Join the Web Foundation at the Stockholm Internet Forum for a conversation about emerging digital challenges and how to ensure the web is truly for everyone.

Date: Thursday, 18 May
Time: 9:30 (CEST)
Location: Fogelström (Livestream)

Troubled times

In August last year, we learned that US National Security Agency lost control of an arsenal of hacking tools. Just last week 99 countries were hit by a cyberattack that affected operations at hospitals, banks, energy companies and telecommunications firms. Widespread chaos in UK’s National Health Service systems has been blamed on chronic underfunding of public IT systems.

It is increasingly clear that governments are unable to secure critical IT infrastructure. And if the world’s richest countries are so unprepared for a single ransomware attack, what can we expect from low to middle-income countries? While access remains a clear priority, civil society organisations need to face emerging complex technology challenges and start to understand their impact on power structures. This is vital to ensure not only that everyone can access the web, but also that everyone can use it safely to improve their lives once online.

It is a (em)power(ing) game

The Web Foundation is gathering leading experts at this week’s Stockholm Internet Forum for a conversation about how civil society can better tackle emerging issues in five key areas:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Cybersecurity
• Media and press freedoms
• Control over personal data
• Algorithms

As most research is done from the perspective of wealthy nations in Europe and North America, this is an opportunity to use Stockholm Internet Forum’s global platform to define a shared agenda for civil society, prioritising the needs of  low to middle-income countries while coordinating with global efforts.

The Web Foundation is fighting for digital equality — a world where everyone can access the web and use it to improve their lives.If we want to see a world where everyone has the same rights and opportunities online, we need to discuss how the web’s power structures and governance can be reformed to take local considerations into account. We need to debate whether civil society agendas are outdated and whether we’re failing to prepare for the future. We need to think about how we can build better alliances to tackle the challenges ahead.

We’ll discuss all this and more at our session, and hope you’ll join us for the debate.

Visit the SIF event page to see the speakers and to watch the livestream on Thursday, 18 May. Join the conversation on twitter at #SIF17, #SIF173b and follow us at @webfoundation.