Centre for Internet and Society

Global Networks, Individual Freedoms: A Peer Forum on Internet Freedom and Human Rights

praskrishna — 2012-06-28T09:12:28Z

In Connection with the 2012 Internet Freedom Fellows Program, the United States Mission to the United Nations in Geneva is pleased to invite Pranesh Prakash to a peer forum at the United States Mission to the United Nations on Thursday, June 21, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Join the Internet Freedom Fellows, diplomats, UN representatives, civil society, technologists and social media experts, Geneva media and other professionals engaged in the intersection of human rights, internet freedom and technology.

This peer forum is part of the Internet Freedom Fellows program, which brings human rights activists from across the globe to Geneva, Washington, and Silicon Valley to meet with fellow activists, U.S. and international government leaders, and members of civil society and the private sector engaged in technology and human rights.

This year’s Internet Freedom Fellows, all human rights activists and active practitioners of digital media, are from Syria, India, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Venezuela and Azerbaijan.

For additional information on the program, please visit Internet Freedom Fellows.

Program

9:00 a.m.	Welcome and introduction David Kennedy / John Horniblow
9:15 - 10:15	Freedom to Connect and Freedom from Fear: The problem of surveillance in a networked world. Rebecca MacKinnon – Co Founder Global Voices Online, Author “Consent of the Networked”, Boards of Directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Global Network Initiative
10:15 - 10:45	Developing Networked Voices and Promoting the protection of Human Rights Andreas Harsono, blogger and human rights activist (Indonesia), and Rosebell Kagumire, multimedia journalist working on peace and conflict issues in the Eastern Africa region (Uganda) 2011 Internet Freedom Fellows and journalists (via Skype)
10:45 - 11:00	Coffee break
11:00 - 12:00	Moderated Panel Discussion – How Do we Protect Human Rights in a world of global networks? How do the needs of the grassroots, civil society and business inform the process of upholding the UDHR and IHL in networks and technologies? Dr. Robert Whelan (ICRC), Pranesh Prakash, Salil Trepathi (IHRB), Nicolas Seidler (ISOC), Emin Milli Moderated Panel Discussion followed by Q &A
12:00 - 13:00	Buffet Luncheon
13:00 - 13:30	The Open Internet - Empowering Digital Humanitarianism Paul Conneally - Head of Communications for ITU and a former Red Cross delegate (in various positions, locations and with IFRC plus ICRC and the Irish Red Cross).
13:40 - 14:10	Global Network Initiative and the multistakeholder approach ensuring an Open Internet David Sullivan -Policy and Communications Director Global Network Initiative
14.15 - 14.40	The Silicon Valley Standard and implications for technology companies in the protection of Human Rights and other freedoms Brett Solomon -Exec Director Access Now (via Skype)
15:00	Twiplomacy Matthias Luefkins Managing Director, Digital, EMEA– Burson Marstellar

Participation is limited. Please RSVP by noon on Friday, June 15 to iff@usmission.ch. When responding, please indicate whether you will also join us for the luncheon buffet.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/peer-forum-on-internet-freedom-and-human-rights

Global Network

praskrishna — 2013-02-28T07:03:43Z

Global Network

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_GlobalNetwork.png

Global Network

praskrishna — 2013-02-28T06:10:44Z

Global Network

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/GlobalNetwork.png

Global Knowledge Can Only Save a Language: Pavanaja

praskrishna — 2014-05-05T04:09:40Z

The Centre for Internet and Society, a NGO funded by Wikimedia Foundation has started a mission for the revival of Wikipedia sites of Tulu and Konkani under its "Access to Knowledge" project. As a part of it the NGO had organised a demonstration on the use of wikipedia, here on Saturday.

A scanned version of the report of the workshop is reproduced below:

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/deccan-herald-april-6-2014-global-knowledge-can-only-save-a-language

Global IP Convention, 2011

praskrishna — 2011-05-08T04:04:31Z

The Global IP Convention, 2011 is being held at the Lalit Ashok Hotel in Bangalore from 28 to 30 April 2011.

Institute of International Trade and Sughrue are the knowledge partners, Thomson Reuters, Licensing Executives Society India and Society of Indian Law Firms are the supporting organisers, and the sponsors include Bird & Bird, Finnegan, watermark, MOS AID, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, Philips, Kilburn & Strode, Lakshmi Kumaran & Sridharan, Questel, SCOPE, EVALUESERVE, STN, DoW, United Phosphorus Limited, Yahoo India, Indian Oil, DANIEL, Global IP Services, Jitendra Intellectual Property, Novel Patent Services Limited and resurgentindia. CIPA, iam, World Trademark Review, manupatra, Lex Witness and LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa are the media partners. The event is convened by Tata Consultancy Services and Intangible Business.

