This report summarizes activities and accomplishments of all Giganet 2008 Committees/Offices.
Annual Report
2008
Steering Committee Members
Nanette S. Levinson
Chair, nlevins@american.edu
Milton Mueller
Vice Chair, mueller@syr.edu
Seiiti Arata
Secretary, seiitia@diplomacy.edu
Rolf H. Weber
Treasurer, lst.weber@rwi.uzh.ch
Konstantinos Komaitis
Membership Committee Chair, k.komaitis@strath.ac.uk
Meryem Marzouki
Program Committee Chair, Meryem.Marzouki@lip6.fr
Slavka Antonova
Outreach and Partnerships Committee Chair, S.Antonova@massey.ac.nz
Derrick L. Cogburn
Communication Committee Chair, dcogburn@syr.edu
Table of Contents
Letter from the Chair……………………………………………………………………………………………2
Brief History of GigaNet from the Vice Chair…………………………………………………………3
Brief Reports from Committee Chairs…………………………………………………………………..4
List of 2008 Activities……………………………………………………………………………………………7
Criteria for Membership and Opportunities for Sponsorship………………………………..9
Brief Letter/Strategic Overview from the Chair
Dear Colleagues:
As we approach the close of the third year of GigaNet, it is my honor to share with you this ANNUAL REPORT: GIGANET 2008. Our task this year has been to build on the foundation set by our founding members and to link creatively and effectively scholars from all around the world who share a demonstrated research focus related to internet governance. We are committed to the creation and dissemination of new knowledge from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. There is an ever-growing need for our work amidst the cross-national, international and global dialogues surrounding the issues we research.
Giganet is a young organization. Thus, in addition to serving as a catalyst for research related to internet governance, the past year has also seen a regularizing and codifying of our operations and procedures. We instituted regular monthly Steering Committee on-line meetings facilitated by Cotelco, Derrick Cogburn’s Laboratory at Syracuse University. Additionally, we produced a GigaNet brochure, highlighting our work and membership opportunities. Thanks, here, go to Milton Mueller, Vice Chair, who actually implemented the design and production of our brochure. In July, we adopted a set of procedures for conducting GigaNet elections. Along the way, we also discussed sponsorship guidelines and fine-tuned selection for membership criteria. We also adopted principles for establishing partnerships and cooperation with other organizations. The enclosed reports also detail a range of vibrant GigaNet endeavors including:
· An inaugural GigaNet workshop in Paris in June 2008, in partnership with ICT and Society (GDR TICS) and Electronic Democracy (DEL)
· Panels at major professional meetings highlighting GigaNet members including those at the International Studies Association.
· A new website presence at http://giganet.igloogroups.org that includes a repository for new books in our field, our syllabi, and even learning opportunities such as the Summer Schools led by Wolfgang Kleinwachter.
· A partnership with the International Journal of Communication Law and Policy that will culminate with a jointly sponsored issue of this peer-reviewed journal and collaborations with two other research networks for the Paris Workshop.
· A workshop in Paris and a panel at the OECD Ministerial in Korea.
I especially thank those Steering Committee members who gave up their evenings or their very early mornings due to time zone challenges in order to meet regularly. It has been a joy to work with such an extremely talented and dedicated Steering Committee. Their creative collaboration has contributed significantly to this past successful year and has put in place another solid foundation for the activities of the year ahead.
We encourage you to continue to share ideas, opportunities, and challenges, so that we may, as an organization, strengthen even further scholarship related to internet governance, inform ongoing debates, and even provide a benchmark for scholars in other related domains. It is time now to begin discussions of our network’s strategic directions and opportunities.
Sincerely, Nanette S. Levinson, Chair
Brief History of GigaNet from the Vice Chair
The academics who started GigaNet initially came together around the World Summit on the Information Society. As participants in the civil society sector, William Drake and Wolfgang Kleinwachter, among others, proposed an independent "multistakeholder observatory" that would involve monitoring global governance decisions around information and communication technologies.
As WSIS ended, the Internet Governance Forum it produced realized the vision of a place to discuss and monitor global internet governance trends. In early 2006 the scholars who came together around WSIS began to discuss the idea of forming a separate network of academics, distinct from civil society advocacy, to promote, share and discuss research on internet governance.
