Berkman at the Internet Governance Forum

Nov 8, 2015

Media, Democracy, & Public Discourse Governance of Technology & the Internet

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multistakeholder forum for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance. This year is the 10th annual meeting, and it's being held in João Pessoa, Brazil, on November 10-13th. (Remote participation is welcomed!) The Berkman Center is thrilled to be an active participant in key discussions about some of the most pressing, complex, and exciting issues of our increasingly networked world.

The full schedule of sessions is here.

As more and more global attention focuses on the challenges and opportunities presented by the Internet and its impact on our society, there becomes an even greater need to address the complex issues at play to inform decisionmaking at all levels. IGF is an important forum for sharing, discussing, and identifying opportunities to build upon this work. The Berkman Center's participation in IGF relates to much of the work we do, including our new paper on Internet Bill of Rights initiatives, our recent examinations of multistakeholder governance groups and of the role of online intermediaries (both reports produced in partnership with the Global Network of Internet & Society Centers), as well as our Internet Monitor project, which recently launched a new online dashboard that helps users better understand trends in Internet health and activity through data analysis and visualization, and our new Digital Currency Initiative, which explores the challenges and opportunities that distributed ledgers present across sectors.

A number of our projects in collaboration with the Global Network of Internet & Society Centers (NoC) and the Digitally Connected initiative include a focus on regional issues in Latin America and Asia and involve participants from across the greater Berkman community. For example, our Harmful Speech Online project, which will undertake research, policy analysis, and look at strategies to address the issue, will be highlighted during the Dangerous Speech Online session at IGF and at the annual NoC meeting taking place in Hong Kong in late November. The NoC meeting is preceded by the launch of the Digital Asia Hub (DAH), an independent, non-profit Internet and society research think tank that aims to strengthen effective multi-stakeholder discourse, with both local and regional activities. The DAH will contribute to – and itself serve as a node of – the NoC's larger network of academic organizations, and it will serve as a regional forum where many of these conversations can continue.

Below is selected list of some of the sessions the Berkman Center and our colleagues from the Network of Centers will be joining as participants.
(Note: Listed times are EST.)

Monday, 11/9
7:00am - 11:00am Building the Internet Bill of Rights, Challenges and Opportunities
1:00pm - 4:00pm Privacy Under Mass Surveillance: a Multistakeholder International Challenge
4:30pm Conference on Open and Democratic Governance

Tuesday, 11/10
7:00am - 8:30am Can Internet rights and access goals be reconciled?
7:00am - 8:30am Freedom of Expression Online: Gaps in Policy and Practice
9:00am - 10:30am Hate and discriminatory speech and FoE online

Wednesday, 11/11
7:00am - 8:30am The “Right to be Forgotten” Rulings and their Implications
12:00 - 1:30pm Multistakeholder practices enabling sustainable development
3:00pm - 3:30pm Bitcoin, Blockchain and Beyond: FLASH HELP!

Thursday 11/12
7:00am - 8:30am Hate and dangerous speech online in South Asia (cosponsored with the Digital Asia Hub)
7:00am - 7:30am Launching UNESCO Internet Freedom Series Publications
9:00am - 10:00am The Benefits and Challenges of the “Free Flow” of Data
10:00am - 11:00am Internet Interconnection Under Regulatory Pressure
12:00 - 1:30pm Equity and the Developing World in Internet Governance (cosponsored with the Digital Asia Hub)
12:00 - 1:30pm Building Internet Observatories: approaches and challenges
12:00 - 2:00pm A Dialogue on “Zero rating” and Network Neutrality
2:30pm - 3:30pm Cybersecurity Awareness through Multistakeholder Outreach