Advocacy

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Stakeholder Engagement

Our Advocacy Activities

Digital constitutionalism involves efforts to solidify rights and principles pertaining to the digital realm. Naturally, then, digital constitutionalism gives way to advocacy of rights and principles in the governance of digital technologies. The Digital Constitutionalism Network engages in a number of advocacy activities to promote relevant rights and principles in the constitutionalization of digital technologies. Through these advocacy efforts, the Network reaches a wide spectrum of stakeholders who can influence and create policies related to digital governance. The Network’s advocacy activities are only enhanced by the diverse advocacy efforts of its expanding list of individual members.

As a Collective

The DCN has engaged in and continues to engage in advocacy efforts around the world through international policy exchanges, most notably at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF). In the past few years, the DCN has (co-)organized the following sessions at the IGF:

  • IGF 2024: Fit for Future - A Visioning Exercise for Digital Cooperation

    Established by the United Nations Secretary-General, the Internet Governance Forum is a meeting of stakeholders representing governments, civil society, academia, the technical community, and the private sector convened for policy dialogue on Internet governance. At the 2024 IGF, which was held in Riyadh, the Digital Constitutionalism Network joined with the Global Digital Justice Forum, the Dynamic Coalition on Internet Rights and Principles, and the Dynamic Coalition on Platform Responsibility to organize a session entitled "Fit for Future – A Visioning Exercise for Digital Cooperation". The session fostered dialogue on how the current model of multistakeholderism could be reimagined to better facilitate the goals of digital governance. Participants discussed the language of multistakeholderism and sought to identify barriers to full inclusion in multistakeholder settings. Participating stakeholders examined the trajectory from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to the Global Digital Compact to identify and to address obstacles to digital governance that is people-centered and that reduces geographical inequalities, neo-colonial extractivism, and ecological damage.
  • IGF 2023: Radical Imaginings Fellowships for NextGen Digital Activists

    The Digital Constitutionalism Network co-organized with IT for Change a session titled "Radical Imaginings: Fellowships for NextGen Digital Activists" at the 2023 Internet Governance Forum in Kyoto. The session aimed to develop innovative models for fellowships that serve early-career scholars and activists working broadly within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (10) Reduced Inequalities, and (16) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. The multistakeholder session brainstormed designs for fellowships that would assist scholars and activists providing a Global South perspective on the challenges of an inequitable digital economy and of neo-colonial dependency. The dialogue addressed questions relating to the current structure of available fellowships and to how such fellowships can be re-imagined to amplify the most vulnerable and least represented voices and to bring about significant change in the direction of digital justice.
  • IGF 2018: Towards a Decentralized Internet Constitution?

    At the 2018 Internet Governance Forum held in Paris, Digital Constitutionalism Network members participated in a workshop entitled "Towards a Decentralized Internet Constitution?". Dennis Redeker and Mauro Santaniello organized and moderated the workshop, which focused on two decentralizing trends affecting human rights in the digital sphere. Participants examined the tendency of technological developments towards technological decentralization, particularly with the rise of blockchain technology and its ability to offer protection of human rights via cryptography and smart contracts. The workshop also discussed the tendency towards political decentralization, which were reflected in recent examples of digital constitutionalism that appeared across diverse governing bodies at the local (e.g., New York City), national (e.g., Italy and the Philippines), and regional (e.g., European Union) levels. DCN member Nicolas Suzor served on the panel and presented on the potential impact of digital constitutionalism initiatives on human rights in Australia.

Through the Digital Constitutionalism Teaching Partnership

Carta dei diritti umani e dei principi per Internet

The Digital Constitutionalism Teaching Partnership (DCTP) combines academic learning with practical engagement, demonstrating how students can engage in digital governance debates. An example of this is the 2019-2020 translation of the “Charter of Human Rights and Principles for the Internet” into Italian, undertaken by students from the Universities of Padova and Salerno. The translated Charter was later adopted by the Dynamic Coalition on Human Rights and Principles, which in turn informed Italy’s Declaration of Internet Rights. 

As Individuals

In addition to sessions formally (co-)organized by the DCN, individual members or groups within the DCN have contributed to various events and forums in other capacities. These include speaking engagements, panel discussions, and workshops, such as the following:    

  • European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) 2024:

    PGMT Lab member Dr. Dennis Redeker, together with Jakob Bund, senior researcher at European Cyber Conflict Research Initiative (ECCRI) gave a total of three presentations that highlighted early results from different research efforts entailed in the REMIT Horizon Europe research project.
  • IGF 2024: Roundtable on "Information Integrity: Human Rights & Platform Responsibilities"

    Prof. Nicolas Suzor was part of the roundtable on "Information Integrity: Human Rights & Platform Responsibilities", co-organized by Dr. Dennis Redeker.
  • IGF 2023: High Level Session "Evolving Trends in Mis- & Dis-Information"

    Prof. Nicolas Suzor took part in the high level session 'Evolving Trends in Mis- & Dis-Information'.
  • GigaNet Annual Symposium 2019:

    Dr. Clara Iglesias Keller and Dr. Dennis Redeker presented papers as part of the annual symposiums of the Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet), timed to accompany the global IGF meetings.