[Fwd: OII News [2007.11.05]: News and events for November (and the IGF 2007)]
Michael Bimmler <michael.bimmler <at> wikimedia.ch>
2007-11-05 16:03:48 GMT
Especially the first item (Internet Governance Forum) might be quite
interesting to read...
---Forwarded Message---
Dear friends and colleagues,
As the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2007 will be taking place shortly in Rio de Janeiro, we thought it
might be timely for a newsletter that highlights some of the OII's efforts to inform and stimulate debate
on issues of Internet Governance. These include: a new working paper, OII involvement in the IGF 2007, and
two key events to be held in London. These forthcoming activities add to our ongoing programme of
seminars, forums and conferences on this topic, which we regard as central to ensuring that the Internet
realises its full potential.
Best wishes,
Bill Dutton, Director
1. The IGF 2007: The OII at Rio
2. New Working Paper on Internet Governance
3. Webcasts on Internet Governance
4. Events Diary
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1. The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2007: The OII at Rio
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The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multi-stakeholder forum set up after the UN's World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS) to facilitate the international discussion of governance issues relating
to the Internet. The first IGF was held in Athens in 2006, and the second will take place shortly in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil (12-15 November 2007).
IGF: http://www.intgovforum.org/
DPhil student Marcelo Thompson's proposal for a workshop 'Human Rights and Neutrality in the Internet' at
the IGF has been welcomed by the IGF Secretariat. The workshop (13 Nov, 16:30-18:00) will seek to address
the question: 'In which sense are technologically neutral laws and policies suitable to harness the
development of a people-centred Information Society and to protect and fulfil the human right of access
to knowledge and technology?' The workshop is being co-organized by the Center for Technology and
Society (CTS) at the FGV Law School in Rio de Janeiro. Speakers: Michael Geist (University of Ottawa),
Ronaldo Lemos (CTS/FGV, iCommons), Andrew McLaughlin (Google, Berkman Center), Claudio Prado
(Brazilian Ministry of Culture), Marcelo Thompson (OII), Moderator: Pedro Paranagua (CTS/FGV).
The proposal is at:
http://info.intgovforum.org/yoppy.php?poj=86
OII Research Fellow Dr Ian Brown has also co-organised a workshop: 'Managing security issues:
authentication at the transaction level'. Download the flyer (pdf, 74kb):
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/IGF2007_IanBrown_Flyer.pdf
Marcelo will represent Ian on this panel, and OII Visiting Fellow Mary Rundle on two other panels:
'Privacy in Internet Identity Management: Emerging Issues and New Approaches'
http://info.intgovforum.org/yoppy.php?poj=42
'Fundamental Freedoms in the IGF: Protecting and Promoting Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Assembly
and Association, and Privacy in the Information Society'
http://info.intgovforum.org/yoppy.php?poj=20
Ian Brown will also give a paper on 'Co-regulating Internet Security: The London Action Plan' at the Global
Internet Governance Academic Network's (GigaNet) second annual symposium. This takes place the day
before the IGF in Rio. Download the paper (pdf, 1mb):
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/GigaNet_IanBrown_LondonActionPlan.pdf
Vicki Nash supported the UK's contributions to the IGF by acting as a judge for the BERR/Nominet Best
Practice Challenge. This joint initiative between Nominet and the Dept for Business, Enterprise and
Regulatory Reform sought to identify UK organisations, groups or individuals that have delivered a
safer, more accessible, diverse Internet experience and who will be showcased as examples of best
practice in Rio. Details:
http://www.nominet.org.uk/about/bestpracticechallenge/
Two other events coming up are:
1. The first of what we hope to be an annual 'Global Status of the Net' conference (30 November)
We will be working with the US Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee (ICAC) to provide a
neutral platform for a policy dialogue on challenging technology policy issues, including Internet
Governance. The conference will feature parliamentary leaders from across Europe, Members of the US
Cogressional Internet Caucus and other government officials, leading tech policy academics, industry
executives and representatives from NGOs.
2. What's in a name? (28 January)
A lecture and discussion to provide an oportunity to commemorate Jon Postel by looking back at the history
of the Domain Name System (DNS), explain its management and its significance to different actors, and
discuss the merits of alternative scenarios in the future, including proposals for such innovations as
Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) (more details to follow). This event will be sponsored primarily
by Afilias, a global leader in advanced registry services.
Jon Postel: http://www.postel.org/postel.html
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2. New Working Paper on Internet Governance
--------------------------------------------------
We have a new working paper on Internet Governance by Terje Rasmussen (OII Visitor in 2007):
'Techno-politics, Internet Governance and some challenges facing the Internet'. It addresses the
Internet as a terrain of 'techno-political controversies' which have influenced the development of the
Internet since the start. Download the paper (pdf, 125kb):
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/publications/RR15.pdf
Fragments: 'We have entered the fourth phase of the Net's history, characterised by several opposing
tendencies: increasingly advanced technical solutions that bring new terminals and platforms and a
greater awareness of what the Net represents in a social sense, but also a closer legal and political
intervention in the Net by the IT bureaucrats.'
