Press release from the Internet Society:
ISOC TO ADDRESS EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS ON IMPORTANCE OF OPEN INTERNET DEVELOPMENT
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 12 NOVEMBER 2008 – The Internet Society’s President and CEO, Lynn St.Amour will this week join prominent European parliamentarians as well as key European decision makers and business leaders to discuss future directions for the Internet.
Ms St.Amour is a keynote speaker at the meeting “Towards the Digital World in 2025: Ideas and perspectives for Europe”, organised by the European Internet Foundation (EIF), to be held on Thursday 13 November, in the European Parliament in Brussels.
The event is intended to bring together high-level perspectives on some of the key macro technology trends, policy implications, and future governance issues relating to the Internet.
Ms St.Amour will join Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society & Media; Eric Besson, French State Secretary, Prospectives & Evaluation of Public Policies & Internet; and Patrick Dixon, Founder and Chairman, Global Change, in a keynote session entitled “The Internet in 2025: What are the limits?”, moderated by Erika Mann, MEP and EIF Chair.
“It’s a great pleasure to address such high level leaders,” said Ms. St.Amour. “It is especially encouraging to see the commitment of European parliamentarians to take a long term view of open Internet development and engagement with diverse stakeholders.”
“Also, I have taken due note of the concerns of both Commissioner Reding and the Members of the European Parliament to keep consumers’ choices at the center of Internet development in Europe,” Ms St.Amour added.
For ISOC, this event builds on the progress it has already made in helping governments and regulators appreciate the importance of the open model of Internet development. As a global organisation, ISOC’s efforts have taken place in many national, regional, and international events, in particular, the World Summit on the Information Society, the Internet Governance Forum, and the recent OECD Ministerial on the Future of the Internet Economy (for which ISOC coordinated the inputs of many technical community participants).
Frédéric Donck, ISOC’s Director of Public Policy explains that the topic of the meeting is both fascinating and challenging.
“Many of the most important applications of the Internet today were not the product of futurists speculating, but instead arose as innovative responses to user needs,” said Mr Donck.
“ISOC believes the most crucial contribution governments and policy makers can make for the Internet of the future is to protect and promote the open, inclusive model of development that has served it so well by allowing such innovation to thrive,” said Mr Donck. “This understanding has implications for many key decisions to be taken soon in Europe, such as support for research, education, and innovation, as well the new regulatory telecommunications framework, which will be of the utmost importance for Internet development in Europe.”
The EIF is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan organisation. It is led and governed by elected Members of the European Parliament, with a mission to help European political leadership be responsive to the political, economic, and social challenges of the worldwide digital revolution.
Full details of the event are available here:
http://eifonline.ox2.be/en/fiches/events/digitalworld.cfm?event=342
About the Internet Society
—————————
The Internet Society is a non-profit organisation founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. With offices in Washington, DC, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world.Further details
—————-
Gerard Ross
Senior Communications Manager, Internet Society
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: +41-228-071-444 x2261
4, rue des Falaises
CH-1205-Geneva
Switzerland
