Last September, in the wake of Edward Snowden’s stunning revelations about the scale of global mass surveillance, President Dilma Roussef of Brazil made an impassioned speech at the United Nations calling for a major break from the status quo on the current systems of Internet governance. As a result, the world is coming to Sao Paulo, Brasil on April 23-24 for a critical discussion about the future of the Internet called NetMundial.
In the run-up to the meeting, many proposals for reform are flowing in from around the world. We are advocating strongly for changes in current governance structures to support the Internet’s emerging status as a critical global public good akin to the open seas. We believe the evolution of the Internet must place social and economic justice as a core design principle and that governance mechanisms must engage people, organizations, and governments from around the world on a much more equal basis than the current reality.
For those who cannot travel to Brazil, 33 remote hubs around the world have been identified in 22 countries to enable greater participation of global citizens and the general public through real time interaction with conference events.
We are thrilled to have nine Thoughtworks offices chosen as remote hub of participation for NETmundial. The hubs will provide an opportunity for you to meet in groups to attend discussions going on at NetMundial, and to interact and provide feedback during sessions.
For more information about the NetMundial, including a complete list of remote hubs, please visit www.netmundial.br.
Here’s the list of Thoughtworks’ offices that are participating. We hope you can join us.
Bangalore, India
Chicago, USA
Delhi, India
Hamburg, Germany
London, UK
Melbourne, Australia
New York, USA
Quito, Ecuador
San Francisco, USA
Questions about joining? E-mail Felicity Ruby, director of global Internet policy for Thoughtworks or visit our Event page.
Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Thoughtworks.