Speakers

Narendra K. Sabharwal, Former Deputy Director General [World Intellectual Property Organization]
Chid Iyer, Partner [Sughrue Mion PLLC, USA]
Michael R. Dzwonczyk, Partner [Sughrue Mion, PLLC, USA]
Jay Lytle, Partner [Sughrue Mion PLLC, USA]
Susan Pan, Partner [Sughrue Mion PLLC, USA]
Alban Kang, Managing Partner [ATMD Bird & Bird LLP, Singapore]
Anand K. Sharma , Partner [Finnegan, USA]
Dr. Raj Gupta, Partner [Finnegan, USA]
Richard Baddeley, Principal [Watermark, Australia]
Thayne Forbes, Joint Managing Director [Intangible Business, UK]
Ralph J. Gabric, Partner [Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, USA]
Nicholas G. de la Torre, Partner [Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, USA]
Manish Mehta, Partner [Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, USA]
Rana Gosain, Senior Partner [Daniel Advogados, Brazil]
Nick Lee, Partner [Kilburn & Strode LLP, UK]
Ravi Srinivasan, Partner [JA Kemp & Co. UK]
Paul Teng, Partner [COOPER & DUNHAM LLP, USA]
Richard Liu, Regional IP Director, Asia Pacific [Yahoo!]
Pravin Anand, Managing Partner [Anand and Anand]
V Lakshmi Kumaran, Founder and Managing Partner [Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan]
N. L. Mitra, Senior Partner [FoxMandal Little]
Dr. Rahul Verma, Assistant Vice President [Evalueserve]
Deepak Maheshwari, Director - Corporate Affairs [Microsoft]
S K Murthy, Patent Counsel [Intel India]
Vinod Kumar, Sr. Director, Business Development *TBC [MOSAID Technologies Inc., Canada]
Terry Ludlow, Founder and CEO [Chipworks, Canada]
Benjamin C. Adams, Director - Legal and Intellectual Property [Nokia]
Alex Jamal, Director-Patent Licensing [Ericsson Group]
Dr. Pinaki Ghosh, Head IP [Infosys Technologies Ltd]
Dr. Viswanathan Seshan, Country Manager -IP&S India [Philips Electronics India Ltd.]
Chandra Bajagur, Head- IP [Shell Technology India Private Ltd]
Dr. Aravind Chinchure, Head-IP [Reliance Industries Ltd.]
Dr. Anindya Sircar, Head – IP [Infosys Technologies Ltd]
Dr. Arun Kumar Kashyap, Chief Research Manager – IPR [Indian Oil Corporation Ltd]
Anup Kacker, General Manager (IP) [Indian Oil Corporation Ltd]
T C James, Director [National Intellectual Property Organisation]
Dr. Samiran Mahapatra, Open Innovation Director- Asia [Hindustan Unilever Limited]
Dr. A.S. Narayan [Unilever Research Center]
Dinesh Jotwani, President, National Bar Association of India [National Bar Association of India]
Santanu Mukherjee, Lead IPR Attorney [Qualcomm India Pvt. Ltd.]
Neeraj Panchal, Senior Manager – IP [John Deere]
Murthy Kotra, General Manager, Technical Information Services [Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd.]
Arun Bhardwaj, Director – Business Development [Dell Global]
Dr. Raghunadh Vajjula, IP Analyst [GE India Technology Center]
Anubha Sharma, Senior Legal Counsel and Head-IP [Bharti Enterprises]
Dawn Jos, Patent Strategy Coordinator- Asia [Texas Instruments]
Dr. Pradeep V Desai, Principal Consultant [Tata Consultancy Services]
Faiz ur Rahman, Manager – IP [Wipro Technologies]
Ayan Roy Chowdhury, Senior Manager - Legal & IP [Sony Entertainment Television]
Stephen Mathias, Partner [Kochhar & Co]
Lokesh V, Founder and CEO [Innomantra Consulting]
Lakshminarayanan R, IPR Specialist [Nokia]
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sigram Schindler, CEO [TELES AG Informationstechnologien, Germany]
Navneet K Bhushan, Founder Director [Crafitti Consulting Pvt Ltd]
Hasit Seth, Director [Coofluence]
Mohammad S. Rahman [Rahman LLC, USA]
Sunil Abraham, Executive Director [Centre for Internet and Society]
Dr. Vijay Soni, Executive Vice President-IP [Glenmark Generics Inc]
Dr. Balu Gupta, Vice President - Patent Estate [Dr. Reddy's Laboratories]
Dr. Rajiv Saha, General Manager, IP *TBC [Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd]
Gautam Bakshi, Head – Corporate Intellectual Property [PROMED Research Centre]
Dr. Swati Bal-Tembe, Vice President [Piramal Life Sciences Ltd]
Dr. Alpesh Pathak, Head- API Patent Cell [Alembic Research Center]
Ashwini Sandu , Senior GM- IPR [United Phosphorus Ltd]
Jayanthi M, Senior Executive – IPM [Intas Biopharmaceuticals Ltd]
Dinesh Pillai, CEO [Mahindra Special Services Group]

For more details, click here

Download the event brochure here [PDF, 1.09 MB]

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/notices/global-ip-convention

Global IP Convention 2013

praskrishna — 2013-01-21T09:58:18Z

The convention is being held in Bangalore from January 23 to 30, 2012.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/global-ip-convention

Global IP Conference 2011, Brochure

praskrishna — 2011-08-22T13:27:19Z

A brochure of the event.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/publications/global-ip-conference

Global Intellectual Property Convention 2015

praskrishna — 2015-05-24T08:11:20Z

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/global-intellectual-property-conference-2015.pdf

Global Governance Reform Initiative

praskrishna — 2014-05-27T09:45:58Z

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/global-governance-reform-initiative.pdf

Global Consultation Report on ICTs and Disability Launched at the UN High Level Meeting on Disability and Development

praskrishna — 2014-03-25T10:30:35Z

A new report released on Monday, 23 September 2013 demonstrates how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), have become a positive force of transformation and a crucial element of any personal development, empowerment and institutional framework for inclusive development.

We are acknowledged in this report (see page 69).

“The ICT Opportunity for a Disability-Inclusive Development Framework” contributes to a better understanding of the extent to which ICTs can enable and accelerate the social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities. It lists challenges that are still to be addressed while outlining concrete actions to be undertaken by each group of stakeholders and a set of indicators to help measuring progress towards the achievement of a disability-inclusive development agenda.

