iSchool takes leadership role in promoting discussion of global Internet governance

iSchool takes leadership role in promoting discussion of global Internet governanceOctober 18, 2007Margaret Costello Spillettmcostell@syr.edu

The School of Information Studies (iSchool) is playing a lead role in the Second Annual Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) Symposium on Nov. 11 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The academic community involved in GigaNet is anticipated to be a substantial contributor to Internet policy discussions occurring at the global level. The symposium’s program committee was chaired by iSchool professor Milton Mueller and is sponsored by four research groups, including the Internet Governance Project (IGP), which involves four professors from Syracuse University and is based out of the iSchool at Syracuse.

The conference covers a variety of topics relating to how Internet policy is being made around the globe. Experts from academia, government, international think tanks and intergovernmental organizations will present in three sessions.

The first session, “A Development Agenda for Internet Governance,” will be moderated by iSchool professor Derrick L. Cogburn, who also serves as communication chair of the symposium. The four speakers will examine how the interests of developing countries and developed countries clash over Internet policy, similar to clashes on the issues of trade, debt and intellectual property.

The second session, “The Changing Institutionalization of Internet Governance,” will examine the various stakeholders interested in how the Internet is managed, ranging from countries and non-governmental organizations to transnational businesses and other entities. Syracuse iSchool doctoral student Y.J. Park will be among the five featured speakers and will present her paper “National ccTLD Regimes: Market Orientation and State Control.”

The third session, “Critical Policy Issues in Internet Governance,” will investigate some of the burning issues related to the Internet, such as privacy, security and network neutrality. Mueller, one of four internationally known speakers, will present his paper “Net Neutrality as Global Norm for Internet Governance.”

Internet Governance Project (http://internetgovernance.org) partners and staff, including Mueller, Cogburn and Ph.D. student and IGP operations manager Brenden Kuerbis, were instrumental in the initiation and formation of a global network for research on Internet governance, the Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) in 2006 (http://www.igloo.org/giganet).