ESRC Seminar Series:
Digital Policy: Connectivity, Creativity and Rights

Katharine Sarikakis was co-applicant, together with William Dutton at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, Tracy Simmons at the University of Leicester for the seminar series Digital Policy, which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) of the UK. The PI was Gillian Youngs, University of Brighton, UK.

Digital policy is currently high on political, communications and commercial agendas. Controversial areas such as copyright infringement, the future and functions of public service content, and the role of Ofcom are core issues.  In the longer term the potential for economic transformations and growth through the digital economy, including the development of new skills, technological and industrial innovation and creativity, are at stake.

This seminar series aimed to bring together a distinctive mix of academic researchers at all levels, including research students, with policymakers and practitioners to focus on three key areas: connectivity, creativity and rights.

The Vienna Seminar, organized by the Media Governance and Industries Research Lab, with the title "What digital Future?" took place from November 22-23, 2012 at the Department of Communication of the University of Vienna.

For a detailed description of the Vienna Seminar, abstracts and bios please see below:


Confirmed Speakers included

  • Lisa McLaughlin, Miami University Ohio, USA
  • Gillian Youngs, University of Brighton, UK
  • Katharine Sarikakis, University of Vienna, Austria
  • Andre Jansson, Karlstad University, Sweden
  • Leonhard Dobusch, Free University, Berlin, Germany
  • Andrey Rikhter, Secretariat for freedom of information, OSCE
  • Jakob Svensson, Karlstad University, Sweden
  • Lukas Feiler, Stanford-Vienna Transatlantic Technology Law Forum fellow
  • Andreas Ulrich, Federal Chancellery of the Republic of Austria
  • Markus Huber, Transmediale Berlin
  • Rubina Möhring, Reporters without frontiers Austria
  • Ed McLuskie, Boise State University, USA
  • Anthony Löwstedt, Webster University Vienna, Austria
  • Giota Alevizou, Design and Innovation Group at the Faculty of Maths, Computing and Media Technology at the Open University, UK
  • Stefan Strauß, Institute of Technology Assessment, Austrian Academy of Sciences