[IRP] Conference: Internet and democratic change

[Marcin de Kaminski]

Hi everyone!

Enclosed is info about the upcoming conference "Internet and democratic change - net activism, empowerment, emancipation". Please spread this info widely.

Attendance is by invite only, but the whole event will be webcasted for all from www.sida.se

Please feel free to publish or forward the shorter or longer version of the text. If you want some linklove, please notify me (preferably off-list) about where the information has been published.

Best,
Marcin de Kaminski, the Julia Group

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Short version:

Internet and Democratic Change
- A conference about Net Activism, Empowerment and Emancipation in the Middle East and North Africa

Don't miss the live broadcast of this topical conference, where bloggers and net activists discuss experiences, challenges and opportunities, with a special focus on the developments in the Middle East and North Africa! The conference will be webcasted and anyone can attend. A chat link will be available if you wish to pose questions to the speakers. Activists with first hand experiences will give their views on the events of the Arab Spring. 

The Internet and net activism can promote democratic change in repressive environment and has informed and mobilized people during the recent uprisings. What can international cooperation do to support access to the Internet and the use of technology for democratic development in the region?

Meet Scott Lucas, Professor Birmingham University, Stephan Urbach, hacktivist of Telecomix, Anita Hunt, social media curator in human rights issues, Jacob Appelbaum, researcher and hacker from The TOR Project and M?ns Adler, founder of Bambuser.

Mahnaz Afkhami founder and President of the Women's Learning Partnership (WLP) will initiate the afternoon. Then meet and listen to activists like Maryam Al-Khawaja from Bahrain, Slim Amamou from Tunisia, Salma Said from Egypt and Hamza Fakher from Syria. State secretary Hanna Hellquist will close the conference.

During an evening session you will also meet the initiated and prestigious journalists Dima Khatib, Sultan Al Qassemi and Neal Mann in a panel discussion about social media and the new forms of journalism that we have met during the last years turmoil in the MENA region.

The conference is arranged by Sida in cooperation with the Julia Group, and all seminars will be webcasted and free to attend online. Make sure you can attend on October 26th! Also please follow our Twitter hashtag, #net4change and help us spread this day of seminars! 

Join the Facebook event at http://on.fb.me/net4change-fb
Read the whole programme in detail at http://bit.ly/net4change-programme
Follow the webcast on Oct 26th at http://www.sida.se

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Long version:

Internet and Democratic Change
- A conference about Net Activism, Empowerment and Emancipation in the Middle East and North Africa

Sida ? the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency ? in cooperation with the Julia Group is proud to present a whole day of seminars on October 26th 2011. The topic is net activism, empowerment and emancipation focusing on the current events in the Middle East and North Africa.

The event, which will be webcasted for all, gathers net activists, democracy activists and human rights activists from both the MENA region and the rest of the world to discuss how the Internet and net activism can promote democratic change and the strive towards human rights for all.

The featured speakers at the event are well known activists from different areas. The magnificent lineup for the day can be said to share ideals, but has never shared a stage until now.

Among the speakers, we will meet; Scott Lucas (Professor Birmingham University), Stephan Urbach (hacktivist of Telecomix), Anita Hunt (social media curator in human rights issues), Jacob Appelbaum (researcher and hacker from The Tor Project) and M?ns Adler (founder of Bambuser).

We will also meet; Mahnaz Afkhami (founder and President of the Women?s Learning Partnership), Maryam Al-Khawaja (Bahrain), Slim Amamou (Tunisia), Salma Said (Egypt) and Hamza Fakher (Syria).

In an interesting evening session we will also meet the initiated and prestigious journalists Dima Khatib, Sultan Al Qassemi and Neal Mann in a panel discussion about social media and the new forms of journalism that we have met during the last years? turmoil in the MENA region.

The Director General of Sida, Charlotte Petri Gomitzka will open the day, while State secretary Hanna Hellquist will close it and also relate it to the current and future initiatives of the Swedish Government on issues related to Internet freedom, human rights and digital democratization. Moderators of the day are Yasmine El Rafie, journalist and Arab Spring curator in various social media, and Marcin de Kaminski of the Julia Group.

All seminars will be webcasted and free to attend online. Make sure you can attend on October 26th! Also please follow our Twitter hashtag, #net4change and help us spread this day of seminars!

Join the Facebook event at http://on.fb.me/net4change-fb
Read the whole programme in detail at http://bit.ly/net4change-programme
Follow the webcast on Oct 26th at http://www.sida.se