The Freedom Online Coalition has announced its 4th Annual High Level Freedom Coalition conference tagged “Free and Secure Internet for All” to be held on April 28 and 29 in Tallinn, Estonia.The conference will be hosted by the Estonian government. According to foreign minister Urmas Paet, Estonia is one of the most active defenders of Internet freedom and emphasized that for Estonia, Internet freedom is an inseparable part of human rights.
“Security and freedom are not mutually exclusive Internet concepts,” the foreign minister said. “In addition to the fact that we are members of the UN Human Rights Council, Estonia is currently the chairman of the Freedom Online Coalition and we therefore have a great opportunity, but also the responsibility of managing the work of the 22 countries that make up the association. The goal of the Freedom Online Coalition is the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in cyberspace,” Paet said.
The conference is expected to continue open and inclusive discussions in a multi-stakeholder arena on the continued promotion of freedoms in cyberspace. It will feature different panels and workshops, addressing such significant issues as online application of universal human rights; the role of business in advancing an open and free Internet and one and universally open Internet.
The conference will be attended by the ministers, international companies and NGOs of tens of states. In total, more than 200 participants are expected to attend the conference. Among others, presenting their views on the promotion of free and safe Internet are President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Google representative Vint Cerf, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland, Internet Society CEO Kathryn Brown, and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Kenya, Sweden, and Mongolia.
A major focus of the conference will be the presentation and agreement on recommendations for Freedom Online. The Recommendations outlines best practices for guaranteeing the free development of internet in the following aspects: – Fundamental Freedoms Online; The Role of Business in Advancing an Open and Free Internet; and One Internet.
The aim of the Recommendations is to provide a tool for answering the fundamental question of how to guarantee universal freedoms online while providing everyone with a safe environment to express themselves and create content.
Due to the multi-stakeholder model of the Internet governance, many NGOs, individuals and international corporations have been invited in addition to the Freedom Online Coalition ministers to create an extensive and constructive dialogue for the global advancement of free and secure Internet for all.
The Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) is an intergovernmental coalition committed to advancing internet freedom – free expression, association, assembly, and privacy online – worldwide. Member states are committed to working together diplomatically to voice concerns over measures to restrict internet freedom and support those individuals whose human rights online are violated/restricted.
Currently, the Freedom Online Coalition consists of Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, Latvia, the Republic of Maldives, Mexico, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Since 2011, the Coalition has grown from 15 initial members to 21 today.
To find out more about the speakers, programme and its updates, visit the official website of the Conference at: http://www.freedomonline.ee/
For registration, fill out an online form at: https://secure.vm.ee/freedomonline/
Registration closes April 10, 2014.
