Network of networks: Advisory group meeting

I’ve been working on the the APC’s Network of networks for a free and open internet project for a few months now. Part of our plan is to develop an online platform to diffuse our work while increasing collaboration. I’m not sure of the best way to do this, so we decided to experiment. This first blog post is just the beginning of what may turn into many more blog posts, or maybe a wiki, or maybe a combination of the two, or maybe something else entirely. What do you think? What is the best way to enhance our offline work and also increase its visibility? Drop me a line at chad [at] apc dot org. Thanks! And now… the first blog post:

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February 7th is the first meeting of APC’s Network of networks for a free and open internet Advisory Group. Over 2 days we’re going to look at:

• Enhancing our understanding of the current internet public policy context
• Identifying strategic opportunities for global civil society collaboration in the area of internet public policy
• Identifying themes/areas for research

This diverse group’s role is to identify initial strategic opportunities and potential partners/alliances. All 10 members are committed to keeping the internet free and open and their specialities range from Network Neutrality to Human Rights to Freedom of Expression. They also live and work all over the world, from the United States to India to South Africa.

This meeting is a seminal step in the life of the project and I’m excited to convene this fantastic group and to see where our discussions take us. I’ll be blogging more here. In the meantime feel free to share any thoughts you might have on the current internet public policy context and any opportunities for change we should be leveraging.

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Also … the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is currently being negotiated in Mexico. What happens in Mexico could determine future use of the internet. For an in-depth primer of what’s at stake, check out Micheal Geist’s blog