Panels Tackle Digital Learning
The Harvard Crimson
November 18, 2002

Harvard Wrap-Up
Halley's Comment
November 17, 2002

Harvard's Digital ID
Copyfight
November 16, 2002

Internet Conference Explores Harvard's Digital Identity
The Harvard University Gazette
October 17, 2002

Internet & Society 2002: Harvard's Digital Identity
A Community Experiment

For Immediate Release: October 7, 2002

Contact: Robyn Mintz, Berkman Center for Internet & Society (617) 496-2542

CAMBRIDGE, MA. — The identity of Harvard, the University, is understood and renowned both externally and internally. But can we say the same about the Harvard identity in the digital world? Who are we within the current framework of technology and new media? Who ponders these questions, and who determines the answers? Will you?

On November 15-16 Harvard University will hold the Fourth Harvard Conference on Internet & Society—a unique experiment in collaborative thinking about Harvard's digital identity. Open to all Harvard faculty, administrators, students, staff, and alumni, the conference will feature presenters and panelists including Provost Steven Hyman, President Emeritus Derek Bok, and Dean Kim Clark of Harvard Business School.

"The Internet is transforming Harvard," says John Palfrey, executive director of the University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, a partner in organizing the conference. "This conference goes well beyond the question of whether to wire classrooms. It's about the values we want to express with the choices we're making—and about where we want to go from here."

The conference is structured so that the first day focuses inward, exploring Harvard's identity and mission. The second day looks outward, asking what this identity means in the context of the Internet's global arena. Conference panels will focus on issues ranging from the management of Harvard's digital "brand", to the digital archiving of library materials, to the creation of the University’s technical infrastructure.

"This is an opportunity to explore the issues we as a community care about, identify those that divide us, and determine what values should guide our future choices," says Charles Nesson, a conference co-chair along with Professors Charles Ogletree of the Harvard Law School and Mark Moore of the Kennedy School of Government. "We're asking whether it is possible to develop a shared digital agenda—one that will reflect the University's core values as well as support advances in teaching, scholarship, and community building."

Among the questions to be explored: What does it mean to be a member of the Harvard community when technology breaks down traditional barriers? What kinds of technology are we using within the Harvard system—and how is it changing the way we teach, learn, and connect? Should we make course materials and other educational resources globally available? How should we respond to the explosive controversies surrounding the ownership of digital content?

To kick start community-wide thinking and debate about these issues, organizers have invited those interested in attending to visit the conference website at http://www.internetandsociety.org. Visitors will be able to access audio interviews with campus leaders and join in an online discussion using the Berkman Center's "H2O" system. Open to all who wish to participate, the discussion will be seeded with new questions and topics each week leading up to the conference.

For more information and to register online, visit the conference website at http://www.internetandsociety.org. Press inquiries and other questions should be directed to Robyn Mintz at rmintz@cyber.law.harvard.edu.

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