DiploNews – Issue 197 – 27 January 2012

Webinar on copyright infringement next Tuesday

Dubbed the largest online protest in history, the SOPA/PIPA Strike managed to bring many websites to a halt as organisations worldwide showed their support in the protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act. Both bills were shelved, but the shutting down of file-sharing website Megaupload prompted fresh debates on peer-to-peer sharing and copyright infringement. Join us on Tuesday, 31st January, at 14.00 GMT, to discuss the controversial issues surrounding these cases. The webinar will be hosted by Dr Jovan Kurbalija. More information is available here.

Join our monthly IG webinars!

As of this month, Diplo’s Internet governance webinars will become a regular appointment. Every last week of the month, a special guest will host a discussion on the most pressing issues and the main developments in the IG world. Our line-up of hosts and topics for the next three months is: in January, Jovan Kurbalija will discuss copyright infringement; in February, Sala Tamanikaiwaimaro will discuss freedom of expression; in March, Vladimir Radunovic will discuss cybercrime. If you would like to receive news, announcements and follow-up e-mails regarding our IG webinars, we invite you to subscribe to our IG webinars group.    

Discussing Internet governance issues

During the past two weeks, several developments have led the global community to act and react, and have featured prominently in international media. Diplo’s IG community also joined in the debates: Aldo Matteuci goes deep into the heart of what the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) aims to protect, and asks whether piracy is a tax-payer’s revolt; in another post he examines the treatment of religiously objectionable material on the Internet. In Google…stop thinking for me!, Mary Murphy shares her concern about the way search engines work and the ingrained bias in search results, while Pete Cranston discusses the impact of Google’s algorithm on information and knowledge. Vladimir Radunovic explains how users’ choices play a big part, and asks whether users are capable of making good and informed choices. On our IG community site www.diplointernetgovernance.org, Katitza Rodriguez writes about the state policy of mass surveillance in Argentina and the campaign by EFF and the Fundacion Via Libre to oppose these measures, while Hanane Boujemi talks about the upcoming consultation meeting to establish an Arab IGF.

Upcoming study opportunities

Final Call for applications: Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme 2012

Who owns the cloud? Is my data secure there? Who manages Internet domains and addresses, and how? What is network neutrality? How can states provide for Internet security without breaching our basic human rights – or can they? Can we have an Internet that is both safe and open? 

Diplo's Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme 2012 will give you a solid base from which to discuss these and other questions, and to work towards policy solutions for users, organisations, and governments. This online programme is designed to improve Internet policy and governance-related knowledge and skills for participants from both developed and developing countries, and to enhance their participation in the global decision-shaping debates on Internet governance. The call for applications for the 2012 Introduction to Internet Governance course is now open. Please visit the call for applications for more information and to apply (deadline: 1 February 2012). 
 

February 2012 online courses

A limited number of places are still available in two of our February 2012 courses:

• Diplomatic Theory and Practice
• Multilateral Diplomacy II: Current Issues in the United Nations

Courses start the week of 20 February 2012. Apply as soon as possible to reserve a place in these Diplo Certificate Courses. For further information or to apply, click on the titles of the courses above, or visit our courses website.

Humanitarian aid, intervention in Libya, responsibility to protect, United Nations Security Council reform, drafting and analysis of UN documents … these are but a sample in the rich field of topical issues and practical applications through which Dr Petru Dumitriu and his knowledgeable team expertly guided Multilateral Diplomacy II.  I now evaluate world events with keener insight and have a wider appreciation of the gargantuan challenges in tackling global concerns.

Anna Durante, Crown Counsel, Government of the Virgin Islands
Participant in Multilateral Diplomacy II: Current Issues in the UN, February 2011