'The Net's architecture assumed moral surroundings – which the same architecture's success is now in
the process of weakening. An increasing number of functions are being installed on the Net to protect
users against breakdowns, sabotage and contamination of information, but such measures distance the
Net from its original principle.'
Other OII working papers that address Internet Governance:
Dutton / Palfrey / Peltu: 'Deciphering the Codes of Internet Governance: Understanding the Hard Issues at
Stake' Summary of an event organised around the topics of openness, security, diversity and access and
providing an overview of the IGF and the issues it plans to address (Sept 2006).
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/publications/FD8.pdf
Dutton / Peltu: 'The emerging Internet governance mosaic: connecting the pieces' Summary of a forum
attended by members of the WGIG Secretariat (May 2005).
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/resources/publications/FD5.pdf
You can see more governance work at:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/project.cfm?id=35
Our working papers can be found at:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/publications.cfm
--------------------------------------------------
3. Webcasts on Internet Governance
--------------------------------------------------
Much of our research on Internet Governance has centred on a programme of seminars, forums and
conferences. Resulting webcasts are listed below:
Internet Governance for Development: Focusing on the Issues
Focus: Summary of an event organised around the topics of openness, security, diversity and access and
providing an overview of the IGF and the issues it plans to address. Open discussion (rec. 31 Aug-1 Sept
2006)
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/?view=Webcast&ID=20060831_157
Recent Developments in FCC Internet Regulation
Focus: Summarising the swift move of the US Federal Commmunications Commission in removing old rules
(common carriage) and imposing new ones (E911, CALEA), and assessing the current US debate about network
owners' provision of a 'prioritized Internet' (rec. 18 April 2006)
Speaker: Susan Crawford (a member of the ICANN board of directors)
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/?view=Webcast&ID=20060418_142
Internet Governance for Dummies
Focus: What aspects of the Internet need to be governed, and how effectively are ICANN, the IETF, and the ITU
dealing with the key issues of Internet governance? (rec. 4 July 2005)
Speaker: John Levine (a member of ICANN's At Large Advisory Committee)
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/?view=Webcast&ID=20050704_77
The Future of the Internet - and How to Stop It
Focus: What lies around the corner for the Internet, how to avoid it, and how to study and affect the future of
the Internet using the distributed power of the network itself, using privacy as a signal example (rec. 25
April 2005)
Speaker: Professor Jonathan Zittrain
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/?view=Webcast&ID=20060411_141
Webcast site:
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/
--------------------------------------------------
4. Events Diary
--------------------------------------------------
Exploring the distributed development of Grid infrastructure for Particle Physics at the LHC: A case of
Scaled Agility?
Speaker: Will Venters, Dept of Information Systems, LSE
Focus: Describing research undertaken within the EPSRC-funded Pegasus project to explore the working
practices of the UK particle physics community in their development of Grid infrastructure to support
their research at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
Date: Tues 6 November (15:00 - 17:00)
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=163
Digital Diplomacy: the impact of the Internet on international relations
Speaker: Dr Nicholas Westcott, CMG (Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
Focus: Exploring how the Internet contributes to the fraying of the power of the state in international
relations, how non-state actors exert influence, and how the Internet changes both the dynamic of
traditional diplomatic negotiations, and the way foreign ministries and embassies operate.
Date: Wed 14 November (12:15 - 13:30)
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=162
The Internet and the Delegalization of Law
Speaker: Professor Fred Schauer, Harvard University
Focus: Technological changes, such as the Internet, have made access to nonlegal information, such as
newspaper reports and general interest books far less costly. Professor Schauer discusses the issues
raised by this trend, such as whether it foreshadows the decreased dominance of traditional canon of
legal information within the courts.
Date: Thurs 15 November (15:00 - 16:30)
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=166
The 2008 Democratic Global Primary: How Democrats Abroad will use the Internet to encourage political
participation and increase overseas voting
Speakers: Jon Cooper and Meredith A. Gowan Le Goff (American Democrats Abroad)
Focus: In June of 2007, Democrats Abroad voted to kick-off the 2008 delegate selection process with a
global primary, so that Democrats around the world can easily participate. It is the first time that
Internet-based voting is going to be used on such a large scale for a primary election: according to
Democrats Abroad, e-voting will make voting easier and increase participation in the Democratic
primary and in the general election in 2008, especially amongst overseas Americans living in remote
rural areas.
Date: Wed 28 November (15:00 - 17:00)
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=167
Networked Information Processing and Changing Attitudes to Privacy in Japan
Speaker: Dr Andrew A. Adams, School of Systems Engineering, Reading University
Focus: There is a myth amongst researchers that there is no such thing as 'Privacy' in Japan. Dr Adams
refutes that and shows that the advent of networked information processing of personal data has brought
Japanese attitudes to information privacy to a highly similar position to Western attitudes.
Date: Thurs 14 February (15:30 - 17:00)
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=165
Please register for any of these events by sending your name and affiliation to:
mailto:events <at> oii.ox.ac.uk
[Editor: David Sutcliffe]
Oxford Internet Institute
University of Oxford
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United Kingdom
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Fax: +44 (0)1865 287211
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