[IRPCoalition] IRPC News & Announcements

[Bodle, Robert]

Dear Members of the Internet Rights and Principles Coalition,

As Co-chairs of the IRPC, we’d like to formally announce the transition now that the election has concluded, first by welcoming and reintroducing:

1)	the new Steering Committee Member, Hanane Houjemi (http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/wks2013/panellist_2013_list_view.php?qbofmmjtu_je=70) who seeks to promote the Charter further among governments in the Arab region;
2)	and the new Co-Chair, Catherine Easton, who intends to extend the Charter’s influence as a tangible legal framework, from both a legal perspective and through access-focused activist groups.

We are also formally announcing the stepping down of Marianne Franklin, Co-chair of the IRPC 2013-2014. Marianne has tirelessly promoted the development of the Charter as a tangible published document and has shepherded numerous copyedits, designs, translations, and print runs of the Charter, which has been translated in Arabic, Turkish, German, and now Spanish. Marianne has also represented the Coalition at IGF-Baku, Bali, and Istanbul, as well as EuroDIG (Lisbon and Berlin), and countless other Internet Governance venues, fora, and meetings leading workshops, coalition building, advocating and fundraising. She has also worked toward the implementation of the Charter within policy instruments and outcome documents (see: http://internetrightsandprinciples.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Five-Year-Review_IRPC-Slides.pdf) and has worked to strengthen the IRPC’s role in collaborating with civil society groups in general and dynamic coalitions within the IGF in particular. As IRPC Steering Member, Marianne will continue to lead the Charter Booklet Project. Thank you Marianne!

The coalition hopes to build on this good work - to grow the coalition; implement Human Rights in Internet Governance with the Charter as both an aspirational document and guide for policy formulation; seek further partnerships to providing netrights education and outreach; and to enhance and expand on coalition building at the local, state, and regional level to uphold Human Rights on the Internet for all. 

Happy New Year and Best Wishes! 

Robert and Catherine

--
Robert Bodle, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Communication and New Media Studies
Mount St. Joseph University
Cincinnati, OH45233-1670
(513) 244-4829
robert_bodle at mail.msj.edu

Adjunct Professor
Department of Media, Journalism and Film
Miami University
Oxford, OH45056
bodler at miamioh.edu

Co-Chair Internet Rights & Principles Coalition (UN IGF)
www.internetrightsandprinciples.org
@netrights