[Air-L] Applications Open for the Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute

[Eleanor Marchant]

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to bring this great summer institute to your attention since a big focus this year will be on internet policy, particularly in the context of the global south or people elsewhere "at the margins". It's hosted by the Programme in Comparative Media Law & Policy where I am currently a postdoc. I've been involved in it in the past and really loved it, especially because it brings people from so many countries and backgrounds (academia, policy, advocacy, law) together, the discussion is always fascinating. If you have any questions about it that aren't answered by the blurb the Programme provided below or by the website, let me know! I'd be happy to answer anything.

Take care!
Eleanor

ConflictNET<https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-and-subject-groups/politics-and-practice-social-media-conflict-conflictnet> Postdoctoral Fellow

Programme in Comparative Media Law & Policy

Centre for Socio-Legal Studies

University of Oxford

Tw: @ermarchant<https://twitter.com/ermarchant> | www.eleanormarchant.me<http://www.eleanormarchant.me>

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APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN FOR THE ANNUAL OXFORD MEDIA POLICY SUMMER INSTITUTE

THIS YEAR'S THEME: TECHNOLOGY & POLICY AT THE MARGINS

Deadline: April 20, 2019
Early Decision Deadline: March 19, 2019

For the past twenty years, the Media Policy Summer Institute has brought together top early career scholars (including advanced PhD students, post-docs and lecturers), media lawyers and regulators, human rights activists, and policymakers from countries around the world to discuss the effects of technology, media, and policy from a global and multidisciplinary perspective. Participants take part in an intensive and interdisciplinary two-week program in Oxford that blends expert instruction with participatory activity, group work, and discussion. With 30 participants each year, hailing from more than 20 countries, the Media Policy Summer Institute has long offered participants unrivalled exposure to the diverse experiences of its global participants as well as a uniquely informed comparative view of their different media and digital environments. The Institute’s alumni are an exceptional and vibrant group who stay engaged and collaborate well past the end of the 2-week Summer Institute through the active alumni network. Many go on to become leaders at top government agencies, corporations, non-profits, and academic institutions around the world.
THIS YEAR'S THEME
This year, the Summer Institute will focus on the theme of Technology & Policy at the Margins.
The internet and other new technologies are rapidly and irreversibly changing global media environments presenting enormous challenges for building policies that both understand the scope of new technologies like artificial intelligence, biometrics, and social media, and can adequately protect the rights of the media and people using them. With the arrival of Europe’s new General Data Protection Regulation and social media giants like Facebook and Google being brought to testify before Congress in the Unites States, the last year has shown just how urgent it is to make sense of how our online media lives should and should not be governed.
While understanding this changing technology and media landscape is vital in any context, it raises particularly pressing issues for vulnerable populations living “at the margins”. Many, like refugees, Internally Displaced People, those living through conflict, under threat of attack, or under an internet shutdown often lack the ability to advocate for their digital rights or live under regimes that dismiss those rights in part or entirely. With this in mind, this year’s Summer Institute will focus on five key themes through which we will explore many of these challenges to policy and practice, with a particular focus on their effect on populations “at the margins” broadly understood. The five themes are:

1.       Extreme speech online

2.       Biometric technology in vulnerable populations

3.       Innovative efforts to connect the unconnected

4.       Algorithmic bias and inequality

5.       Internet shutdowns
By choosing these themes, we aim to explore issues such as online censorship, social media content regulation, net neutrality, surveillance and security, the spread of disinformation online, and the relationship between technology and democratic participation - amongst others. Participants will leave with a thorough understanding of how these issues influence, and are influenced by, laws and regulations governing the media and communication technologies in diverse contexts and jurisdictions.
NEW THIS YEAR
This year, for the first time participants will have the opportunity to brainstorm interdisciplinary policy, advocacy, and technological solutions relevant to the five core themes of the Institute. At the end of the two weeks, participants will be able to pitch their interdisciplinary project ideas for the funding. Successful pitches will receive small ‘flash grants’ to explore the project for 6 months and visit Oxford to present findings at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies. We also hope to offer residential fellowships at PCMLP for a select few to continue to work on these projects.
While the Programme in Comparative Media Law & Policy is the primary organizer of the Media Policy Summer Institute, we have two key partners who also play an integral role, one joining us for the first time this year. The Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania has been a long-time and indispensable partner in organizing this Summer Institute over the years, and brings with it particular expertise in media rights, digital networks, the changing face of journalism and much more. This year, we are delighted to announce that for the first time the University of Johannesburg with be joining this partnership bringing with it a renewed focus on issues around media and internet policy in the Global South. In addition to sponsoring participants and speakers, the unique perspective of the team at the University of Johannesburg will help add depth and diversity to the Institute’s curriculum.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications for the 2019 Media Policy Summer Institute are now open! Applications are welcome from students and practitioners working in communication, media, law, policy, regulation, and technology.
APPLY HERE<https://medialaw.wufoo.com/forms/oxford-media-policy-summer-institute-2019/>
The deadline for early decision acceptance: is March 19, 2019
The final deadline for all applications is April 20, 2019
Admission to this programme is highly competitive. On average, we have approximately 400 applicants for just 30 places. At the same time, we proactively work to ensure that those selected come from diverse backgrounds and experiences. To that end, we work with sponsoring partners to offer scholarships to a very select number of participants who would otherwise be unable to attend.
For more information on the apllication process, check out our website: http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/news/oxford-media-policy-summer-institute/ where you can find a list of the most Frequently Asked Questions about our application process. If you still have questions, get in touch with us at: medialaw at ox.ac.uk<mailto:medialaw at ox.ac.uk>