This report is the result of collaborative input from the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ICT), the International Disability Alliance (IDA), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Microsoft, the Telecentre.org Foundation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The content is based on the information gathered during a global consultation on ICT, Disability and Development, carried out from 20 May to 17 June 2013 in support of the preparatory process of the HLMDD. The consultation gathered over 150 expert inputs from relevant organizations and key individuals stemming from over 55 countries and representing multiple categories of stakeholders, including governments, academic institutions, organizations of persons with disabilities, civil society organizations, the private sector and regional and international organizations.

Click to download the report here.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/itu-september-2013-global-consultation-report-on-icts-and-disability-launched-at-un-high-level-meeting-on-disability-and-development

Global Congress Session

praskrishna — 2016-04-10T04:13:21Z

Global Congress Session

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/GC.png

Global Congress On IP and Public Interest Adopts Principles for Negotiations

praskrishna — 2014-01-13T08:32:25Z

A recent conference on intellectual property and the public interest concluded with the adoption of public interest principles to guide international trade negotiations and international organisations.

This article by William New was published in the Intellectual Property Watch on January 6, 2014.

The Open African Innovation Research (Open A.I.R.) conference and the Global Congress on IP & the Public Interest took place in Cape Town, South Africa from 9-13 December. The conference hosted by the University of Cape Town was funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and Germany’s Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), among others.

Principles adopted at the conference included transparency, preservation of rights within international agreements such as national flexibilities, protection for internet service providers, strengthening of the public domain, and access to knowledge and to medicines.

The event included a fairly diverse representation, and not all participants necessarily signed on to the principles that emerged from the event.

According to infojustice.org, some 200 people have signed the “Global Congress Declaration on Public Interest Principles for International IP Negotiations,” which is available here.

The declaration calls for “’a positive agenda in international intellectual property law making’ which would include a more open negotiating process, respect for stakeholders’ social and economic welfare, and preserve states’ freedoms to protect access to knowledge goods,” infojustice.org said.

In particular, the declaration took aim at the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) being negotiated by 12 countries led by the United States. It urged negotiators of the TPP and future negotiations to ensure the “ongoing release of proposed legal provisions for public comment and maximize the ability of all interested persons and organizations to observe and participate in negotiation processes.”

Other principles, which echo debates at international organisations in Geneva, include ensuring that nations: retain sovereignty to take actions in their public interest without constraint from intellectual property rights, be able to use anti-circumvention measures without liability, and that IP enforcement measures be “reasonable and proportional.”

Additional principles called for avoiding “the creation of new dispute resolution fora parallel to, and that may conflict with, the multilateral system,” and ensuring that IP agreements are “consistent with international law, including international human rights law and the Convention on Biological Diversity.”

Finally, the declaration said: "We record our serious concerns about the closed and secretive processes being used for current international negotiations while acknowledging the efforts of some countries to promote positive proposals within them."

Statement on Global Fund IP Policy and Generics

Also at the Cape Town event, a statement was adopted raising concern over a policy being considered by the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria that would establish tiered pricing for medicines.

“We note with growing concern the weakening of the Global Fund’s support for expanding access to safe, affordable generic medications as the answer to unaffordable essential drugs,” the statement said. “We are extremely concerned about the recent announcement of a ‘blue-ribbon Task Force’ on tiered-pricing of medicines in middle-income countries.”

In addition, the statement raised concern about a new Global Fund partnership with the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations on “fake medicines.” It said the effort could create confusion in consumers’ minds about generic medicines. For them, the best approach would be “strong drug regulatory agencies together with effective technology transfer.”

"The Global Fund should retain its public interest focus and disentangle the interests of public health from the interests of those who claim intellectual-property over drugs," it said. "Regressive policy suggestions and public campaigns that undermine generic competition are counter to the Fund’s public mission."

Open A.I.R.

One aspect of the Open A.I.R. project is that the fellows who have been trained over the past few years now will go out and spread the word.

Seble Baraki, legal researcher at the Justice and Legal Systems Research Institute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, told Intellectual Property Watch, “I go and tell people what I’ve learned and see how it is going to help” on issues like health or branding to ensure high quality products.

"By being here, I think I have brought the issue of IP in my government," she said. For instance, they have a conference on law and development with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and she has consistently mentioned that they should include something on development and IP. Now, they have agreed to do it, she said.

From studying in the North (Sweden), she had a certain idea about intellectual property. "Being part of this project helped me to see how to look at how to use IP from a public interest and development perspective.

Now, she said, she plans to go home and look at how it really makes a difference in her city, to see how IP can be used. Being part of this project, she added, "changed how you think about IP."

Other Highlights

The weeklong conference was packed with speakers and activities, and involved many of the leading figures in the public interest movement related to intellectual property rights. It also involved a first-time training on traditional knowledge related to IP rights.

The death of South African leader and “father” Nelson Mandela profoundly impacted the meeting. For example, a participant from Côte d’Ivoire said he was going to “live tweet” a journey through Mandela’s whole life, traveling from country to country.

Separately, Diane Peters, general counsel at Creative Commons, suggested a focus on a positive agenda, not taking away the right of another. There are ways to structure a dialogue so that everyone’s needs are addressed, she said.

“We are all part of some ecosystem,” she said, thinking and learning from the ideas of others. Limitations and exceptions are a right, Peters said. Authors should recognise that they also are re-using others’ ideas, same for the people who re-use and remix. “I’m really happy with how the dialogue-shaping is going,” she said.

