Recent & Upcoming Events
February 26, 2025, 11:00am-12:30pm
CITI Seminar on Global Digital Governance: International Cybersecurity Norms in the UN and Beyond
Register Here
The United Nations' Open-Ended Working Group on Information and Communication Technologies is meeting February 17–21 in New York. The OEWG is mandated from 2021 to 2025 to promote dialogue and the development of norms of responsible state behavior regarding interstate cybersecurity and cyberconflict. The meeting could be marred by long-standing controversies over the design of new norms and obligations, the application of international law, confidence building measures, the participation of stakeholders in intergovernmental cybersecurity discussions, and the design of the new permanent UN forum for these issues to be launched next year. In addition, there are divisions on a Russian proposal to negotiate a legally binding UN Cybersecurity Convention in the wake of the recently adopted and problematic Cybercrime Convention.
The current OEWG is part of a matrix of processes that have been struggling to build consensus on the international rules of the game for cybersecurity. This includes a previous OEWG that ran from 2019 to 2021, six UN Groups of Governmental Experts convened between 2004 to 2021, and other multilateral discussions. In parallel, multistakeholder collaborations and the private sector have advanced a number of proposals for international norms and regimes.
The purpose of this webinar is to step back from the details of these individual processes and take stock of the big picture state of play in international cybersecurity negotiations. What are the key battle lines between states and their respective coalitions, and what has and has not been achieved in consequence? Has multistakeholder participation in the UN and nongovernmental initiatives influenced the governance landscape? How consequential can multilateral frameworks be in shaping the behavior of states, in particular the major powers?
A panel of leading experts on cybersecurity norms and the UN negotiations will lead off the discussion, and then the rest of the session will be devoted to open conversation among all interested attendees.
Introduction of the topic
Eli Noam is Paul Garrett Professor of Public Policy and Business Responsibility, Emeritus, and Director of the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information at Columbia Business School.
Moderator
William J. Drake is Director of International Studies at the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School.
Panelists
Alexander Klimburg is a researcher and adviser at a number of US and European think-tanks, a former executive of the World Economic Forum, and the author of dozens of publications including the book, The Darkening Web. He was the initiator and director of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, which played an important role in advancing not only norms of behavior in cyberspace, but also the importance of the multistakeholder model in international governance. (Austria)
Sheetal Kumar is an independent consultant and expert on internet governance and human rights focusing on advocacy strategy development and implementation, capacity building and training, and research and stakeholder engagement in global policy forums. She previously headed Global Partner Digital's multilateral engagement to support rights-respecting norms and standards related to digital technology. (United Kingdom)
Christopher Painter is an expert on cybersecurity, cybercrime and cyber diplomacy. He has been a prosecutor of high-profile cybercrime cases and a senior official at the US Department of Justice, the FBI, and the National Security Council, and was the first dedicated high-level cyber diplomat at the State Department. Since leaving the government in late 2017, he has served as a Commissioner on the Global Commission for the Stability of Cyberspace, the President of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise, and in other leadership roles related to cyber issues. (USA)
February 6, 2025, 11:00am-12:00pm
CITI-IMMAA Seminar: José Miguel Encarnação - President of Macao Portuguese and English Press Association, and José Carlos Matias - Director of Macao Business Magazine
“Transformations and Dynamics in the Middle Kingdom: China Between a Global and Local Perspective”
Organized by Paulo Faustino, Director of the Master's Degree in Communication and Management of Creative Industries at the University of Porto
China has implemented a unique political and governance strategy, the “one country, two systems” model. Within this framework, China has maintained the core principles of communism, while allowing regions such as Hong Kong and Macau to retain certain degrees of economic and political autonomy. This approach promotes diversification in internal governance and facilitates China's interaction with the outside world.
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has been one of China's most proactive regions in foreign trade and financial exchanges. Due to its historical context and institutional advantages, Hong Kong and Macau have been able to attract substantial foreign investment, becoming a bridge between China and the global market. Similarly, Guangdong province has driven rapid regional economic growth and become a crucial hub for technological innovation.
The complex dynamics of the one country two systems approach are deeply manifested in industries such as the creative sector, culture, media, and telecommunications.
