IGF Italia 2011 video sessions: Internet Freedom and netizen participation
The event hosted more than 20 sessions and about hundred speakers, thus advancing the Italian agenda (along with the newly-launched <ahref Foundation) on the International spotlight.
Probably the most important message emerging from the three-day event was a larger awareness that ideas, people and energies gathered around Net issues could in turn provide the necessary strength to build a better future for the entire country.
Today the Internet has become a central part of our everyday life. We use it for a variety of reasons and goals, including the willingness to create or deepen our relationships with other people, to get involved in political and cultural activities. Therefore, its overall governance should directly concern each and all of us. Citizen participation at both local and National level is becoming a paramount feature. It is very important to protect the Net founding principles, such as universal access, neutrality and its ability to promote innovation, collaboration and new ideas.
“We are the Net”: that’s how David Weinberger, renowned author and fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, summarized these ideas in his speech at a follow-up “Internet and Freedom” roundtable. And if the Net belongs to all of us, a broader thinking and discussion on its governance becomes sort of mandatory. At the stake are National regulations and International treaties that in any case cannot put limitations on such rights as universal access, freedom of expression and open information exchange online.
At the same time, some kind of ‘conduct code’ should be promoted and followed by all Internet users, some guidelines shared by those netizens interested in producing quality information in a collaborative fashion. This is a necessary “code” that we should implement to strengthen the social fabric and the democratic values underlined by and on the Net.
In his final remarks at IGF Italia 2011, <ahref Foundation’s president, Luca De Biase, insisted on these shared values for a more participatory future. He also stressed the role of the <ahref Foundation within such landscape and introduced timu, a new platform for collaborative inquiries and storytelling based on simple shared standards (Accuracy, Impartiality, Independence, Legality).
These were the main topics discussed at the Italian meeting of the Internet Governance Forum. Now this great asset of ideas and insights is available to any Internet user through this collection of videos. We hope they can contribute to increase the involvement of Italian netizens about Internet governance matters and provide further ‘food for thought’ for the next IGF Italia 2012 .