Peters also said Creative Commons takes the view that their licences are not an answer to the problems of the copyright system. (CC licences include the version used by Intellectual Property Watch allowing re-use of our content for non-commercial purposes with attribution).

[Update: Creative Commons recently issued a policy statement on copyright reform].

The Struggle for Balance

Discussions during the week showed the diversity of topics and interests in fields affected by intellectual property rights. There were few vocal champions of the IP system, but there also was no blanket condemnation of it. Rather, discussions were attempts to address specific opportunities within IP, or concerns about its effects in certain cases. Not everyone held the same view and there were some debates during the week.

But given the variety and number of advocates from different sectors, such as the access to medicines and access to knowledge movements, there were some rallying cries around certain issues.

One relatively common area was the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP), as concerns are high about raising IP protection levels without the participation of public interest groups. A speaker asserted that the United States is using the TPP to target BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) as it did in the negotiations for the 1994 World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

There also were a number of discussions about the meaning of “open,” in issues like open access, open education, and open source. On a related note, Sunil Abraham, executive director of the Bangalore, India-based Centre for Internet and Society, said there are different types of open standards, and that using digital signatures instead of biometrics gives a decentralised system that protects human rights.

One speaker said they had been struck during the week by the need for a South-South network. Another asked how developing countries can use IP frameworks that have been predetermined in the North and that are not appropriate.

Participants repeatedly expressed positive attitudes about such a large and high-energy gathering (which the beautiful setting did nothing to diminish), allowing endless networking opportunities. But there was an urgency about the gathering for many, as global efforts to strengthen the IP system are working against their goals.

“We are seeing an assault on pretty much every single level,” one public health advocate said at the closing session. “Even when we win” and are able to advance the cause for access to medicines, the judges have been trained by the North (meaning with a pro-IP slant) and “turn the whole thing over.”

George Washington University Prof. Susan Sell described the “forum-shifting” that occurs with forces seeking to strengthen global intellectual property rules, as they seek international organisations where they can effect change in their favour. She likened it to a “cat and mouse” situation. She also said that IP policy is not an end in itself, but is public policy.

A participant from Jordan said that country did not play “cat-and-mouse” very well as when it signed its bilateral free trade agreement with the United States it took in all the bad aspects of the US copyright law.

Another speaker said the IP system does not encourage innovation for need but rather innovation for profit. He said governments in countries with strong rights holders are “captured,” and that governments need to be recaptured. He said organisations like the Gates and Clinton foundations are promoters of strong IP protection. Developing countries, activists, need to stop being the mouse, he said, and “start becoming the dog that chases the cat.”

“How do we forum-shift to all of the spaces we can win,” another speaker asked later, “[and] push the IP maximalist agenda to where we are not always on the defensive?”

“We are seeing an assault on pretty much every single level,” said a third. “Even when we win and are able to insert an agenda for [access to medicines], the judges have been trained by the North and turn the whole thing over.”

The mood, as Sell characterised it, is that “we can never stop and congratulate ourselves too much, because it just keeps coming.”

The annual event will continue next December, this time in Kuala Lumpur.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/ip-watch-january-6-2014-william-new-global-congress-on-ip-and-public-interest-adopts-principles-for-negotiations

Global Conference on CyberSpace 2015

praskrishna — 2015-05-01T16:48:59Z

Sunil Abraham is a panelist at this event.

Opening session

Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, will open the conference, followed by an introduction by Bert Koenders, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, host of the GCCS. The conference will start with a strategic discussion among representatives of all stakeholders on the most important current developments in cyberspace. A panel consisting of high-level government officials and private sector and civil society leaders will sketch the main opportunities, dilemmas and challenges facing the further evolution of the internet. All main issues of the conference will be touched upon: internet governance and multistakeholder cooperation, freedom and privacy online, the digital divide, the internet as enabler for social and economic development, cyber security and cybercrime. The panel will address questions such as:

How should we balance freedom, security and economic development and innovation in cyberspace?
How do we guarantee an open, free and secure internet?
What are the responsibilities of the various stakeholders in cyberspace, e.g.: what role should governments vis a vis the private sector play in protecting privacy online?
How can we improve cooperation between governments, private sector and civil society in cyber-related matters?
How can we maintain and improve trust by consumers in the internet?
How can we stimulate research and development, and interdisciplinary academic cooperation in order to strengthen cyberspace?

The panel will be followed by ministerial statements.

Moderator: Riz Kahn, Founder and CEO of Global Media Productions

Panellists:

Mireille Ballestrazzi, President of Interpol
Vint Cerf, Vice-President of Google
Nnenna Nwakanma, World Wide Web Foundation
Fadi Chehadé, CEO ICANN
Yurie Ito, Director of Global Coordination Division for the JPCERT/CC

12:30 to 13:15 None

Side Event: Lunch panel on 'Cyber warfare and jus in bello'

The International Committee of the Red Cross, with the support of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will organise a short side-event on 'Cyber warfare and jus in bello' during the Thursday lunch break of the conference. This panel will focus on the use of cyber operations as means and methods of warfare during armed conflict, namely cyber warfare. It will give participants insights into the challenges that cyber warfare creates for the application and interpretation of international humanitarian law (IHL). The panel will touch upon issues such as the potential human cost of cyber warfare; the protection that IHL affords to infrastructure essential to the civilian population against cyber attacks; the challenges that the dual use of cyberspace creates for the principle of distinction; or the legal review of cyber weapons.

