Cyberpunks click here

No-one saw the Internet coming.  Now it’s changing the world; the language we speak; and how we live. I recently hosted a lunch for Ukrainian bloggers, who noted how cyberspace had created unprecedented opportunities for people to, amongst other things, share news and views and influence politics.  But the Internet has also brought big challenges, including cyber crime and the ability to spread destructive ideologies.

To discuss these issues and explore a co-ordinated global strategy, the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, has invited global Internet players, including governments, NGOs and businesses, to the London Conference on Cyberspace on 1-2 November.  William Hague said:

“No one government, or country, has the answers.  Together we must begin to address how we can maintain the economic and social benefits of the Internet and guard against the criminal and security cyber threats without suffocating future innovation.”

You can read the full article by the Foreign Secretary here.  You can also take part in the online debate by posting your questions in English, or liking the questions of others, before and during the Conference on Facebook or on the web-site of our local information partner, gurt.org.ua, in Ukrainian.

You can also tweet your questions in English.  Use the hashtag #LondonCyber for general questions and add one of the following hashtags so that we can match your question to the right session: #social, #economic, #crime, #access, #security.

Enjoy the conference, and let’s help ensure cyberspace continues to have as positive an influence on our lives as possible.