Listers, This might be of interest to some. Remote Participation will be available. Best Regards ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Robert Guerra <rguerra@privaterra.org> Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2017 15:11:05 -0500 Subject: [Internet Policy] IGF17/ 20th Dec. 1040: The Dark Side of Internet Policy: How flawed policy can lead to censorship, surveillance and shutdowns To: internetpolicy@elists.isoc.org Dear Colleagues, I would like to extend an invitation to those attending the IGF in Geneva next week to join us us Wednesday, December 20th, 10:40 - 12:10, in room Room IX/A for the session titled : The Dark Side of Internet Policy:How flawed policy can lead to censorship, surveillance and shutdowns A description of the session is available below and at the following URL: https://goo.gl/TrqHBt The internet’s promise as an open civic space for democratic participation has increasingly come under assault, whether by government laws targeting political dissent online, censorship, and network disruptions, to the sophisticated use of troll farms, gender-based hate speech, and propaganda to poison public discourse. Moreover, civil society elements most concerned with the ever increasing erosion of online rights - - investigative journalists, digital rights activists, and academic policy analysts -- are often under-resourced, and suffer from a lack of unity and direction necessary for effective counter advocacy. A seasoned panel of activists, academic researchers, press and media specialists report out dispatches from the front lines of four countries facing unique challenges and threats to online civic spaces and democratic engagement: Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. We’ll cover everything from “hybrid warfare” and gender based harassment online, to a new ministry of cybersecurity, threat detection and mitigation, and attempts to use hate speech codes to stifle free expression. This collaborative and multidisciplinary effort aims to highlight and present traditionally under-represented stakeholders and issues in this forum, and encourages audience participation. Moderator: Dominic Bellone, Sr. Program Officer, Counterpart International Speaker: Guy Berger, Director for Freedom of Expression and Media Development, UNESCO Speaker: Nalaka Gunawardene, science writer, journalist and development communication specialist (Colombo, Sri Lanka) Speaker: Andrii Puziak Taras Shevchenko University (Kyiv, Ukraine), Hubert Humphrey Fellow American University Washington College of Law Speaker: Iria Puyosa, Researcher and consultant on political communication, stakeholders relations, internet policies and digital strategy, (Quito, Ecuador) Speaker: Earnest Mudzengi, Executive Director, Media Centre (Harare, Zimbabwe) Speaker: Vitaliy Moroz, Director of New Media Development, Internews-Ukraine (Kyiv) Speaker: Sachini Perera is a Sri Lankan feminist activist currently based in Malaysia. She has a background in law, journalism and international relations, and has worked in strategic communications and advocacy with feminist and women’s rights organizations for the last decade. _______________________________________________ To manage your ISOC subscriptions or unsubscribe, please log into the ISOC Member Portal: https://portal.isoc.org/ Then choose Interests & Subscriptions from the My Account menu. -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A