In June 2006 a meeting in Dresden, Germany was organized by Wolfgang Kleinwachter of ICANN Studienkreis and supported by the Internet Governance Project (IGP), Diplo Foundation, and Nanyang Technical University. About 30 academic researchers from Europe, the U.S., Iran, and Turkey come to the initial meeting, which featured some informal discussons of research activities as well as planning the creation of the new academic network. At that meeting the group adopts the name Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) and plans to hold an annual symposium concurrently with the annual Internet Governance Forum.
The first Symposium, held at the Athens IGF in November 2006, attracted 12 paper submissions and a lively audience of about 80 academics and policy makers. After some difficult discussions of membership criteria and organizational structure, GigaNet was formally organized in early 2007, with Penghwa Ang as Chair and Milton Mueller heading the Program Committee. Since then, GigaNet has provided a platform for the exchange of research and ideas about global internet governance, and continues to hold an annual symposium in conjunction with the UN Internet Governance Forum. In 2008 Nanette Levinson was elected Chair and Meryem Marzouki was elected to head the Program Committee.
Each year, the number of research paper submissions to the GigaNet symposium has grown (from 12 to 38 to 50) and its membership has increased.
The successful growth of GigaNet signifies the solidification of internet governance as a field of research, and formally establishes the first associational attempt to formally recognize disparate research and ideas regarding internet governance as a field of research. It also links critical scholars to actual policymakers and policy shapers in the field.
-Milton Mueller, Syracuse University
Founding Members and Inaugural Officers:
Peng Hwa Ang, Chair
Jeanette Hofmann, Vice Chair
Avri Doria, Secretary
Seiiti Arata, Jr., Treasurer
William Drake, Membership Committee Chair
Milton Mueller, Program Committee Chair
Wolfgang Kleinwächter, Outreach and Partnerships Committee Chair
Derrick L. Cogbu rn, Communication Committee Chair
Brief Reports from Committee Chairs
Membership Committee Report
As established in the GigaNet charter: “ Membership in the GigaNet is open to individual researchers who have contributed to the scholarly literature on internet governance. In general, members also would hold a PhD or other advanced degree and be affiliated with a university, research institution, or related organization. However, in reviewing membership applications, GigaNet will focus on overall scholarly profiles rather than strict conformity with these degree and affiliation criteria.”
The year 2008 has been very successful for GigaNet’s expansion as an academic network of scholars engaged in research on internet governance issues. The Membership Committee has received a high volume of applications and has accepted more than 25scholars who were able to demonstrate a high degree of research and activity in the emerging area of internet governance. Although geographical and research diversity are not primary goals of the network, we are pleased to say that the new scholars demonstrate geographical diversity and come from different disciplines, including but not limited to, social sciences, law, computer science, etc.
- Konstantinos Komaitis, University of Strathclyde
Program Committee Report
2008 GigaNet Program Committee was constituted following a call for volunteers issued on GigaNet members list on 31 January by the elected Program Chair. Members are: Ana Abreu, Universidade Estadual de Campinas & Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Brazil, Slavka Antonova, Massey University, New Zealand, Meryem Marzouki, CNRS & Université Pierre et Marie Curie, France (Chair), John Mathiason, Syracuse University, USA , Milton Mueller, Syracuse University, USA & Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, Max Senges, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain & Stanford University, USA, Rolf H. Weber, University of Zürich, Switzerland. The Committee started its work on 11 February.
The main task of GigaNet Program Committee is to organize the GigaNet annual symposium, held in conjunction with the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The 2008 GigaNet symposium is held on 2 December in Hyderabad, India. A call for paper was elaborated and widely distributed on 30 March. In addition to papers on methodological aspects of internet governance-related studies, this year's Symposium particularly encouraged submissions on the following themes: (1) Comparing Internet Governance to other Global Governance Domains, (2) Networked Governance Theories and the Institutionalization of Internet Governance, (3) The Role of NGOs, Social Movements and Civil Society in Internet Governance, (4) Year 3 of the UN Internet Governance Forum: Assessing its Structure, Process and Impact, (5) Law and Jurisdictions in Internet Governance: Copyright Protection (6) Internet Service Providers and Technical Mechanisms of Control and (7) Internationalized Domain Names: Expanding Access or Tower of Babel?
