An international conference is addressing - on 13-14 March in Graz - the challenges to human rights of Internet users.
Organised by the government of Austria in cooperation with the Council of Europe, the conference "Shaping the Digital Environment – Ensuring our Rights on the Internet" brings together representatives and experts from governments, international organisations, industry and civil society.
The conference is held within the framework of the Austrian Chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, and features in its agenda issues such privacy on the internet, public interest content and industry responses to user rights. Participants are also assessing the progress made on the Council of Europe's Internet Governance Strategy 2012-2015 and identifying strategic priorities beyond 2015.
Philippe Boillat, Council of Europe Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, and Michael Linhart, Secretary General of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, are speaking at the opening. Franz Majcen, President of the Styrian Parliament, and Siegfried Nagl, Mayor of Graz, are making welcome addresses.
Speakers at the conference include Frank La Rue, Special UN Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Dunja Mijatović, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Indrajit Banerjee, Director of the Knowledge Societies Division of UNESCO, and Paul Timmers, Director of Sustainable and Secure Society of the European Commission.