This seminar will bring together two experts on media in China, José Carlos Matias (Director of Macau Business Magazine) and José Miguel Encarnação (President of the Macao Portuguese and English Press Association). Together they will present the major changes occurring in Chinese media and the implications for the world.
January 29, 2025, 11:00am-12:30pm
CITI Seminar on Global Digital Governance: The WSIS+20 Review: What is Desirable? What is Possible? What is to be Done?
The UN's 2002-2005 World Summit on the Information Society process was a watershed in the evolution of global digital governance. Among its many impacts were the world-wide institutionalization of Internet governance and other information society issues across organizations and governments; the mobilization of civil society, business and Internet technical community stakeholders, and unprecedented coordination among them; the consolidation of multistakeholder participation in global digital cooperation; and the launching of multiple UN action lines and initiatives like the Internet Governance Forum and the negotiations over enhanced cooperation.
In 2025 the UN is organizing a 20-year review of the WSIS. Since 2006, the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development has done regular WSIS reviews for the General Assembly and is now preparing its WSIS+20 report, and since 2024 multiple other UN bodies have launched assessments and consultations among member governments and stakeholders. The results of all this work will feed into two key meetings: a July High-Level Event in Geneva, and an autumn UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting in New York City that will take decisions on further actions, including the possible renewal of the IGF's mandate. The procedural modalities have not been settled yet but the deadlines for stakeholders to submit written inputs are January 31 for the International Telecommunication Union's working group and March 14 for the High-Level event.
Despite the looming deadlines, stakeholder mobilization appears to be lagging a bit. Accordingly, the objective of this webinar is to help stimulate dialogue and consensus-building. Three main questions will structure the discussion: 1) What sort of +20 agreement would be desirable, e.g. just a reaffirmation of the WSIS outcomes and perhaps the UN's 2024 Global Digital Compact, or a new deal encompassing new issues since 2005? 2) What is actually possible to achieve given the current states of digital geopolitics among governments, cooperation among stakeholders, and current technological and market dynamics? 3) How should stakeholders engage and collaborate over the next months?
A panel of closely involved WSIS veterans will lead off the discussion, and then the rest of the session will be devoted to open conversation among all interested attendees.
Introduction of the topic
Eli Noam is Paul Garrett Professor of Public Policy and Business Responsibility, Emeritus, and Director of the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information at Columbia Business School.
Moderator
William J. Drake is Director of International Studies at the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School.
Panelists
Anita Gurumurthy is a founding member and Executive Director of IT for Change. She serves on various bodies including as co-chair of the T20’s digital transformation working group, and has been part of the High-Level Committee of the NetMundial+10, the UN Secretary-General’s 10-Member Group on Technology Facilitation, and the Paris Peace Forum’s working group on algorithmic governance. Anita is also a Board member of the ETC Group and University centers such as the Tech & Policy Lab at the University of Western Australia and the International Development and Social Change program of Loughborough University. IT for Change acts as the secretariat of the of the Global Digital Justice Forum, a network of thirty-four civil society organizations. (India)
David Souter is an independent researcher and writer on the impact of the digital society on economy, society, environment and governance. He served as CEO of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation from 1995 to 2003, and has worked at the London School of Economics and Strathclyde University. In the last ten years he has worked mostly for United Nations agencies including UNESCO, UNCTAD, ITU, CSTD and DESA. He was lead author of UNESCO's Internet Universality Indicator framework and of the CSTD's WSIS+10 review, and is currently leading CSTD's work on the WSIS+20 review. (United Kingdom)
Paul Wilson has worked in Internet services, management and governance for 35 years, including nearly 25 years in Australia as the head of APNIC, the Regional Internet address Registry for Asia Pacific. Paul has been closely involved in the WSIS, IGF, ICANN and other Internet coordination processes; was a member of the IGF's Multistakholder Advisory Group for 2 terms; served as Chair of the Asia Pacific IGF for several years; and served on the High-Level Advisory Committee of the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, China. He was closely involved in the establishment and evolution of the IGF, the IANA Transition process, and the evolution of the RIR system for stewardship of the Internet’s IP addressing resources. (United States)
January 16, 2025, 11:00am-12:00pm
CITI-IMMAA Seminar: Dr. Christoph Mayer, Partner, Highberg Consultancy (Germany)
“AI in the Newsroom- Where We Really Stand”
Organized by Uwe Eisenbeis, Professor for Media Management and Economics, Stuttgart Media University
AI and its algorithms have made major advancements, enabling new types of content creation. But where does real-world adoption actually stand, in particular in newsrooms? This seminar will provide guidance on how AI adoption in publishing has taken place, featuring examples from consulting with over 30 news publishers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Christoph Mayer is a partner at the media-focused consulting firm Highberg. He is responsible for the Data & AI practice, which develops specialized data solutions for media companies and implements the use of AI in practice. He holds a PhD in computer science from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
This seminar was organized by Uwe Eisenbeis, Professor for Media Management and Economics, Stuttgart Media University
December 12, 2024, 11:00am-12:30pm
