Internet: a Tool for Democracy – or Against?

Session organiser: ISOC Finland

Session moderator: Yrjö Länsipuro

Session speakers:

Professor Tuomo Melasuo, Tampere Peace Research Institute

Mr Matthias Wevelsiep, Conflict Management International Adjunct

Professor Imed Hammouda, Tampere University of Technology

Mr Tapani Hannikainen, Journalist, YLE

Ms Nnenna Nwakanma, Nnenna.org, Ivory Coast (video)

A look at the ”twitter revolutions” in the Middle East,  North Africa and beyond.  What was the role of the Internet and its applications? Could the upheavals have happened without them?   What about the future of Internet-enabled politics?   Is there a ”dark side of Internet freedom” that benefits the opponents of democracy, as claimed by some researchers? What are the role and place of the Internet within larger media landscape in the area?