[Air-L] Defending Human Rights in a Digital Age @ Goldsmiths, U of London, 18 May

[Feldman, Zeena]

Dear all,

This upcoming event in London may be of interest, especially for those working on issues of internet governance and activism.

See you there,
Zeena


EVENT:
What have human rights got to do with the technical running of the internet?

DATE AND TIME
Thu 18 May 2017
18:00 – 21:00 GMT

LOCATION
Goldsmiths University of London
Lewisham Way
Professor Stuart Hall Building, LG01
London SE14 6NW

DETAILS
In this third edition of Defending Human Rights in a Digital Age participants and audience will discuss how human rights activism can impact on the technical standards that govern internet design and its day-to-day running. These decisions take place behind the screen in organizations such as the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the Internet Engineering Taskforce (IETF), or the World Wide Web Consortium (WC3).

Panellists will focus on ICANN for the most part, the US-incorporated entity that controls the Domain Name System that is a cornerstone of how the internet works, and people find their way around the web. ICANN has just completed its transition to a “privatized, multistakeholder" governance structure. At the same time activists have been developing a range of human rights agendas from within the organization's various working groups.

The aim of this debate is to introduce these architects of the internet to a Goldsmiths audience; to discuss how human rights matter for what they do. Speakers will discuss questions such as:
* Should human rights advocates get involved in the technical organizations that run the internet?
* If so, how can lay-people make a difference in these expert-based settings?
* What does it take to make human rights law and norms work for technical standards?
* What sorts of skill and knowledge are needed to be able to have an impact? Is being in the room sufficient?
* What do governmental and corporate representatives expect from civil society participants?

The event will be live-streamed (tbc) and recorded, followed by a reception.

Panellists:
Hanane Boujemi, Senior Manager, Internet Governance Programme MENA Region. Hivos: @hananeboujemi
Maria Farrell, Internet governance and policy consultant and writer: @mariafarrell
Niels ten Oever, Head of Digital, Article 19: @nielstenoever
Jean-Jacques Sahel, Vice-President, Europe (Global Stakeholder Engagement): @ICANN
Tatiana Tropina, Senior Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law (Germany): @gap_the_mind
Discussant: Sean Cubitt, Professor of Film and Television/joint HoD Media & Communications Department, Goldsmiths: @seancubitt
Panel Convener and Moderator: Marianne Franklin, Professor of Global Media and Politics, Goldsmiths: @GloComm

Hashtag: #humanrightsinternet
Videos and articles relating to the previous two events and other topics at https://www.opendemocracy.net/hri

REGISTER at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/defending-human-rights-in-a-digital-age-iii-activism-behind-the-screen-tickets-34424285966



Dr Zeena Feldman
Lecturer in Digital Culture
Co-Director, BA Digital Culture
King’s College London
Department of Digital Humanities
26-29 Drury Lane, room 221
London WC2B 5RL
+44 (0)20 7484 1421 / zeena.feldman at kcl.ac.uk<mailto:zeena.feldman at kcl.ac.uk>
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/ddh/people/academic/feldman.aspx