CITI Seminar on Global Digital Governance: Governing Artificial Intelligence: The Council of Europe's Convention
The Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law is the first international treaty on AI governance. Adopted in May 2024, the Convention was negotiated in two years by the Council's 46 member states, the European Union, and 11 non-members that include the United States. The treaty sets out general obligations and principles on such issues as human dignity and autonomy, transparency and oversight, accountability, nondiscrimination, privacy, reliability and security; requirements for risk and impact assessments, including testing, monitoring, and the possibility of bans or moratoriums on certain systems; and remedies, procedural rights and safeguards, including the ability to lodge complaints and know when one is interacting with AI instead of a human being. The framework covers AI systems used by public authorities and private actors acting on their behalf, but there are carve-outs for national security, national defense, and research and development. Similarly, at the insistence of the United States and like-minded governments, the Convention eschews uniform binding rules for the private sector and instead allows states to opt-in application to their companies or to pursue self-regulatory approaches. Others participants in the process opposed this limitation, which in the view of many in civil society significantly weakens the agreement.
The Convention's proponents hope that it will become a global framework akin to the Council's 2001 Cybercrime Convention. The Convention also will be nested within an increasingly complex mesh of international governance arrangements for AI that is under construction in the United Nations and multiple other multilateral processes. As such, there are many questions to explore. For example, what mix of interests drove the process and shaped the outcome? Is the treaty an important achievement, an example of regulatory overreach, or unlikely to have significant effects? What are the implications of carving out national security and related issues, and of not uniformly applying mandatory obligations on the private sector? How do we assess the trade-off between having strong rules and bringing governments with diverse positions onboard? How effective was the blending of intergovernmental decision-making and multistakeholder participation?
This webinar will facilitate dialogue on these and related questions. A panel of key negotiation participants and observers will lead off, and then the rest of the session will be devoted to open conversation among all interested attendees.
Introduction of the topic
Eli Noam is Paul Garrett Professor of Public Policy and Business Responsibility, Emeritus, and Director of the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information at Columbia Business School.
Moderator
William J. Drake is Director of International Studies at the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School.
Panelists
Omar Bitar is a Senior Policy Advisor at Global Affairs Canada, where he advises on Canada’s foreign policy on the global governance of digital technologies like artificial intelligence. Omar was part of the Canadian delegation that negotiated the Council of Europe Framework Convention. He previously served as Policy Advisor at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, where he led a review of Canada’s Directive on Automated Decision-Making. (Canada)
Christabel Randolph is Associate Director at the Center for AI and Digital Policy, where she oversees the US law and policy group and coordinates statements to Congressional committees and federal agencies. She led the organization's efforts with the Federal Trade Commission to establish guardrails for AI services. Before joining the Center, she held leadership positions across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. She is a licensed attorney before the Supreme Court of Bangladesh with more than a decade of experience in the law and technology field. (USA)
Thomas Schneider is Ambassador and Director of International Affairs at the Swiss Federal Office of Communications in the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications. He served as the Chair of the Council of Europe’s Committee on AI that negotiated the AI Convention. Schneider also was the Vice-Chair of the OECD's Committee for Digital Economy Policy from 2020 to 2022 and the Chair of ICANN's Government Advisory Committee from 2014 to 2018. He has represented Switzerland in a number of international fora related to digital governance, and has been a co-coordinator of the European IGF since 2008. (Switzerland)
November 19, 2024, 11:00am-12:30pm
CITI Seminar on Global Digital Governance: Disinformation, Information Integrity, and International Cooperation
The explosive growth of online disinformation has elicited worldwide concern and calls for action over the past decade. Attention to its potential effects has been particularly acute in 2024 because of the US presidential election and the other national elections being held in over 70 countries with almost half of the world’s population. In recent years, policymakers and others have increasingly focused on the promotion of "information integrity" as a possible antidote to disinformation and related challenges. At the same time, some advocates for the freedom of expression have been highly critical of restrictive policy responses to disinformation. However, governments have cooperated to establish international norms and mechanisms in order to address the transnational nature of the perceived problem. For example, the European Union established a co-regulatory Code of Practice on Disinformation; thirty-two mostly industrialized countries endorsed a Global Declaration on Information Integrity Online; the Group of 20 released a ministerial statement noting the relevance of information integrity; and the UN General Assembly issued resolutions and reports on countering disinformation. In addition, the UN Secretary General proposed the establishment of a global Code of Conduct for Information Integrity on Digital Platforms and ultimately released a set of Global Principles for Information Integrity. Other UN and multilateral processes have addressed the issues in varying ways, and private sector and multistakeholder groupings also have pursued collaborative responses. Free speech organizations have also weighed in.
