2009 EuroDIG to debate in Geneva current challenges to Internet governance

Date: 14-15 September 2009

Location: Geneva, European Broadcasting Union (EBU) headquarters

Organised by:  the European Broadcasting and the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), with the support of the Council of Europe

Description:  The 2^nd European Dialogue on Internet Governance will bring together over two days some 200 representatives from the private sector, governments, parliaments, civil society including youth, media and international organisations to debate current European concerns and challenges. 

Structured in six workshops and four plenary sessions, delegates will discuss the European approach to the governance of the Internet which is increasingly becoming a crucial public policy priority given the way in which the Internet has transformed the lives and working environments of millions of European citizens. 

Eurodig 2009 also takes place at a crucial time, since one of the main agreements that links the only body that currently 'governs' the Internet- ICANN*- to the US government, expires in September 2009. Who should govern cyberspace after that? Should a new model be adopted for overseeing the Internet when that agreement runs out?

The multi-stakeholder debates will serve to prepare the European contributions to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) taking place on 15-18 November 2009 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Key issues to be discussed include access to the Internet, online privacy, cybercrime, critical Internet resources, social networks and net neutrality. Other topics will be the quality, reliability and responsibility of user-generated content and new media, the role of public service media, copyright issues as well as media literacy. Delegates will also speculate about what the Internet will be like in 2020.

The conference starts on 14 September at 11.00 am. Opening statements will be given by Jean-Paul Philippot, President of the European Broadcasting Union, Veronique Gigon, Deputy Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Communications, Philippe Boillat, Director General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs of the Council of Europe, and Asa Torstensson, Swedish Minister for Communications, together with other speakers. On 15 September afternoon a panel of speakers from the organizing and supporting institutions will participate in the wrap-up session. 

The 2009 Eurodig programme can be found at www.eurodig.org 

Additional information

The EuroDIG Organisation Network, created in 2008, is an open and growing group of European stakeholders such as the Council of Europe, “The Club of Rome – European Support Centre”, Comunica-ch, DiploFoundation - the European At-Large Organisation (EURALO), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Euro-NF, the European Parliament, the German Association of Internet Economy, the Finnish, French, Icelandic and Swiss governments, INHOPE, the International Chamber of Commerce, INSAFE, ISOC-ECC , Medienstadt Leipzig e.V., NOMINET, Swiss Federal Office of Communication (OFCOM), SWITCH, United Service Union (ver.di) and the European Youth Forum.

*The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers was created in 1998 and since then operates under agreement with the US department of Commerce.

Practical information

The conference, which takes place at the EBU headquarters in Geneva, L´Ancienne-Route 17A CH-1218 Le Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland, is open to the media. Requests for accreditation should be sent to: garnier@ebu.ch   Requests for interviews with conference speakers can be made to the contacts below. A webcast of the plenary sessions will be available on   www.coe.int, www.ebu.ch   and www.eurodig.org.

Press contacts: 

Albert Garnier, European Broadcasting Union (EBU), +41 22 717 22 13, garnier@ebu.ch