The 2017 edition of the Geneva Lecture Series (GLS) will be on internet governance. It will be opened with welcoming remarks by the Director-General of UN Geneva, Mr. Michael Møller, and by the Executive Director of UNITAR, Mr. Nikhil Seth, followed by a keynote speech by the President and Chief Legal Officer of Microsoft, Mr. Brad Smith.

In the panel debate that will follow, Mr. Brad Smith will discuss with the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Ms. Kate Gilmore, and the Head of the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to the United Nations in New York, Mr. Phillip Spoerri, on various aspects of internet governance and the proposed Digital Geneva Convention. The event will be moderated by the Chief of Strategic Planning and Membership Department at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin. The event will be complemented by an online discussion moderated by the Director of the Geneva Internet Platform, Mr. Jovan Kurbalija. Simultaneous interpretation in English and French will be provided. At the end of the event, all participants are invited to a reception generously offered by UNITAR and the Fondation pour Genève.

This year’s 10th edition of the GLS is jointly organized by UNITAR and UN Geneva in partnership with the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies and the Geneva Internet Platform. It is organized with the kind support of the Fondation pour Genève. 

For those not able to attend the conference, please note that the event will also be broadcast live on http://webtv.un.org.