The panel should support participants in gaining a better understanding on whether the relevant IHL norms, in particular the rules governing the conduct of hostilities, appear to be sufficiently clear in light of the specific characteristics and foreseeable human cost of cyber warfare.

13:15 to 14:45 Livestream available

Scenario-based Policy Discussion

An interactive discussion ensures all participants are aware of the urgency of the challenges we face in cyberspace. The discussion is based on a fictitious but realistic scenario which presents dilemmas we face in cyberspace. See the teaser on youtube. Panellists representing governments, private sector and civil society will be asked to come up with concrete solutions to the issues posed in several short film clips. The entire audience will be able to react to the scenario and to the proposed solutions.

Moderator:

Riz Kahn, Founder and CEO of Global Media Productions

Panellists-VIP Panel:

Klaas Dijkhoff, State Secretary for Security and Justice of the Netherlands
Robert Nicholson, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
Pedro Huichalaf, Vice Minister for Telecommunications of Chile
Michèle Coninsx, President of Eurojust
Eelco Blok, CEO of KPN
Cheri McGuire, Vice President, Global Government Affairs & Cybersecurity Policy of Symantec Corporation
Sunil Abraham, Executive Director of the Centre for Internet and Society

Panellists - CyberSpace Perspective Panel:

Giuseppe Targia, Vice President Security of Nokia
Gerard Hartsink, Vice-Chair of the Digital Economy Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
Guillaume Poupard, Director General of the Agence Nationale de la Sécurité des Systèmes d’Information (ANSSI)
Coen Vermeulen, Division Director Cash and Payment Systems of the Dutch Central Bank

15:00 to 16:15 Livestream available

Prolonged Opening Session

Ministerial statements.

15:00 to 16:15 Livestream available

FOCUS SESSION : International peace and security in cyberspace

The use of cyber operations has become a new challenge in the field of international peace and security. How can international political cooperation be reinforced and international law applied in order to avoid conflicts and maintain a stable cyberdomain?

It is likely that cyber capabilities will be part of future conflicts and, below the threshold of armed conflict, there is a growing risk of cyber attacks by state and non-state actors. The use of this tool is incentivized by low entry costs, high potential gains and low political and legal risks in case of discovery. Given the unique attributes of this tool and the difficulty of verifying behavior, there is the potential for mistaken attribution, miscalculation and unintended escalation in a time of crisis. The threats and risks must not be exaggerated, but the increasing use of cyber operations potentially creates instability and mistrust in international relations. Uncertainty and insecurity raise the spectre of a cyber arms race, which would be even more destabilizing.

The need for international cooperation to reduce these risks is clear. This is a strategic challenge for states that transcends the technical and operational level. It is also a challenge in which the private sector must be a part of any solution, given its ownership over most of the global cyber infrastructure. Although sometimes described as “wild West” characterized by normative ambiguity, cyberspace is not sui generis. Much work has been done to affirm the applicability in cyberspace of existing international law and norms for State conduct, in which especially the 2013 the report of the Group of Governmental Experts stands out as a landmark achievement.

Against this background, the fundamental challenge is to further develop a sustainable international cyber stability “regime”, both between states and non-state actors, and to work out how this connects into the overarching regime complex for managing global cyber activities. This focus is relevant for all countries and companies, not just for the ‘cyber great powers’.

1. How to develop international security and stability within the regime complex for managing global cyber activities
2. What are the responsibilities of States towards other States that follow from the application of international law and the principle of State sovereignty to State activities in cyberspace?
3. What norms or additional measures of self-restraint or mutual assistance can States and companies implement to create a more stable cyberspace?

Speakers:

The Hon. Julie Bishop MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia
Mr. Christopher Painter, Coördinator for State Department United States of America
Chen Xu H.E. Ambassador Ministry of Foreign Affairs People’s Republic of China
Arvind Gupta H.E. Deputy National Security Adviser India
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Estonia (to be confirmed)
Mr. Matt Thomlinson, Vice President of Security Microsoft United States of America
H.E. Mrs. Amina Mohamed, Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Kenya

Moderator:

Joseph S. Nye, Professor University Distinguished Service Professor Harvard Kennedy School of Government United States of America

Professor Joseph S. Nye is the author of The Regime Complex for Managing Global Cyber Activities, which was written as part of his participation in the Global Commission on Internet Governance.

15:00 to 16:15 Livestream available

Parallel Session : The Ethics of Algorithms - From Offensive Content to Self-Driving Cars

From search engine results to predictive policing, algorithms are determining and shaping ever more parts of our lives. This new type of governance has a name: algorithmic regulation. What are the ethical responsibilities of those architecting algorithms and for us as a society?

Algorithms are used to decide who should be hired, or who should be flagged as a suspect; which news gets highlighted and which stories disappear from social media feeds. The subjective decisions by institutions and companies who design computer algorithms to process information, also known as ‘algorithmic regulation’, may directly interfere with freedom of speech. Ensuring that such algorithms are in line with human rights standards will be a challenge for governments and companies in the coming years.

This is why this session brings together leading experts from academia, technology and civil society to discuss the ethical dimensions for those architecting algorithms and for us as a society.

