Are we winning the battle for an open internet? How has public discourse, democracy and economic engagement been disrupted by 'open' networks and what does this mean for global society? What are the threats to an open internet and how do we approach them?Chair: Emily Bell, Adam Sharp, senior manager, government, news and social innovation, Twitter Yochai Benkler, co-director, Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, G. Edward DeSeve, president, Global Public Leadership Institute and former special adviser to President Obama, Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media John Sviokla, principle and US business leader for strategy and innovation, PwC"
Bio
Emily Bell
Emily Bell is director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism. She previously worked for the Observer and then the Guardian for 18 years, setting up MediaGuardian.co.uk in 2000 and becoming editor-in-chief of Guardian Unlimited in 2001. In September 2006, Emily was promoted to the new position of Director of Digital Content for Guardian News and Media. Guardian.co.uk, the Guardian and Observer's network of websites, has won multiple awards, including the prestigious Webby for Best Newspaper on the web in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009.
Yochai Benkler
Yochai Benkler is the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard, and faculty co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. Before joining the faculty at Harvard Law School, he was Joseph M. Field '55 Professor of Law at Yale. He writes about the Internet and the emergence of networked economy and society, as well as the organization of infrastructure, such as wireless communications.
G. Edward DeSeve
As special advisor to President Barack Obama, Mr DeSeve oversaw the successful implementation of the $787 Billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. His career has included work in finance, academia and government. Mr. DeSeve was the founder and president of Public Financial Management- the United States' largest independent financial advisor to governments. He served as a tenured professor of Public Management and Finance at the University of Maryland and as a senior lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. He currently has teaching assignments at Carnegie Mellon University and the Australian National University and a research assignment at the City University of New York. His government service at the federal level included being controller and deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget as well as the chief financial officer of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was the director of finance for the City of Philadelphia and served as a special assistant to the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
At each level of government, Mr DeSeve oversaw complex fiscal affairs. He was instrumental in balancing Philadelphia's budget during two fiscal crises. At OMB, he helped balance the federal budget for the first time in more than a generation. Mr DeSeve also oversaw the fiscal reforms of the District of Columbia that led to its return to investment grade ratings with strong budget and cash surpluses.
He is the author of numerous publications including, The Presidential Appointees' Handbook (Brookings 2009). At the National Academy of Public Administration, he served as vice chair and co-authored its first Fiscal Future Report warning of the coming federal deficits. He was awarded the Kenneth Howard award for career public service in financial management by the American Society of Public Administration.
Mr DeSeve is the founder and president of the Global Public Leadership Institute whose mission is "To create a global network of public leaders involved in implementing government programs and to promote information exchange, continuous learning and relationship development."
He is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations and has a Master's in Public Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Alan Rusbridger
Alan Rusbridger has been editor of the Guardian since 1995. A graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge, he began his journalistic career on the Cambridge Evening News. He first joined the Guardian in 1979 as a reporter, subsequently working as a columnist and feature writer. In 1986 he became a critic for the Observer, moving to America the following year to be Washington correspondent of the London Daily News. On returning to the Guardian he launched Guardian Weekend magazine and G2-Britain's first compact sections in the quality market. He was appointed editor by the Scott Trust, which has owned the Guardian since 1936. His editorship has been notable for pioneering the development of the paper's digital edition, twice voted the best newspaper Web site in the world, as well as for launching the paper in the popular European "Berliner" format in 2005.
Rusbridger is also noted for fighting, and winning, a number of high-profile legal cases involving free speech issues and corruption in government. In his years as editor he has won Newspaper of the Year several times, as well as several awards as editor of the year. He is a visiting fellow of Nuffield College Oxford and a Visiting Professor at Queen Mary College, London. He is also Chair of the National Youth Orchestra. In his spare time he writes childrens' books and plays chamber music and golf. Rusbridger received an Honourary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Lincoln in September 2009.
Adam Sharp
Adam Sharp joined Twitter in November 2010 as the company's first hire in Washington, DC. As senior manager, government, news and social innovation, he leads a team driving creative use of the platform by governments, political candidates, journalists, non-profit organizations and the faith community.
Called "the human embodiment of Twitter" by the New York Times, Sharp was named one of Washingtonian magazine's "People to Watch" in its 2011 "Tech Titans" listing. He came to Twitter from C-SPAN, where as executive producer, digital services, he oversaw the editorial development of C-SPAN.org and enhancements to daily public affairs coverage on C-SPAN 3 on cable.
From 2004 to 2009, Sharp served U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., as director of communications and technology, and later, deputy chief of staff. A principal strategic advisor through Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the senator's 2008 reelection campaign, Sharp was elected president of the bipartisan Senate Press Secretaries Association for a 2007-2008 term.
Previously, as manager of eBusiness and digitization for NBC News, he led a multi-divisional effort to streamline the newsgathering process through technology modernization. Over nine years in different roles with the network, Sharp took part in NBC's coverage of the 1993 through 2000 elections, the 2000 Summer Olympic Games and the September 11th attacks. In late 2001, Sharp joined New York-based Alan Weiss Productions and spent eight months at Ground Zero, documenting the World Trade Center recovery process for the Port Authority and City of New York.
A Trustees' Scholar and National Scholarship Committee member of the National Television Academy, and a board member of the National Press Foundation, he has also worked as a television reporter, magazine columnist and interactive media entrepreneur.
John Sviokla
Dr John Sviokla is a principal and US business leader for strategy and innovation at PwC. He serves on the firm's Advisory Leadership Group and Global Thought Leadership Council, as well as leading The Exchange -- an ongoing think tank for clients and world class business leaders.
Prior to joining PwC John was vice chairman of Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, Inc. He researched and taught at the Harvard Business School for twelve years in Marketing, MIS, and Decision Sciences. His extensive writings have appeared in books and journals including the Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Fast Company, and the Wall Street Journal. He is a frequent speaker at executive forums worldwide and earned his BA from Harvard College, and his MBA and DBA with a major in management information systems from Harvard University.
Influential newspaper published in London and Manchester, Eng., considered one of Britain's best papers. Founded in 1821 as the weekly Manchester Guardian, it became a daily in 1855; 100 years later “Manchester” was dropped from the name, as it had become a national daily with an international reputation. In 1936 one of the newspapers most influential editors, C.P. Scott, created the Scott Trust as a means of assuring independent ownership for the newspaper. Still owned by the trust, the paper takes an independent liberal stance in its editorials while maintaining great breadth and depth of news coverage.
