ISDT 2011 now accepting applications

6 Apr 2011

The third annual Gary Chapman International School on Digital Transformation will take place July 17-22, 2011, in Porto, Portugal.

Applications will be accepted until April 30. The School encourages advanced students, activists, community organizers, entrepreneurs, designers, and others interested in digital media and civil society to apply. Now in its third year, the program has been re-named for its founder, renowned Internet policy scholar and University of Texas faculty member Gary Chapman, who passed away suddenly in December 2010.

This intensive residential program brings together a diverse collection of established and emerging scholars and other professionals from around the world, fostering a sustainable network of scholars and activists committed to exploring ways digital media can strengthen civil society. Participants will stay at the Eurostars Das Artes hotel in Porto, which will host most of the daily program, and will dine together at a local restaurant each night. The School will feature talks and discussions, barcamp-style meetings, and other interactive activities, focused on themes including:

• Information access and open civic discourse
• Digital tools for government transparency
• Evolving Internet content regulation and the public’s right to information
• Digital media and the democratic process
• Factors influencing the growth of online civic engagement

Confirmed speakers include faculty from 2009 and 2010 as well as some new members:

Sunil Abraham of the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore, India

Ademar Aguiar of U. Porto and the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering (INESC TEC) in Porto

Cristina Costa of the University of Salford

Fiorella de Cindio of the University of Milan

Diego Gómez, co-founder of community project Hiperbarrio Colombia, based in Medellín, Colombia

Tiago Peixoto of the e-Democracy Centre and the European University Institute

Alison Powell, Fellow in Media and Communications at the London School of Economics

Leslie Regan Shade of Concordia University

Laura Stein of the University of Texas at Austin

Jillian York of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University

Fees for the 2011 session are:
- 370 Euros with accommodation at the Hotel Eurostars das Artes, including breakfast.
- 170 Euros for UT-Austin-Portugal PhD Program students, with an extra fee for accommodation at the hotel.

For all participants, fees include six dinners, a cultural event during the week, and the daily program of talks and meetings. Travel to Porto is not supported; participants must arrange and pay for their own travel. Participants are expected to be present at all dinners and activities during the week.

Full application procedures are available on the School’s site at www.digitaltransformationschool.org. For questions about the application or the School, please contact Karen Gustafson at kegustafson@gmail.com.