Internet Freedom Seminar 

Dear Sir, Madam,

It is our pleasure to invite you to a seminar on Internet Freedom hosted by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Washington D.C. in collaboration with Google. This event will be held on Thursday the 8th of December 2011, 2.00 - 4.00 PM, at the Newseum, Washington D.C.

Internet Freedom is becoming an increasingly important human rights and foreign policy issue. As Dutch Foreign Minister Rosenthal recently said:

"The internet is a huge new arena where the right to freedom of opinion and expression still has to be defended. [...] Together, the public and private sectors need to map a global response to threats to freedom of expression on the internet." (24 March 2011, International Digital Economy Accord, Brussels).

On 8 and 9 December 2011, Minister Rosenthal will host a Ministerial Conference on Internet Freedom in The Hague, The Netherlands. This conference will bring together government and non-government stakeholders who will exchange best practices and will engage in a dialogue on how to protect fundamental human rights in the Internet age.

The seminar in Washington D.C. will provide the Internet Freedom policy community in the nation’s capital with a unique opportunity to join this #ifreedom discussion.

PROGRAMME:

[PLEASE NOTE: Due to security procedures, registration starts at 1:30 PM. The event starts at 2:00 PM Sharp. Please arrive on time and use the Freedom Forum entrance.]

• Ms. Maureen Bunyan, News Anchor at ABC7/WJLA-TV will be our host and moderator.

• Opening remarks will be given by:

H.E. Renee Jones-Bos, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United States

H.E. Maria Otero, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs

• Broadcast of the keynote speech of Secretary of State, Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton at the high-level segment of the Big Tent event, hosted by Google in The Hague on the occasion of the Ministerial Conference

• Ms. Bunyan will moderate a panel discussion with:

Ambassador Philip Verveer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and United States Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy

Ms. Johanna Shelton, Policy Counsel & Legislative Strategist at Google

Ms. Leslie Harris, President and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology

We hope you will join us: please click on the item below to RSVP for this event.