On April 4 and 5, the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ and the Club for Internet and Society Enthusiasts will organize a youth seminar on internet governance. The event is timed to be held ahead of the Russian Internet Governance Forum (RIGF 2020).
Internet governance has been a subject of debate for the past thirty years, and the discussions have always been stormy and heated. Internet governance is a term that refers to a set of general principles, norms and rules that govern any changes and the use of the internet. These principles help governments, businesses, and civil society agree on these issues. But how is this agreement being achieved? What factors are being taken into account? Who makes the decisions? Why do certain things change over time, yet others remain unchanged? And how can the internet be influenced? These questions are arousing ever more interest from a whole variety of users.
Students, graduate students and young professionals are invited to attend the seminar, an educational and discussion event. Its educational part will include several webinars and offline lectures followed by a series of workshops and discussions.
Seminar participants will discuss how young professionals and students can participate in internet governance and what knowledge and skills they need for this. Another important topic that will be touched upon concerns the humanitarian and legislative problems of developing and implementing artificial intelligence-based systems in everyday life: how transparent these systems are, if they are convenient for all social groups, and how potential discrimination arising from algorithms can be controlled.
Data management and privacy are also among the most widely discussed topics – those are not only legal, but also social issues because such decisions often affect user confidentiality. Attendees will also explore international initiatives to preserve the value of the global internet, including the Contract for the Web launched by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, and how his principles are being followed in Russia. Cybersecurity will also be highlighted – students at the seminar will try to understand the reasons behind data leaks and what can be done about them.
Preparations for the seminar will begin in March, when two webinars will be held on the origins of the internet governance issue. On April 4 and 5, the participants will meet to discuss topics for the seminar with experts and work in groups to formulate a position on each topic. The results of the group work will be presented on April 6 at the Russian Youth Internet Governance Forum (Youth RIGF 2020).
Participation in the seminar is free and open to everyone. To learn more about the seminar program and register, please visit our site.