About nic.at
The Domain pulse 2011 in Vienna - Day 1
Thursday, 17. February 2011
Today the Domain pulse started in Vienna, which is the most important event for current topics, tendencies and trends around domain names in the German-speaking area. More than 300 visitors came to attend lectures of international experts. The focal topic was the discussion around government and Internet.
In cooperation with DENIC (German registry) and SWITCH (Swiss and Liechtenstein registry), nic.at (Austrian registry) was heading the Domain pulse symposium for the third time in Vienna after 2005 and 2008. The current Domain pulse is centred on two topical issues: The planned introduction of new Top Level Domains (TLD) as well as the discussion regarding government and Internet.
Main topic: How much governance does the Internet need?
“How much governance does the Internet need?” was the title of the discussion panel on the first day of the Domain pulse, which was lead by a group of high-ranking experts. Representatives of the German (Hubert Schöttner, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology), Austrian (Christian Singer, Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology) and Swiss (Thomas Schneider, Federal Office of Communication) government as well as representatives of the private industry (Verizon, Nokia Siemens Networks) were discussing with moderator Prof. Wolfgang Kleinwächter (University of Aarhus) the different approaches to the regulative function of the government on the Internet.
In spite of the different legal foundations in these countries, the political representatives agreed upon one point: Internet Governance must not be left to the states alone. By including the interests of both the government and private stakeholders, the Austrian example can be considered as a multi-stakeholder approach that could act as an international role model. Theresa Swinehart from Verizon pointed out that the development of regulations should be transparent and, by including everyone in the process, not be unnoticed.
Internet Governance was discussed further by Prof. Wolfgang Kleinwächter (University of Aarhus), Prof. Viktor Mayer-Schönberger (University of Oxford) and the CEO of nic.at, Richard Wein.
Says Mayer-Schönberger: ”Internet Governance is currently facing a crisis as it is lacking a vision of the future.” With regard to the current political developments it has become necessary to reconsider Internet Governance. Prof. Kleinwächter points out that Internet Governance has become the central subject of discussion again: “After Wikileaks, Google Street View, Facebook and the role of the Internet during the Arab uprisings, this issue has found its way into the agenda of the global political discussion again.” In Austria, however, the cooperation between government and domain administration works perfectly, as Richard Wein says: “We have a successful model here, and many countries envy us for that. nic.at is administrating the .at-zone in close cooperation with all parties involved: the government, the RTR (regulatory authority) as well as representatives of the local Internet community, like Internet service providers, legal experts and the media. As all relevant groups are involved, this model is widely accepted.”
The Domain pulse is tracing new trends
Among other topics, the first day of the Domain pulse was also highlighting the latest trends and tendencies on the World Wide Web: Real-time face recognition by means of a high-tech contact lens? E-ink or e-paper? Or playing physically demanding videogames with Full Body Media? Trend scout Nils Müller from TrendONE was presenting these and other achievements on the way to “Web 4.0”.
Please find the agenda of tomorrow’s Domain pulse events at:
www.domainpulse.at/en
Questions to:
Richard Wein
General Manager nic.at
Tel: 0662/4669-14
gf
nic.at 
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