Background information: Ethics of Algorithms

Panellists:

Ben Wagner, director Centre for Internet & Human Rights (moderator)
Jillan York, Policy Director freedom of expression Electronic Frontier Foundation
Richard Allan, Director of Policy in Europe, Facebook
Frank LaRue, Director of European Operation, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Kave Salamatian, Professor of computer Science, University of Savoie
Joe McNamee, Executive Director, European Digital Rights
Frank Pasquale, Professor of law, University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law

15:00 to 16:15

Parallel Session : CSIRT Maturity

The cyber threat landscape is constantly changing and the responsibility to prevent, detect and respond to incidents is ever more challenging. To remain effective and to be able to meet these rapidly evolving challenges, Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) must evolve continuously. The cyber domain is not limited by political borders and most cyber threats cannot be adequately addressed by any single CSIRT. Therefore international cooperation with a view to reaching higher levels of CSIRT maturity is essential. During this session (among other things) the “Quick Scan CSIRT Maturity” as well as the “Toolkit CSIRT Maturity” will be demonstrated.

Moderator:

Wout de Natris, Consultant, De Natris Consult/MKB Cyber Advies Nederland

Speakers:

Baiba Kaskina, General manager CERT Latvia
Aart Jochem, Head of Monitoring and Response, National Cyber Security Center - NL
Jordana Siegel, Director, International Affairs, Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, US Department of Homeland Security

Panellists:

Maarten van Horenbeeck, Chairman, Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST)
Steve Purser, Head of Core Operations Department ENISA
Jean Robert Hountomey, CEO AfricaCERT

15:00 to 16:15

Parallel Session : Cybercrime, jurisdiction and hosting

Cybercrime is a growing problem for people, business and the economy. This parallel session will focus on the problem of cybercrime and the specific problems that law enforcement organisations encounter in addressing it. For cybercriminals, the rewards can be substantial, while the risk of being caught is limited. The risk can further be decreased by using the complex nature of the internet and by spreading criminal activity across different jurisdictions. The reselling of hosting services can hamper the efficient acquisition of digital evidence and other relevant data. Furthermore, criminals often know which countries have limited legal possibilities or technical capacity for effective law enforcement.

In this parallel session the participants will discuss possible options to prevent criminal safe havens. How can we prevent criminals from abusing the complex and international nature of the internet to avoid law enforcement? How do criminals use the complex and international nature of the internet, cloud services and bad hosting for their criminal activity? Considering the loss of location of data and services, what policies could help overcome the problems connected to the territory-based concept of jurisdiction? In a multistakeholder cyber environment, how can hosting providers, cloud services and other private organisations help to prevent criminal safe havens from emerging?

Moderator:

Jamie Saunders, Director, National Cyber Crime Unit, United Kingdom

Speakers:

Sergey Lozhkin, researcher Kaspersky Labs
Zahid Jamil, Barrister-at-law, Jamil & Jamil, Pakistan
Angela McKay, Director of Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy, Microsoft
Bert-Jaap Koops, Professor of Regulation & Technology at the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT), the Netherlands
Koen Hermans, Public Prosecutor, Eurojust

16:45 to 18:00 Livestream available

FOCUS SESSION : A secure place for business and people

To help fight the abuse of the internet, cooperation between different international stakeholders is key. This cooperation is explored by discussing the various roles and responsibilities of businesses, governments and citizens/consumers.

Even after 30 years, the internet is still unlocking extraordinary potential within societies. Unfortunately, along with this extraordinary potential are equally unbelievable threats. The rise of consumer broadband has greatly increased the power of botnets to launch crippling denial of service (DoS) attacks on servers, infect millions of computers with malware, steal identity data, send out vast quantities of spam, and engage in click fraud and extortion. As a result, botnets are considered a primary security threat of the internet today, threatening businesses and people worldwide.

Moderator: Riz Khan, Founder and CEO of Global Media Productions

Panellists:

Mr. Hiromichi Shinohara, Senior Executive VP and CTO of NTT
Mr. Christian Rivierre, VP International Development Thales
Mrs. Kathryn Brown, President and CEO of Internet Society
Mr. Rob Wainwright, director Europol
Jan Kleijssen, Director Information Society and Action Against Crime, Council of Europe
Mr. Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General Council of Europe
Mr. Han Moraal, Chairman of the GPEN Committee (Global Prosecutors E-crime Network) at International Association of Prosecutors (IAP)
Mr. Raphael Koffi, Head of Telecommunication/ICT Division, Ecowas, Nigeria
Mr. Peter Lord, Director of Technology Policy of Oracle, special advisor to Commission on the Digital Economy of the International Chamber of Commerce

16:45 to 18:00 Livestream available

Parallel Session : Rethinking the social impact of new cyber technologies

As in the recent past, the coming months will be characterized by exciting new technological developments in the cyber domain becoming adopted in our everyday lives. Many of these innovations have great potential in improving and enhancing matters in areas such as healthcare, education or business. Just think of the enormous potential being unlocked by wearable computers, drone technology or brain-computer interface!

Policymakers, however, often lag behind in estimating the social impact of these innovations, both in validating their potential and their disadvantages. At the GCCS2015 various stakeholders will therefore sit down to discuss the impact of today’s and tomorrow’s technological developments in the cyber domain, thereby looking for fitting policy answers to the social issues (security, privacy, ethics) raised.

Speakers:

Erik Huizer, Chief Technology Officer at SURFnet, part-time professor Internet Applications University of Utrecht
Philip Brey, professor of philosophy of technology and chair of the department of philosophy, University of Twente
Gry Hasselbalch, founder of Mediamocracy

Demo's:

Wladimir Mufty, product manager at SURFnet
Joost Damen, IT Engineer and Young Talent Program participant at SURFnet.

16:45 to 18:00 Livestream available

Parallel Session : Clarifying the application of existing international law in cyberspace

This panel discussion will put forward a range of perspectives on the future progressive development of the application of international law in cyberspace. This panel will bring together legal specialists from academia or think tanks from key cyber states and other stakeholders.