50 submissions were received by the deadline of 15 July, from 24 different countries of the 6 continents. 16 of them were submitted by GigaNet members. In comparison, 38 submissions were received in 2007, after a deadline extension. These figures show an increased interest in GigaNet symposia, and are a good indicator that the symposium is establishing itself as the main academic event dedicated to internet governance related issues. After a peer review process conducted by the seven members of the Program Committee, 15 submissions were selected for oral presentations at the symposium, and 15 more selected for poster presentations, as a mean to allow more academic colleagues to share their work. 16 countries from 5 continents are represented in this selection. The symposium agenda has been circulated on 15 October. A more detailed analysis of submissions will be provided during the symposium, and will be available at the symposium website: http://tinyurl.com/ynsuuf/.
The 2008 GigaNet symposium is sponsored by: The University Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), France; The Computer Sciences Laboratory of Paris 6 (LIP6), France; The Syracuse University Internet Governance Project (IGP), USA; The United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
-Meryem Marzouki, French National Scientific Research Center (CNRS) and the Computer Science Laboratory of Paris 6 (LIP6)
Outreach and Partnerships Committee Report
The Committee, includingCarlos Vera, Anna Abreu andChen-Dong Tso, began its activity by identifying key directions for 2008. These were: (1) to developpartnerships with academic associations around the world, (2) to enter in partnership with international academic journals, and (3) to create a repository of GigaNet members’ published papers on Internet Governance together with the Communication committee..
The overall goal of the O&P Committee was to contribute to both enhancing GigaNet’s visibility and attractiveness in the academic circles around the world, and substantiating its networking/research capacity through partnerships.
As early as February, efforts were made to begin working on each of the above-outlined initiatives.
1. The Committee has been successful in establishing partnership with the International Journal of Communications Law and Policy (IJCLP).
2. The Committee’s work on developing partnerships with academic associations around the world began with writing a template invitation letter and asking each Committee member to send it to suitable associations in their respective geographic regions.
3. On the another initiative of the committee – to create a repository of research publications by GigaNet members, at the Steering Committee’s meeting in May, it was decided that the O&P and the Communication Committee would join forces and, with the help of the IGLOO technical experts, would work on the project.
- Slavka Antonova, Massey University
Communication Committee
The goal of the GigaNet Communication Committee is to develop and implement the strategy for communication and collaboration within GigaNet. These responsibilities include the development of the GigaNet web presence, and coordinating the evaluation of various technologies to support these goals. Since the inception of the committee, we have accomplished a number of key objectives: (1) actively recruited members from amongst the broader GigaNet community; (2) established the basic communication infrastructure for the network, including multiple listservs for GigaNet structures; (3) initiated and maintained the relationship with IGLOO, the Global Governance Innovation Network, for the hosting of the GigaNet website and content management system (http://www.igloo.org/giganet), including the transition to the new IGLOO software (http://giganet.igloogroups.org); and (4) provided and supported the infrastructure for the synchronous monthly GigaNet Steering Committee meetings. In addition, individual committee members have suggested useful tools to support distributed collaboration such as the very useful Doodle Polls (http://doodle.com/).
Upcoming plans for the committee include: (1) planning and organizing the GigaNet Elections; (2) additional focus on training for members in the use of the social media tools of the new GigaNet community site; (3) focus on enhanced identity management within the community; (4) enhanced support for all of the GigaNet committees and structures; and finally (5) focus on building the GigaNet public and member's only library and syllabus archive.
- Derrick L. Cogbu rn, Syracuse University
2008 GigaNet Activities
2008 GigaNet Paris Workshop Report
3 June 2008
On 23 June 2008, GigaNet held in Paris, at La Sorbonne Nouvelle, an academic workshop dedicated to “ Global Internet Governance: An Interdisciplinary Research Field in Construction”. The idea of this workshop was proposed by 2008 GigaNet Program Chair, Meryem Marzouki, in order to benefit from the gathering in Paris of a number of scholars active in the internet governance field to attend ICANN Paris meeting in the same week. The workshop was also an opportunity for GigaNet to reach out to the French academic community in the field. To this end, the workshop was organized in cooperation with two main French pluridisciplinary networks of scholars in internet-related studies: the ICT and Society (GDR TICS) and Electronic Democracy (DEL) Networks.
