MAPPING Final General Assembly, a key appointment for internet governance

DICYT - Malta has been the chosen location to host the Mapping Final General Assembly. A three day meeting in which different stakeholders - including, business, online service providers, governmental organizations, civil society, and academics have put together their contributions for the creation of an enabling framework for the digital transition and improvement of the global governance structure as well as the EU innovation ecosystem.

During the last four years, this EU funded project has mobilized the main international actors regarding crucial issues such as internet governance, privacy or intellectual property rights, as well as promoting active debate about how are shaping the future Internet.

MAPPING draft legal instrument on surveillance

One of MAPPING main objectives has focused on building informed, inclusive reports that may help authorities and policy makers and in general, to decide and regulate different digital practices and business models that may be crucial in shaping Internet future development. One of this results has been 'MAPPING draft legal instrument on surveillance' (mentioned by Prof. Joe Cannataci in his capacity as UN Special Rapporteur for Privacy in his annual report to the UN General Assembly on 20 October 2017).The document officially presented during Rome's conference on Surveillance in January 2018 has received considerable international attention and is one of MAPPING latest steps for enabling a suitable framework for the digital transition and improvement of the global governance.

Mobilizing key actors

Since the beginning of the project in 2014, the Annual MAPPING General Assembly has become a recognized platform focused on cooperation and a key appointment for the exchange of ideas. So that one of the main issues of this final forum has arisen stakeholders attention to the necessity of maintaining open spaces for debate on MAPPING main issues.

While the Extraordinary General Assembly (Rome, May 2014) was organized in order to mobilize and map stakeholders and to share the project objectives and vision with the main MAPPING actors, the First General Assembly (Hannover, September 2015) was aimed to reflect on the work carried out since MAPPING beginning. The Second General Assembly was held in Prague, Czech Republic, on November 2016 and the event promoted debate about online business, security and fundamental human rights.