Common Teaching Activities
ERASMUS+ Blended-Intensive Program
Digital constitutionalism describes the political process of entrenching rights and principles into the global governance of digital technologies, specifically the Internet. Digital constitutionalism does not describe actual legal constitutions but normative conversations about which rights and principles should govern the Internet – locally, nationally and globally. Documents of digital constitutionalism have been proposed by different kinds of actors – including civil society, business, governments, national parliaments, political parties, international organizations – and have emerged from a national level or transnationally.
The Digital Constitutionalism Network aims to systematically study the political, social, and legal processes involved in this field. The Network was created in late 2019 from a working group on digital constitutionalism supported by the Bochum-based Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS). As of February 2020, the Network is comprised of members located at thirteen universities in Africa, Australia, North America and Europe. As part of the activities of the Network, a number of its members have engaged in a teaching partnership that features common teaching activities that cover topics from our common research agenda.
Past Editions
The 2023 Blended-Intensive Program, hosted by the University of Padova, brought together an expanded network of universities, including Maastricht University, Complutense University of Madrid, WZB Berlin, and the University of Klagenfurt, alongside the host institution. The program combined online lectures and an in-person workshop, offering participants a comprehensive and collaborative learning experience on key issues in digital governance.
The program began with six online lectures from May to June 2023, totaling 15 hours, which explored topics such as Fundamental Rights in the Digital Age and The Content Governance Dilemma. In September, participants convened at the University of Padova for an intensive workshop, where they examined themes including the UN Global Digital Compact and pan-African digital rights movements.
Focusing on values and fundamental rights, digital and green transitions, and platform governance, the program encouraged participants to address pressing global challenges. Working in inter-university teams, students developed policy briefs that applied principle-based digital governance frameworks to diverse contexts, demonstrating the program’s emphasis on practical, collaborative outcomes.
The 2024 Blended-Intensive Program, hosted by ZeMKI at the University of Bremen, focused on Digital Constitutionalism and the UN Global Digital Compact. Building on the success of previous iterations, this program provided participants with both theoretical foundations and practical tools for critically engaging with global digital governance frameworks.
The program was, again, structured in two phases. The first phase prepared participants through collaborative research tasks and guided discussions, laying the groundwork for an intensive exploration of digital governance. The second phase took the form of a week-long workshop in Bremen, where students focused on the Global Digital Compact and critically examined its implications through the zero-draft document released on 1 April 2024.
A key feature of the 2024 edition was the integration of remote participation in the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG), which provided participants with valuable insights into ongoing global discussions on digital policy. The program culminated in the development of six policy briefs authored by participants. These briefs critically engage with the Global Digital Compact zero-draft, offering actionable insights and recommendations for refining its content.