Objectives:

To promote in-depth discussion on a number of questions related to the application of existing international law, both above and below the threshold of armed conflict.
To facilitate an airing of views, not to resolve these issues or to reach consensus.
To inform the thinking of the international community as they continue to discuss the specifics of applying international law to the cyber domain.

Participants:

Ben Baseley-Walker, Programme Lead, Emerging Security Threats program, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (moderator)
Professor Michael N. Schmitt, Professor of Public International Law, Exeter University
Mr. Laurent Gisel, Legal Adviser, International Committee for the Red Cross
Professor Tang Lan, Deputy Director, Insitute of Information and Social Development, China Institutes for Contemporary International Relations
Mr Kriangsak Kittichaisaree, United Nations, member of the International Law Commission

16:45 to 18:00

Parallel Session : Towards 21st century internet standards

While modern internet standards are of crucial importance to protect cyberspace, the limited uptake of security related internet standards seems systemic. The structural inability to shed troublesome legacy internet technology, and upgrade to more secure and reliable 21st century alternatives, is by now seriously affecting the usability, robustness and scalability of the internet. This in turn significantly affects growth opportunities as well as hollowing out user trust.

Why is it so hard to migrate the internet to more modern internet standards? What are the underlying economic factors that come into play, and what are the possibilities for e.g. governments to positively influence market externalities? What can we do to create and leverage awareness of suppliers and users? How can we raise the bar to a cybersecurity level which is better in line with the global business and societal importance of the internet?

This parallel session is centred around the issue of spurring adoption of modern internet standards in cyberspace, and highlighting some interesting approaches and best practices - including the initiative internet.nl which will be launched during the GCCS.

It will be an interactive session, delving deep into the issue together with renowned speakers and panellists representing governments, civil society, academia, business, and the internet technical community. We will discuss the role of different stakeholders with regard to the adoption, promotion and implementation of modern internet standards - and discuss approaches to finally start moving the needle.

Moderator

Gerben Klein Baltink, Chairman of Platform Internet Standards and co-owner SME Cyber Advise Netherlands

Panellists

Olaf Kolkman, Chief Internet Technology Officer at Internet Society International
Melissa Hathaway, Senior Advisor Project on Technology, Security, and Conflict in the Cyber Age at Belfer Center, Harvard University
Jonne Soininen, Head of Software Industry Initiatives at Nokia Networks
Demi Getschko, Chief Executive Officer at Brazilian Network Information Center
Ramsés Gallego, Security Strategist & Evangelist at Dell Software
Michiel Leenaars, Director at Internet Society Netherlands

16:45 to 18:00

Parallel Session : Building Public Private Cooperation in Cyber Security

For a more secure cyberspace, partnerships are essential for the security and resilience of our infrastructures. Sharing good practices in public private partnerships can help managing the collaborative cyber risks in a domain where the threat landscape is continuously changing.

Main goals of the session:

Inform: Showing the importance of (international) public-private partnerships
Practice: Sharing international good practices in public private partnerships (incl conditions, issues, lessons learned and the next steps)
Activate: Sharing information to create an international community on cooperation

Moderator:

Roderik van Grieken, founder and director of the Dutch Debate Institute

Speakers:

Hans Henseler, Managing Director Tracks Inspector
Mari Ichikawa, counsellor, National center of Incident readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity (NISC) Japan
Joanne Trimble, Head of International Engagement | CERT-UK
Igor van Gemert – Senior Business Consultant , Alliander
Fernando Sanchez, Director National Centre for Critical Infrastructure Protection, Ministry of the Interior, Spain.
Auke Huistra, International Corporation

Documents:

Cyber Security of Industrial Control Systems
Crucial processes in most critical infrastructures, and in many other organisations, rely on the correct and undisturbed functioning of Industrial Control Systems (ICS). A failure of ICS may both cause service disruptions, and result in safety risks to people and or the environment. Therefore, the cyber security and resilience of ICS is of utmost importance to society as a whole, to utilities and other critical infrastructure operators, and to organisations which use ICS. This document first and foremost, provides private and public sector executives with an Executive Summary outlining the ICS risk and challenges. This document appeals to the executive leadership of organisations to address the clear and present cyber security danger to their organisations and our societies as a whole.
From Awareness to Action: Bridging the gap in 10 steps
This interactive website presents the results from The Grand Conference 2014, “Building a Resilient Digital Society”. The website captures the most salient points that have been raised by the high-level stakeholders from the private, public, and knowledge domains during the interactive debates about necessary steps to enhance cyber resilience across all levels of society.
Sharing Cyber Security Information
When discussing cyber security in an international context, information sharing in a public-private-participation context is one of the most heard suggested solutions for increasing cyber resilience. However, there is a world, if not a universe, between the concept of information sharing and the practice of doing it. This Good Practice booklet contains the Dutch experiences, knowledge and lessons learned concerning information sharing.
Summary Report of the Meridian Conference 2014
The Meridian Conference 2014, a conference for government officials responsible for Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (CIIP), was held from 12 to 14 November, 2014, in Tokyo, Japan.
As a deliverable of the Meridian Conference 2014, the Summary Report of the Meridian Conference 2014 was developed to present key findings for CIIP.