This webinar will delve into this issue nexus in two steps. First, we will consider whether and how online disinformation has evolved due to technological, economic and political change, and whether the promotion of "information integrity" provides a path toward an improved infosphere, or towards global restrictiveness. Second, we will explore whether international agreements can make a difference; their potential benefits and risks for human rights in a geopolitical landscape populated with illiberal regimes and movements; and the prospects for compliance with international norms by the disinformation creators and the distribution platforms.
This webinar will facilitate dialogue on these and related questions. A panel of leading experts on the topic will lead off, then the rest of the session will be devoted to open conversation among all interested attendees.
Introduction of the topic
Eli Noam is Paul Garrett Professor of Public Policy and Business Responsibility, Emeritus, and Director of the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information at Columbia Business School.
Moderator
William J. Drake is Director of International Studies at the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School.
Panelists
Guy Berger is Professor Emeritus of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University and a Distinguished Research Fellow at Research ICT Africa. For eleven years he was a Senior Director at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, where he oversaw work on global communications and information policy and regulation. He recently was the lead author of two issue briefs on information integrity for the Group of 20. (South Africa)
Maria Paz Canales is Co-Head of Policy and Advocacy at Global Partners Digital, a social purpose company working to enable a digital environment underpinned by human rights. Previously, she co-founded and served as Executive Director at Derechos Digitales, one of the first digital rights organizations in Latin America. She holds a Master’s Degree with specialization in Law and Technology from the University of California, Berkeley. (France)
Jeanette Hofmann is Professor of Digital Policy at the Freie Universität Berlin. She is one of the founding directors of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), head of the research group Politics of Digitalization at Berlin Social Science Center (WZB), and Principal Investigator of the research group Technology, Power and Domination at the Weizenbaum Institute of the networked society in Berlin. (Germany)
November 7, 2024, 11:00am-12:00pm
CITI-IMMAA Seminar: Antônio Napoli D'Andréa Neto, Partner and General Director, Kaiser Associates (Brazil)
Organized by Francisco Belda, São Paulo State University (UNESP)
Mr. Neto provides an in-depth exploration of the rapid rise in influencer marketing, which has expanded from $6.5 billion in 2019 to a projected $24 billion by 2024. His talk examines the key drivers behind this explosive growth, such as shifts in consumer behavior, the decline of traditional advertising, and the increased trust placed in influencers by digital audiences. The professionalization of content creators, the diversification of platforms beyond Instagram and YouTube, and the growing relevance of micro and nano influencers are analyzed through case studies like "Sua Cirurgia," "Light Copy," and "Business Education – G4."
This seminar also highlights the impact of influencer marketing on traditional journalism, addressing both the challenges and opportunities for media outlets as they adapt to new trends in news dissemination on social media. Additionally, the session forecasts future trends for the influencer market beyond 2025, including emerging monetization strategies and evolving business models. It also reflects on the crucial role that journalism must play in this new landscape, focusing on content curation, credibility, and trust.
