[Air-L] Internet Policy in Eastern Partnership - 8 March 2016 FFO

[Ben Wagner]

Dear colleagues,

here is the final draft of our workshop on 8 March 2016. If you have any questions about the event please do not hesitate to contact event at cihr.eu <mailto:event at cihr.eu>.

Best regards,
Ben Wagner


Workshop Program: Internet Policy in Eastern Partnership Countries - #IPEP16

March 8, 2016, 10:00 – 18.00
European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder)
Senatssaal (HG 109), Main Building

Open to the public. To register email: event at cihr.eu <mailto:event at cihr.eu> 

10:00 – 10:30	Welcoming remarks
- Alexander Wöll, President of European University Viadrina
- Joanna Bronowicka and Ben Wagner, European University Viadrina

10:00 – 12:00 	Russian, EU and global perspectives on internet policy
- Points of tension: Russia, the West and the Rest, Madeline Carr, Cardiff University
- Russian perspective on internet policy, Agnieszka Bryc, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
- Framing the EU in the global Internet Governance debate, Andrea Calderaro, Cardiff University

12.00 – 13:30 	Lunch break

13.30 – 15.30 	Country perspectives from Ukraine and Armenia
- Internet Policy of Ukraine: From Diverse Vectors Strategy Ahead Towards Holistic Approach, Professor Andrii Paziuk, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
- The Role of Civil Society in Promoting the Internet Freedom Agenda in Ukrainian Internet Governance Discourse, Tetyana Lokot, University of Maryland 
- Armenian experience on Internet Governance: Achievements and Challenges, Samvel Martitosyan, Institute for Strategic and Innovative Research

15.30 – 16.00 	Coffee break

16.00 – 18.00 	Internet Policy in the Eastern Partnership
- Media freedom and Internet policy in Eastern Parnership countries, Aidar Botagarov, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
- Thinking from the Edges: Internet Policy in Eastern Partnership Countries, Joanna Bronowicka, European University Viadrina

About the workshop
To understand global human rights challenges of the digital age, we need to know more how Internet policies are developed at the national level. We think it is particularly important to research internet policies in countries, which are at the borders of large geopolitical systems. At the periphery of the global system, internet policy is often not so strongly institutionalised as a result of which human rights norms are more in flux.

At this workshop, we want to take a closer look at internet polices in the Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. Torn between two large geopolitical block, those six countries are very vulnerable to the growing mistrust between Brussels and Moscow. Strong trade and investment links to both Russia and Europe force them to make decisions, which can be politically hard and economically costly.

Internet policy is one of the areas most affected by competing human rights discourses and trade interests. Our working hypothesis is that geopolitics will affect how Internet policy is developed, but can be mitigated by other economic or social factors, such as the strength of actors from private sector or civil society.

This workshop is organized by the Centre for the Internet and Human Rights in collaboration with the B/ORDERS IN MOTION Centre, both at European University Viadrina. CIHR is a vibrant hub for academic research about technology and society at Viadrina. Our goal is to inform current public and academic debates by producing high-quality research grounded in theory and empirical data. 

You can find out more information about the project on CIHR website: cihr.eu <http://cihr.eu/>
--
Dr. Ben Wagner
Centre for Internet & Human Rights
European University Viadrina 
https://cihr.eu <https://cihr.eu/>

Twitter: @benwagne_r
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