In addition to GigaNet members Divina Frau-Meigs, U. Paris III, France; Nanette Levinson, American U., USA; Meryem Marzouki, CNRS, France; Milton Mueller, Syracuse U., USA; and Rolf Weber, U. Zürich, Switzerland, the Paris workshop organizing and program committee thus included Eric Brousseau, U. Paris X, France (GDR TICS representative) and Thierry Vedel, CNRS, France (DEL representative). It was chaired by Meryem Marzouki. The workshop was sponsored by GDR TIC et Société du CNRS (GDR TICS-CNRS); Sciences Po International Office, Centers of the Americas; University Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle, Institut du Monde Anglophone & Communication, Information, Media Research Center (CIM); Computer Sciences Laboratory of Paris 6 (LIP6); University Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC).
The purpose of the workshop, the first of its sort, was to allow scholars involved in internet governance-related research to describe their ongoing research projects to other scholars in the field, in order to share ideas, forge possible collaborations, and identify emerging research themes in the field. Scholars from various academic disciplines and all regions of the world contributed to this reflexive exercise, with the long-term objective of collectively building this interdisciplinary research field. Rather than featuring academic paper presentations, the workshop provided a survey of current academic activities in the field of global internet governance.
Details about the Paris workshop, including workshop abstracts and an analysis of contributions and participation, are available on the workshop website: http://tinyurl.com/2nww9t/.
-Meryem Marzouki, Workshop Chair, CNRS and the Computer Science Laboratory of Paris 6 (LIP6)
Lunch Session at 2008 OECD Ministerial Conference
16 June 2008
A GigaNet lunch session, organized in cooperation with BK21 Digital Media Division,SeoulNationalUniversityand held at the COEXConvention & ExhibitionCenter,Seoul (www.igloo.org/giganet - http://bnc.krf.or.kr/home/eng/bk21/aboutbk21.jsp).
This brief side event at the 2008 OECD Ministerial Conference on "The Future of the Internet Economy" introduced GigaNet and its activities and then highlighted some recent developments and emerging issues that could have a significant impact on the future trajectory of the internet economy. The event was held as a lunch session during the Civil Society - Labour Forum on "Making the Future of the Internet Economy Work for Citizens, Consumers and Workers". The program consisted of short remarks by scholars who have been directly involved in the global policy debates on internet governance, followed by open discussion with the audience.
The panel consisted of William J. Drake, director of Project on the Information Revolution and Global Governance/PSIO of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland; Myungkoo Kang, professor in the Department of Communication of Seoul National University in Seoul, Republic of Korea; Wolfgang Kleinwächter, professor of International Communication Policy and Regulation in the Department for Media and Information Sciences, University of Aarhus in Aarhus, Denmark; and Meryem Marzouki , senior researcher in the French National Scientific Research Center (CNRS) and the Computer Science Laboratory of Paris 6 (LIP6) in Paris, France.
2008 GigaNet Annual Symposium
2 December 2008
Hyderabad, India
Other events:
- March 27, 2008: Panel at ISA's 49th Annual Convention, San Francisco ("Who's in Charge Here?: The Internet Governance Problem")
- July 25 – 31, 2008: Euro-SSIG - The European Summer School on Internet Governance (since 2007)
Remember to save the date for the 2009 GigaNet Symposium!
Criteria for Membership and Sponsorship Opportunities
Criteria for Membership
Membership in the GigaNet is open to individual researchers who have contributed to the scholarly literature on internet governance. In general, members also would hold a PhD or other advanced degree and be affiliated with a university, research institution, or related organization. However, in reviewing membership applications, GigaNet will focus on overall scholarly profiles rather than strict conformity with these degree and affiliation criteria. If you are interested in joining GigaNet, please contact the Membership Committee chair, Dr. Konstantinos Komaitis (k.komaitis at strath.ac.uk).
For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Outreach and Partnership Committee Chair, Slavka Antonova at S.Antonova@massey.ac.nz
GigaNet
http://giganet.igloogroups.org
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