Antônio Napole D'Andréa Neto has been a Partner and General Director of Kaiser Associates in Brazil for 20 years, overseeing more than 800 consulting projects. Kaiser Associates is a global consulting firm that specializes in business transformations, focusing on strategy development, planning, organizational change implementation, competitive intelligence, and new market entry analysis across various industries.
An expert in strategy, scenario planning, and complex problem-solving, Antônio serves as a professor at FIPE and G4 Educação. He has been a board member of the EAESP/FGV Alumni Association since 2015 and joined the board of Fundação Maria Cecília Souto Vidigal in 2023. He is also associated with Projor – Institute for the Development of Journalism.
October 24, 2024, 11:00am-12:30pm
CITI Seminar on Global Digital Governance: Digital Multilateralism After the UN Summit of the Future
Governments assembled at the United Nations' September 2024 Summit of the Future adopted a Pact for the Future that pledges "a new beginning in multilateralism" and to "transform global governance." Annexed to the Pact is a Global Digital Compact intended to apply these general aspirations to global digital governance. The Pact and its digital annex have been described by the UN and some others as achieving desperately needed reforms that strengthens the UN's ability to help manage both longstanding global challenges and new issues raised by the information revolution. In the digital sphere, this includes nods to the importance of multistakeholder input, the launch of new collaborations on artificial intelligence and other issues, and the creation of a New York office charged with leading UN system-wide coordination of digital cooperation.
The time is ripe to assess what was achieved by the Pact and its digital annex, how the agreement may be implemented, and what it could mean for the future. Does it point to a transformative new beginning for digital multilateralism? Can its institutional innovations overcome the geopolitical tensions and rivalries that have confounded so many previous digital governance efforts in the UN? How will the new arrangements mesh with the digital policy work underway in UN specialized agencies and other intergovernmental organizations? How might they impact key processes that have more multistakeholder support, like the upcoming reviews of the World Summit on the Information Society agreements and the Internet Governance Forum's mandate? Will the UN New York begin to accommodate meaningful multistakeholder participation in its efforts?
This webinar will facilitate open dialogue on these and related questions. A panel of expert participants in global digital governance processes will lead off. The rest of the session will be devoted to a conversation among all interested attendees.
Introduction of the topic
Eli Noam is Paul Garrett Professor of Public Policy and Business Responsibility, Emeritus, and Director of the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information at Columbia Business School.
Moderator
William J. Drake is Director of International Studies at the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School.
Panelists
Fiona M. Alexander is both Distinguished Policy Strategist in Residence in the School of International Service and Distinguished Fellow at the Internet Governance Lab at American University. Previously, for close to 20 years, she served at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce where she was Associate Administrator for International Affairs. (USA)
Anriette Esterhuysen is Senior Advisor for Internet Governance at the Association for Progressive Communications (APC). Previously she was the APC’s Executive Director from 2000 until April 2017, and served as Chair of the IGF’s Multistakeholder Advisory Group from 2019 to 2021. Anriette was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2013. (South Africa)
Wolfgang Kleinwächter is Professor Emeritus of International Communication Policy and Regulation at the University of Aarhus. He was a member of ICANN’s Board of Directors, served as Special Ambassador for the NETmundial Initiative, is the founder and Chair of the European Summer School on Internet Governance, and was a member of the Global Commission on Stability in Cyberspace and of the UN Working Group on Internet Governance. (Germany)
October 3, 2024, 11:00am-12:00pm
CITI-IMMAA Seminar: Dave Schaeffer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Cogent Communications
Organized by Eli Noam, Columbia University
Dave Schaeffer founded Cogent Communications in August 1999 and is the Chief Executive Officer. Under Mr. Schaeffer's leadership, Cogent has become one of the world's largest Internet Providers. Mr. Schaeffer has led the efforts of 13 successful acquisitions, propelling Cogent's originally U.S.-based network into Canada, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. Mr. Schaeffer has successfully founded and operated six other businesses prior to Cogent. These businesses span a wide array of industries from communications to commercial real estate. His diverse background and entrepreneurial successes have enabled him to build management teams that constructed and operate the only facilities-based, non-oversubscribed multinational network of its kind. In 2019, Mr. Schaeffer was named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year® in Media, Entertainment and Telecommunications.