International Relations lecturer speaks at Internet Governance Forum

Dr Andrea Calderaro, Director of the Centre for Digital Technology and Global Politics, and Lecturer in International Relations was recently invited to speak at the UN African Internet Governance Forum which took place in Durban, South Africa.

The forum, held between 16-18 October 2016, concentrated on the themes of:

• Inclusive development and the digital transformation of Africa
• Internet governance in Africa: building a gender balanced and truly inclusive multi-stakeholder model.

As the Internet increasingly shapes daily life in Africa, this conference sought to ask how this global resource can be managed given its direct impact on future economic and social opportunities.

Dr Calderaro’s talk entitled ‘Internet Governance Capacity Building’ discussed the European Commission initiated Global Internet Policy Observatory (GIPO). GIPO aims to create better understanding around the issues surrounding Internet governance and brings together stakeholders from different disciplines to work collaboratively, share knowledge and cooperate on Internet governance issues across the world.

GIPO’s main goal is to set up and maintain an Observatory Tool which helps governments, NGOs and those interested in Internet Governance to navigate the labyrinth of global Internet Policy with ease. It automatically collects, analyses and processes information coming from webpages and social media platforms, including documents, spreadsheets, videos, and tweets such as yours. It analyses and classifies the information for maximum relevancy and gives it back for further reuse.

Dr Calderaro said of his talk, “The global Internet Governance debate is increasingly at the centre of contentious international politics. In order to make this debate more inclusive especially for newly connected countries, we do not need to create new information, but to make the enormous amount of information already existing more accessible. This will be key to enhance transparency in the Internet Governance field.”

Further information about GIPO and their observatory tool can be found on their website.