*Wikimedia District of Columbia*
*in partnership with*
*The Washington European Society*
*&*
*The Estonian Embassy in Washington*
invite you to
*Internet Freedom & Open Government*
*An International Conversation*
*
*
*Featuring*
*Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)*
*Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform*
*Chairman Marko Mihkelson*
*Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament*
*Rebecca MacKinnon*
*Bernard L. Schwartz senior fellow at the New America Foundation*
*
*
*Panel Moderated By*
*Adam Kushner*
*Deputy Editor, National Journal
*
* *
*April 25, 2012*
*5:00 PM Discussion*
*6:00 PM Reception*
* Space is limited. RSVP required.
*
<http://internetfreedomevent.eventbrite.com/?ref=ebtn>
*Estonian Embassy*
*2131 Massachusetts Ave NW *
*Washington, DC 20008*
SOPA. PIPA. ACTA. These four-letter acronyms dominated the headlines as
thousands of people around the world protested for the right to a free and
open internet. Meanwhile, a report by Freedom House, an American NGO,
ranked Estonia as the country with the highest level of Internet freedom,
and Estonia also ranks on the top of global lists of open and transparent
governments. How did Estonia end up on top? What is the status of internet
freedom around the world? What are the practices of e-governance that can
foster a transparent, inclusive relationship between citizens and
governments? Where does the US stand on these issues, and how do
congressional measures, such as the OPEN Act, affect internet freedom in
the US? Join Wikimedia District of Columbia, the Washington European
Society, and the Estonian Embassy in this discussion on Internet Freedom &
Open Government.
About the Guests:
*Rep. Darrell Issa *(R-CA) is the U.S. Representative for California's 49th
congressional district, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee, and member of the House Committee on Judiciary,
Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet. He
has served in the House of Representatives since 2001. As a prominent
opponent of SOPA and PIPA, Congressman Issa, along with 25 co-sponsors,
introduced the OPEN Act (Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade
Act) in the House as an alternative to SOPA. Suggestions for improvements
to the OPEN Act were crowdsourced on *keepthewebopen.com*.
*Marko Mihkelson *is Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the
Riigikogu, the unicameral parliament of Estonia, where he also serves as a
Member of the European Union Affairs Committee and Head of the Delegation
to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Chairman Mihkelson is a recipient of
Estonia's Order of the White Star, 4th class, Knight of the National Order
of Merit of France, and Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Republic
of Italy, among other honors. His articles have been published in several
international publications since 1993.
* **Rebecca MacKinnon *is a Bernard L. Schwartz senior fellow at the New
America Foundation and author of *Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide
Struggle for Internet Freedom. *MacKinnon is a former CNN journalist,
having headded the CNN bureaus in Beijing and later in Tokyo. She later
became co-founder of Global Voices Online, an international network of
bloggers and citizen journalists. She is on the Board of Directors of the
Global Network Initiative and the Committee to Protect Journalists, and is
a member of the Advisory Board of the Wikimedia Foundation.
About the Moderator:
*Adam Kushner *is deputy editor of *National Journal* magazine. Prior to
National Journal, he served as a senior editor at *Newsweek*, editing
foreign coverage, including major projects such as a Berlin Wall
retrospective and coverage of the 2010 World Cup. Earlier, Kushner covered
ideas and trends for the foreign desk as a senior writer. From 2003 to
2007, Kushner held a variety of positions at *The New Republic*, including
a post as Assistant Managing Editor and, ultimately, Managing
Editor/Online. In that role, he managed all aspects of the site and oversaw
a relaunch of TNR.com. Kushner is a graduate of Columbia University, and
co-founded both the Columbia Political Review and the Columbia Journal of
Literary Criticism during his time there. He is a native of New Orleans.