On Thursday, March 17, Luca Belli participated as a speaker at the Side-Event of the UN’s 49th Session of the Human Rights Council – “Eliminate the Global Digital Divide and Safeguarding Human Rights”. Belli approached the development of community networks as alternative Internet access models and highlighted their important role in bridging the digital divides among the connected and the unconnected.
He also emphasized the fundamental role community networks play in ensuring what he defines as “network self-determination”, that is, “the right to freely associate to define, in a democratic fashion, the design, development and management of network infrastructure as a common good, in order to freely seek, impart and receive information and innovation”.
The event was co-organized by the China Foundation for Human Rights Development (CFHRD) and the China Federation of Internet Societies (CFIS).
You can download Dr. Belli’s presentation at the CyberBRICS Project’s website.