Back in USSR … or so I might have thought. Quite the opposite actually.
IGF 2010 in Vilnius, Lithuania has gotten underway with a series of pre-activities at the stylish Litexpo venue – a bastion of “postmodern minimalism”.
The Baltic Republic of Lithuania has undergone a dramatic transformation over the last decade or thereabouts, and its most recent Soviet Union legacy is only reflected in some of the bog standard USSR housing complexes and older industrial buildings.
Vilnius itself is a surprisingly and achingly beautiful city reminscent in many ways of a storybook mashup of medieval times and modern times to create a unique experience.
As with the dramatic backdrop of the Sinai peninsula in Sharm-el-Sheikh at last year’s IGF, Vilnius presents an opportunity for the Internet world to spread further, wider and deeper into the developing world beyond North America and “traditional” definitions of Europe.
Underway today is the major, annual ISOC IGF Briefing Session for its 2010 Ambassadors and Members along with the following (after the picture highlights jump):
ISOC Ambassadors and Staff listen attentively at IGF 2010 Briefing
ISOC Ambassadors & Staff chat during a break in the ISOC IGF 2010 Briefing
DiploFoundation ACP Workshop gets underway with facilitation by Jovan Kurbalija
Internet Governance Diplomacy – Training Workshop for Professionals and Officials from ACP (Africa-Caribbean-Pacific) Group of States
Organizer: DiploFoundation
Room 7, from 9:00 to 17:00
More information: http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/events/internet-governance-diplomacy-3
5th Annual Symposium of the Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet)
Organizer: GigaNet
Room 3, from 9:00 to 17:30
Remote Participation: http://bit.ly/GigaNet5RP
More information: http://giga-net.org/page/2010-annual-symposium
Remote Participation and Moderation – Training Workshop
Organizer: DiploFoundation
Room 6, from 17:00 to 18:00
More information: http://www.diplomacy.edu/acp/ and http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/events/remote-participation-and
Social Reporting – Training Workshop and Presentation of the Initiative
Organizer: DiploFoundation
Room 6, from 18:00 to 19:00
More information: http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/group/igf2010 and http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/events/social-reporting
Pre-event on human rights
Organiser: APC
Room 5, from 14:00 to 17:00
Attempts to get human rights on the internet onto the agenda at the Fifth Internet Governance Forum –the UN conference now in its possibly final edition— which is to take place in September foundered in the face of government resistance. And the IGF agenda for 2010 will focus on development and internet governance. However Vilnius will be the scenario to shape a debate on censorship, freedom of expression and privacy that has been clamouring for attention. APC and partners will hold a discussion on internet governanceand human rights immediately before the IGF in Vilnius, Lithuania on September 13.
More information: http://www.apc.org/en/news/internet-governance-forum-2010-pre-event-human-rig Pre-event on human rights