18:15 to 19:00 Livestream available

Global Forum on Cyber Expertise

Founding partners will launch the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise: a global platform that contributes to cyber capacity building. The GFCE stimulates new funding streams and the sharing of expertise and experiences in the field of cyber security, cyber crime, data regulation and e-development. By matching supply and demand, countries that lack knowledge in certain cyber areas can benefit from the knowledge and expertise that will be provided by countries and companies with more experience in cyber matters. The GFCE will be launched officially with the adoption of a political declaration that emphasises the need for more capacity building, exchanges of best practices and strengthened international cooperation.

Moderator: Riz Khan, Founder and CEO of Global Media Productions

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/global-conference-on-cyber-space-2015

Global Charter: Promoting Global Digital Inclusion through ICT Procurement Policies & Accessibility Standards

praskrishna — 2016-01-03T05:26:44Z

The Centre for Internet & Society was a signatory to this initiative.

This was published by G3ict.

Foreword

G3ict, the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communications Technologies (“ICTs”), whose mission is to promote the full implementation of the dispositions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ("CRPD”) relative to the accessibility of ICTs,

Considering that Accessibility, Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination are among the fundamental principles of the CRPD, the realization of which in the digital age is conditioned by the availability of accessible ICTs,
Taking into account that the CRPD specifically recognizes the accessibility of information and communication technologies (ICTs) both as a right (Article 9) and as an enabler of other human rights as prescribed in other articles of the Convention.
Noting that its articles 4(a) to 4(d) under "General obligations" further require that States Parties adopt appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure these rights are met and to refrain from any act or practice that is inconsistent with the Convention and that public authorities and institutions are in particular required to act in conformity with the Convention.
Acknowledging that the procurement of ICTs for use by the public that are not usable and accessible by persons with disabilities may be deemed to be in contravention of the Convention.
Recalling that Reporting Guidelines to States Parties should include legislative and other measures taken to ensure access by persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation and to information and communications; technical standards and guidelines for accessibility, as well as the use of public procurement provisions and other measures that establish compulsory accessibility requirements.

Offers the attached charter for signature by leaders of Civil Society, International Organizations and the Private Sector to further the progress and momentum of international cooperation in establishing public procurement policies and standards in compliance with the CRPD.

Charter

We believe that governments should use their purchasing power to support the innovation of accessible technology and the creation of more robust accessible technology markets in every country.

We encourage governments at all levels and around the world to promote the digital inclusion of persons with disabilities and older persons by adopting effective policies for the public procurement of accessible ICT and an international accessibility standard to support them.

Public Procurement as an Inclusion Strategy

Public procurement processes have gained increased attention as an effective policy tool to promote the accessibility of information and communications (ICT) equipment, software, applications, and services purchased by governments or government-funded programs. Global interest in the positive effect of public procurement is in part the result two well-known accessibility public policy activities; Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act in the United States (governing the federal government purchase of accessible electronic and information technology) and in Europe, the Public Procurement Directive of 2014 in combination with EN 301 549 (the European accessibility standard developed to support the public procurement of accessible ICT products and services in Europe). However, G3ict research and analysis show that to date only 33% of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) have enacted some type of policy on the procurement of accessible ICT.

Everyone Benefits from the Procurement of Accessible ICT

Public procurement of accessible ICT can advance equality and non-discrimination for persons with disabilities. Governments that purchase accessible ICT are better able to provide inclusive services to all citizens. Because governments are large employers, their investments in accessible ICT products and services help to create inclusive workplaces and support the employment of people with disabilities. Procurement policies strengthen the local technology industry in a country. They lead to greater innovation, competition, and choice for accessible technology. They drive the creation of new development tools for accessible technology and better accessibility training for technology professionals. Procurement policies create positive ripple effects into the broader consumer ICT marketplace.

The Tools Available for Success

G3ict, working with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and with global experts from civil society and industry has created a model procurement policy as resource for governments wanting to ensure that their technology purchases support digital inclusion. There exists today a comprehensive technical standard, EN 301 549, that was developed by experts specifically for public procurement. It defines accessibility across all types of disability and technology. The ITU has created a training course to support procurement officials as they implement accessibility into their procurement work.

If your organization would like to be part of this Global Charter for Accessible ICT Procurement, please send us an email globalcharter@g3ict.org.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/global-charter-promoting-global-digital-inclusion-through-ict-procurement-policies-accessibility-standards

Global Challenges to Freedom of Expression

praskrishna — 2011-04-04T07:17:59Z

The Centre for Culture, Media & Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, Human Rights Law Network, Delhi and the Centre for Internet & Society, Bangalore are pleased to invite you to a public lecture by Mr. Frank La Rue, President of the Central American Institute for Studies of Social Democracy and UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression on March 4, 2011, 6 pm at the Constitutional Club in New Delhi.

Frank La Rue

Mr. La Rue is the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. He has worked on human rights for the past 25 years. He is the founder of the Centre for Legal Action for Human Rights (CALDH), both in Washington DC and Guatemala, which became the first Guatemalan NGO to bring cases of human rights violations to the Inter-American System. CALDH was also the first Guatemalan NGO to promote economic, social and cultural rights. Mr. La Rue also brought the first genocide case against the military dictatorship in Guatemala. As a human rights activist, his name was presented to the Nobel Peace Prize committee in 2004.

La Rue has previously served as a Presidential Commissioner for Human Rights in Guatemala, as a Human Rights Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala and as a consultant to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. He is President of Instituto Demos in Guatemala City. La Rue holds a BA in Legal and Social Sciences from the University of San Carlos, Guatemala and a postgraduate degree in U.S. foreign policy from Johns Hopkins University.

The entrance is free. Refreshments will be served from 5.30 pm onwards.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/events/global-freedom-expression