To delve deeper into the concepts covered in REMIT’s first conference, to provide a comprehensive overview of each session’s topics, and to offer participants a glimpse of what awaits them (or why you should register if you haven’t already!), we’ll be rolling out a Session Series in the weeks leading up to the event. 

Parallel session 2 is next!

May 16,
11.00-12.30
Session 2 Digital Governance between Multi-stakeholderism and Multilateralism 
Moderator: Dr. Dennis Redeker, University of Bremen, Germany;  
Speakers: Prof. Luca Belli, FGV Law School, Brazil; 
Dr. Jamal Shahin, Brussels School of Governance/University of Amsterdam/United Nations University-CRIS (Bruges);
Dr. Julia Pohle, WZB Berlin Social Science Center;
Elena Plexida, ICANN;
Dr. Nicola Palladino, University of Salerno, Italy

Session 2 is put together by REMIT partners from the University of Bremen.

The session addresses pressing issues of the past, present and future of global digital governance against the background of new and old (geo)political pressures and new technological developments such as the wide adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). Specifically, speakers from both academia and digital governance practice debate the possible tensions between multi-stakeholder and multilateral models of governing digital technologies, especially the Internet and AI. The session includes discussion of the negotiations of the UN Global Digital Compact, the upcoming WSIS+20 review, the outcomes from the recent NETmundial+10, and the governance of AI and the domain name system.

Session moderator, Dr. Dennis Redeker, shined some light on his thoughts on what’s to come.

1. What is the importance of holding conversations on digital governance in today’s world?

We urgently need to talk about digital governance – not just domestically but across Europe and the globe. Our societies so fundamentally depend on connectivity and trust in digital technologies – from social interactions, our work to political processes. The ongoing negotiations at the UN level for a Global Digital Compact are pivotal for sharing the agenda and norms for the years to come. The ongoing World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS)+20 process, too, is potentially affecting how we organise multilateral and multistakeholder arrangements for governing technology globally. 

2. What can participants expect from attending this session? 

As part of our session, we will debate the tension between intergovernmental and more open governance arrangements for technologies such as Internet infrastructure, Internet protocols, artificial intelligence or social media. We will ask if multilateralism also requires a robust involvement of other stakeholders, besides states, and how we can make the so-called multistakeholder approach to digital governance work effectively in practice. 

3. What aspect are you most looking forward to being explored in the session, considering the speakers and their specialties?

I am thrilled that we will have highly-experienced speakers from both academia and digital governance practice on the panel. We will discuss not only academic findings but concrete obstacles for better, more inclusive governance of key digital technologies, and ways in which ongoing policy processes on the UN level can contribute to making such governance more effective. 

4. Which other session are you most looking forward to attending in the 1st REMIT conference?

I really look forward to the entire program! I wish I could split up in two and follow both tracks simultaneously. I particularly look forward to attending Session 6 about related initiatives on technology and multilateralism. I am excited to hear what our colleagues are up to and how we can learn from each other and potentially collaborate. 

Session speakers

Dennis Redeker is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI) at the University of Bremen. He is working on issues in global governance research, especially in the fields of Internet, platform, and AI governance. Dennis is a founding member of the interdisciplinary Digital Constitutionalism Network (DCN), which deals with the role of human rights in the digital age and the increasing constitutionalization of digital technologies. He holds a PhD in Political Science and an MA in International Relations from the University of Bremen and a BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences from University College Maastricht. Dennis is the area editor for “digital governance” at Digital Society (DISO), a Fellow at the Information Society Law Center (ISLC), University of Milan, a Visiting Professor at the Center for Technology & Society (CTS) at FGV School of Law, Rio de Janeiro, and he leads REMIT’s work package on the “normative construction of technology governance”.

Julia Pohle is a Senior Researcher at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and a Senior Associate Researcher at the Center for Digitalization, Democracy and Innovation (CD2I) at the Brussels School of Governance. She holds a PhD in Communication Studies from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and a degree in Cultural Studies, Philosophy and Computer Science from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Her academic research and publications focus on the role of states in global digital governance and the growing importance of geopolitics for digital policy-making. She currently serves as chair for the Communication Policy & Technology Section (CPT) of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) and as an academic editor of the Internet Policy Review (IPR).

Luca Belli is a Professor at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) Law School, Rio de Janeiro, where he heads the Center for Technology and Society (CTS-FGV) and the CyberBRICS project. He is also an Associated Researcher at the Centre de Droit Public Comparé of Paris 2 University, Member of the Board of the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), and Director of the Latin-American edition of the Computers Privacy and Data Protection conference (CPDP LatAm). Luca’s work is at the interface of law and technology, and he focuses primarily on Internet access, data protection and digital platform regulations, and digital policies in the BRICS countries. Luca enjoys developing multistakeholder partnerships to analyze existing challenges and put forward creative solutions.

Elena Plexida is Vice President for Government and IGO Engagement at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Prior to joining ICANN, Elena worked for the European Commission DG CONNECT on internet governance issues. Before that, she was a Telecom Attaché with the Permanent Representation of Greece to the EU. During the Greek Presidency of the Council of the EU, Elena co-chaired the Council Working Party on Telecommunications and Information Society. Before joining the Permanent Representation, Elena was an international affairs officer at the Hellenic Ministry of Telecom. Her main responsibilities included EU affairs and relations of the country with a number of international organizations. Elena has a degree in economics and political science. She is also a graduate of the National School of Public Administration of Greece (ESDD). She is currently following a master’s program at the National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens.

Jamal Shahin is the Programme Director and Associate Professor at the Brussels School of Governance (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Senior Lecturer at the University of Amsterdam, and Professorial Fellow at UNU-CRIS in Bruges. His research interests focus on digital sovereignty and related issues, specifically in a European (Union) context. He investigates how new forms of social and political organization at the global level influence effectiveness and legitimacy of decision making. Jamal is particularly interested in the way in which the EU attempts to communicate its role in both domestic and international venues. He has also carried out research on how to optimize dialogue between disciplines to ensure relevant and useful research can help critique, design and improve policy.

Nicola Palladino, is Assistant Professor at the University of Salerno, and Visiting Research Fellow at the ADAPT Center and the Trinity College Long Room Hub in Dublin, where he also worked as a Marie-Curie Fellow. He’s taking part as an expert in some of the AI standard-setting initiatives carried out by the NSAI, ISO/IEC, and CEN/CLC JTC. Recently, he published “Legitimacy, Power, and Inequalities in Multistakeholder Internet Governance: Analyzing IANA Transition” and “The Content Governance Dilemma: Digital Constitutionalism, Social Media, and the Search for a Global Standard” in the Palgrave Information Technology and Global Governance book series. His primary areas of research expertise encompass Global Internet Governance, Digital constitutionalism, Digital Policies, AI Ethics and Regulation. Particularly, Nicola is interested in how governance principles and human rights could be embedded within digital architectures through hybrid governance processes. 

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