2025 GigaNet Symposium

NOVA Spektrum, Lillestrøm, Norway, June 23, 2025  Workshop Room 6

8:50 – Welcoming remarks, Sophie Hoogenboom, Chair, Programme Committee

9.00 – 10:10 From the Tunis Agenda to WSIS+20: Pioneering Sustainable Development with LEO Satellites as Critical Internet Infrastructure

Building on insights from the Summer School on Internet Governance and International Law and its WSIS+20 recommendations, this panel explores the evolving concept of digital sovereignty and its implications for the governance of critical internet infrastructures, with a focus on Low Earth Orbit satellites (LEOs). By examining the interplay between sovereignty claims, transboundary data flows, and emerging regulatory frameworks, the panel will evaluate how digital sovereignty debates shape global connectivity, infrastructure resilience, and the pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in promoting inclusive and sustainable digital development.

Moderator: Jamal Shahin

  • Jonathan Liebenau, London School of Economics, “The Evolution of Low Earth Orbit Satellites: Historical and Economic Perspectives”
  • Joanna Kulesza, University of Lodz, “International Law and LEO Satellites: Jurisdiction, Sovereignty, and Human Rights”
  • Roxana Radu, University of Oxford, “Governance Challenges in LEO Infrastructure: Equity, Access, and the Future of Global Connectivity”

10.15 – 11:30 :  Mapping the Politics of Global Technology Governance: From Domestic Coalitions to Global Norms 

The papers on this panel discuss the state of multilateralism and Internet governance from a long-term perspective. The research is part of a EU-funded Horizon Europe research project on multilateralism and technology governance, “REMIT” (grant agreement No 101094228). (* indicates presenter)

Chair: Trisha Meyer 

Discussant: TBC

  • Roberta Haar*, Maastricht University, ‘’The United States, China and Strategic Technologies: Domestic Coalitions, Foreign Policy and Multilateral Cooperation’’
  • Apolline Rolland* and James Shires, Virtual Routes, ‘’Tomorrow never dies: how “emerging technologies” shape cybersecurity futures’’
  • Dennis Redeker*, Mariëlle Wijermars* and Nicola Palladino, “Digital Constitutionalism in Global Digital Governance: Identifying Actor-Principle Networks between 321 Digital Bills of Rights”

11:30 – 12:15 Giganet frontier papers 

Moderator: Sophie Hoogenboom

  • Chelsea Horne, American University, American University, USA: “Growing Up Governed: Parental Controls, Child Online Safety, and the Politics of Internet Regulation”
  • Vagisha Srivastava, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA: “Cashless India: A Paradox of Inclusion, Surveillance, and CBDC innovation”

12.15 – 13:30 Lunch

13.30 – 14:40 Panel Discussion: Should WSIS End? 

Five scholars discuss and debate the role and impacts of intergovernmental institutions in Internet governance, focusing on the future of the IGF, the renewal of the WSIS process, and the possible decoupling of IGF from the WSIS process.

Moderator: Jyoti Panday, Internet Governance Project, India.

  • Avri Doria, IETF and former ICANN Board member,
  • William Drake, Columbia University CITI, USA
  • Pari Esfandiari, Global TechnoPolitics Forum, UK
  • Alex Klimburg, The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, NL
  • Milton Mueller, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

14.40 – 15:00 GigaNet frontier paper, Moderator: Nadia Tjahja (TBC)

  • Mark W. Datysgeld, Jaqueline Trevisan Pigatto*, Laura Gabrieli Pereira da Silva: “Reframing Internet Governance: The Struggle of Multistakeholderism in the Face of Multilateralism”. * presenting

15.00 – 15:30 Open mic session with GigaNet Steering Committee

Evening programme

Giganet, Network of Centres and Nobel Institute event:

18:30 – 21:00, Ingensteds, Brenneriveien 9, 0182 Oslo https://www.ingensteds.no/

  • Tobias Mahler: Review and discussion of “Declaring Independence in Cyberspace,” Milton Mueller’s new book
  • Dan Svantesson: A rethink of “cyber jurisdiction”
  • Network of Centers presentation