Partners or Pawns?
Global Multistakeholder Governance
for the Information Society
Prof. Derrick Cogburn
Syracuse University
& Director, Collaboratory on Technology Enhanced Learning Communities (Cotelco)
Professor Cogburn is an expert on global communication policy and ICTs for socio-economic development. He is currently Assistant Professor of Information at the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University and directs the Collaboratory on Technology Enhanced Learning Communities (Cotelco). Previously, he served as executive director of the Global Information Infrastructure Commission - Africa, and has served as advisor to several government agencies and international organizations including the South African Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Canadian International Development Research Center, Commonwealth IT Network, UNESCO, the UN Economic Commission for Africa; the ITU, and World Bank. Among other key roles, Dr. Cogburn helped negotiate a science and technology agreement between South Africa and Egypt, served on the High-Level Working Group of the Economic Commission for Africa tasked with developing the African Information Society Initiative. He has published numerous articles and edited volumes on the political economy of globalization, the information economy, electronic commerce, international regime formation, governance of the Global Information Society, and is completing a book manuscript entitled "The Embedded South African State: Understanding the Impact of Globalization and State-Society Networks on Telecommunications and Information Society Development."
This forum was held on November 27, 2007
THE EUROPEAN UNION AT 50 WHAT COMMON PURPOSE FOR THE FUTURE?
MARGOT WALLSTRÖM
Vice-President of the European Commission (EC)
& Commissioner for Institutional Relations and
Communication Strategy
European Commission Vice President Margot Wallstrom (right) with IC Graduate Student Ira Fabri at the IC Forum on "The European Union: at 50"
The Vice-President of the European Commission (EC) and Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy, Margot Wallström, will speak to the University community on the future of the European Union, April 27 at 3:00 pm. Her office has launched several important communication initiatives aimed at strengthening participatory democracy in Europe. She is also known for her popular Blog on European Union issues. This year the EU celebrates the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome. While celebrating achievements of the past, there is currently broad Europe-wide debate on how best to define the future of Europe. She has a key role in this debate and she will discuss the way ahead for the EU. Her talk will focus on the challenge of using better communication strategies to bring Europe closer to its citizens and to generate greater public awareness of the benefits of European integration. Vice-President Wallström previously served as European Commissioner for the Environment and retains a particular interest in environmental issues. Prior to that she served as Minister of Culture in the government of Sweden.
This forum was held on April 27, 2007.
INFORMATION POLICY, POWER, AND THE INFORMATIONAL STATE
DR. SANDRA BRAMAN
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Dr. Sandra Braman will discuss her book, Change of State: Information, Policy, and Power which looks at the ways in which governments are deliberate, explicit, and consistent in their use of information policy to exercise power, exploring not only such familiar topics as intellectual property rights and privacy but also areas in which policy is highly effective but little understood. Dr. Braman has done research on the macro-level effects of digital technologies and their policy implications for over 20 years. In addition to Change of State, other recent work includes the edited volumes Communication Research and Policy-making, The Emergent Global Information Policy Regime, and Biotechnology and Communication: The Metatechnologies of Information.
This forum was held on January 26, 2007.
Arab Public Media Discussion Series
A joint project of the Center for Social Media (School of Communication) and the Division of International Communication (School of International Service), funded by the Ford Foundation, organized by the Arab Media and Public LIfe (AMPLE) project, American University.
This forum was held on November 29, 2006.
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION FORUM
&
109TH WASHINGTON-ASIA FORUM
CHINA’S EMERGING TECHNOLOGICAL TRAJECTORY
Prof. Douglas Fuller
Assistant Professor
International Communication Program
SIS
Dr. Fuller will discuss which Chinese technology firms are fast learners able to compete in world markets and which ones remain technological laggards. Douglas Fuller is Assistant Professor in the International Communication Program, School of International Service and has spent over ten years researching technological development in East Asia. Previously he worked as a research fellow at Stanford University’s Stanford Project on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Prof. Fuller’s research focus is technological development in China's information technology (IT) industry. He has interviewed IT firms in Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the People's Republic of China and the US. He has published articles in Industry and Innovation and other peer-reviewed journals.
This forum was held on October 25, 2006
ROLE OF MEDIA IN CONFLICT
International Panel of journalists, policymakers, scholars, activists from 13 countries --
Angola Colombia Ethiopia Ghana Iraq Israel Liberia Moldova Nigeria Serbia&Montenegro Swaziland Uganda UK
International discussion of intractable conflicts worldwide is often confined to issues of negotiation and seldom confronts the central role played by the media. This international panel will address the proper role of media and information technology in conflict ridden environments and in conflict resolution. Please join us in a discussion of the difficult and dangerous struggle for a responsible and free press in war torn states with representatives from many social sectors drawn from thirteen countries.
This Forum was held on May 23, 2006
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES & PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Dr. Eric Motley
Director
Office of International Visitors
U.S. Department of State
The significance of international public opinion in the design of foreign policy, while not entirely new, is assuming rising importance in light of rapid expansion of digital information networks and satellite based media. As Director of the International Visitor Leadership Program to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other countries, Dr. Motley--who holds a PhD in international relations from St. Andrews University, Scotland--will discuss the challenges of public diplomacy in the information age, and address opportunities in the field of international exchanges.
This forum was held on April 17, 2006
