Conference on Internet governance

(Oslo, 29 January 2009): An international conference with the title Internet Governance at the Crossroads is in progress in Oslo on 29 and 30 January. Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law, University of Oslo, and UNINETT Norid AS, both important actors within research and knowledge dissemination on Internet issues in Norway.

- Internet is no longer only nice to have, but a matter of neccessity in today's society, Secretary General Eva Hildrum from the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, alid down when she opened the conference, which had gathered about 100 participants from all over the world. The speakers are among the world's foremost within the field, including representatives from ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the EU commision, Norwegian authorities, industry and commerce, and academia.

Where does the road goes from here?

The conference is an opportunity for a broad and informed discussion on the crucial issues regarding governing and protection of the Internet, which are discussed in several international foras at the time being. These range from issues concerning the thorough extension of generic top level domains, globalization of Internet governance, regulation of on-line gambling, and the relation between traditional telecom regulations and Internet governance in general.

- The Internet is in fact international and will be getting even more multi-cultural when alphabets like the Chinese and the Arab are introduced. This will make the net even more important, and thus make questions of control and governance even more crucial for more people, professor Jon Bing from NRCCL comments.

The term "governance" includes actors like industry, academia, tecnicians and individuals in addition to the autoritites. The Mexican Alejandro Pisanty, director of Computing Academic Services, UNAM, og an active contributor in the development of ICANN, underlined in his keynote presentation the significance of keeping the process open and inviting alle parties to contribute. At the same time he pointed at the neccessity of more theoretical knowledge within the field.

Need of more knowledge

An important book on Internet governance issues edited by the professors Jon Bing og Lee A. Bygrave, NCRRL, was launched at the conference. The book, which is published by Oxford University Press, gives an introduction to major issues within the field and is intended as an educational book both for students and others.

- For Norid it is important to support research and knowledge dissemination within the Internet and domain name areas, says Hilde M. Thunem, Managing Director of UNINETT Norid AS says. - The conference as an arena for debate as well as the new book are important contributions to more knowledge on the field, she adds.

Conference program:
http://www.norid.no/nytt/ig-konferanse2009-program.pdf

Presentation of the book Internet Governance - Infrastructure and Institutions:
http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780199561131

Contact persons:
Jon Bing, jon.bing@jus.uio.no, telephone +47 909 67 659
Hilde M. Thunem, hilde.thunem@uninett.no, telephone +47 414 49 885

About NRCCL:
http://www.jus.uio.no/iri/

About Norid:

Norid is the .no registry, which means that all domains directly within .no must be registered with Norid. In addition to processing applications and developing the domain name policy, Norid is responsible for the technical operation of the name service, allowing the Norwegian Internet to be globally accessible at all times. According to its role as a neutral actor, Norid also handles other national tasks which have a natural relation to the core activities.

The registry follows a principle of only handling essential core tasks inhouse, while other tasks are outsourced to companies who offer registrar services in agreement with Norid. The activites are strongly internationally orientated with a wide range of contacts in technical as well as domain administrative environments in other countries.

Norid is also responsible for the top level domains .bv (Bouvet Island) and .sj (Svalbard and Jan Mayen). The current domain name policy do not, however, allow registration within these domains.

The service is regulated by the Domain Name Regulations and is supervised by the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority. Norid is not a public administrative agency, and the allocation of domain names is based on private law rules. The company is run non-profit. Norid is part of the UNINETT Group and is located in Trondheim with the rest of the Group.