine Hillygus

Professor D. Sunshine Hillygus, Frederick S. Danziger Associate Professor of Government and director of the Harvard Program on Survey Research, will discuss Information Technology…

Event
Oct 28, 2008 @ 1:30 PM

Rising Voices: Helping the global population join the global conversation

David Sasaki

David Sasaki, Global Voices' director of outreach, will discuss the successes, challenges, and lessons learned over the past 18 months of training under-represented communities…

Oct 21, 2008 @ 6:00 PM

“Revealing Errors” / “Why the Soviet Internet Failed” / “Global Voices, One World"

The "Harvard-MIT-Yale Cyberscholar Working Group" is a forum for fellows and affiliates of the Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT, Yale Law School Information Society…

Oct 21, 2008 @ 1:30 PM

Public Services Reform and Information Technology in Developing Countries

Jennifer Bussell, PhD Candidate in Political Science and Researcher with the Technology and Infrastructure for Emerging Regions (TIER) project at the University of California, Berkeley

This talk will evaluate technology policy variation in the context of public service reforms in the Indian states and argue that policy differences across the states are driven…

Event
Oct 17, 2008 @ 8:30 AM

Russia Online: the Russian-Language Blogosphere and Participatory Internet

An all-day conference in New York City made possible by the collaboration of the Harriman Institute and the School of Journalism at Columbia University, and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

Conference Wiki: http://cyber.harvard.edu/russiaonline/Main_Page User: russiaonline PW: columbia This conference is open to the public. Seating may be limited. To reserve…

Oct 14, 2008 @ 1:30 PM

Open Access to Government Documents

Berkman Fellow Stephen Schultze, in honor of Open Access Day

In the past twenty years, a remarkable number of government documents have been put online, yet some still remain behind a paywall. This talk argued that there is an alternative…

Event
Oct 9, 2008 @ 7:00 PM

The Uncertain Internet: Core Net Values for the [TBD] Administration

Jonathan Zittrain (Professor, Harvard Law School), Susan Crawford (Professor, University of Michigan Law School), Rich Miner (Mobile Platforms, Google; co-Founder of Android) and Alec Ross (Tech Policy Advisor to Obama)

Now is a critical moment for defining and reinforcing the best features of our communications platforms. What do we value about the internet and what should be the focus of the…

Oct 7, 2008 @ 7:00 PM

Blown to Bits Book Release

Hal Abelson, Ken Ledeen, and Harry Lewis

The Berkman Center celebrated the release of Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness after the Digital Explosion with all three authors, Hal Abelson, Ken Ledeen, and…

Oct 7, 2008 @ 1:30 PM

Banning Copyright Infringers from the Internet : a View from Europe

Professor Jacques de Werra

Professor Jacques de Werra spoke on the challenges raised by a proposed copyright regulation under which the internet access of copyright infringers can be shut down in the EU.

Event
Sep 30, 2008 @ 1:30 PM

Armchair Revolutionary: Crowdsourcing Global Social Change

Ariel Hauter and Ori Neidich

We all want to make the world a better place, but we're discouraged from giving money and volunteer time to charities due to several layers of obstacles: transparency, efficacy,…

Sep 26, 2008 @ 10:00 AM

Working Conference on Developing Disability Civil Society Through the Internet

Organized by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society; Burton Blatt Institute; Disability Law and Policy Center at the University of Ireland, Galway; Global Partnership for Disability and Development, Harvard Project on Disability; and NOVA Nordic…

The purpose of the meeting was to have an open, free ranging, and collaborative discussion on how disability civil society can, should, or should be supported in developing their…

Event
Sep 25, 2008 @ 6:30 PM

Giant Robots, Circumvention, and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act

StorageTek v. CHE, a technical talk by Christian Hicks, Elysium Digital

Christian Hicks, founder of Elysium Digital, discussed the case StorageTek v. CHE. This talk was co-sponsored by the Berkman Cyberlaw Clinic, the Harvard Computer Society, and the…

Sep 24, 2008 @ 7:00 PM

Fall 2008 Open House

We welcome you to our new real-space extension in Harvard Square to learn about the Berkman Center, our projects, our community, and ways to get involved as a paid research…

Event
Sep 23, 2008 @ 10:00 AM

Internet Safety Technical Task Force (ISTTF) Open Meeting

The Berkman Center hosted a day and a half-long public meeting of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force.

Event
Sep 23, 2008 @ 8:00 PM

Born Digital (Cambridge Book Talk & Reception)

by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser

The Berkman Center celebrated the release of John Palfrey and Urs Gasser's "Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives" at Harvard Law School.