GIG-ARTS School on Digital Governance · 2027
Preliminary Programme.
Five days of lectures, seminars and multistakeholder roundtables on Internet governance, digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, geopolitics and artificial intelligence.
Five days · one programme
From digital power to agentic AI.
The 2027 programme moves across the institutions, infrastructures, rights and power relations shaping contemporary digital governance, combining academic depth with policy, technical and multistakeholder perspectives.
Monday · 22 February
Monday
Opening & Digital Power
12:00–12:30
Registration
Registration & Welcome
12:30–13:00
Opening
Opening Ceremony
Institutional representatives
Vincenzo Maraio (Regional Minister for Digitalisation, Campania Region)
Virgilio D’Antonio (Rector, University of Salerno)
Gemma Carolillo (Deputy Head of Future Internet Unit at European Commission) TBC
Chris Mondini (Vice President, ICANN)
Stefano Giordano (President, ISOC Italy)
Maurizio Merico (Director, Department of Political and Social Studies UNISA)
Paolo Parente (CEO, WeBeetle)
Jamal Shahin (Co-Director, GIG-ARTS School)
Mauro Santaniello (Chair, GIG-ARTS; Co-Director, GIG-ARTS School)
Chiara Spiniello (Managing Director, GIG-ARTS School)
Daniela Tiggiano (Connessioni Umane ETS)
Vincenzo Maraio (Regional Minister for Digitalisation, Campania Region)
Virgilio D’Antonio (Rector, University of Salerno)
Gemma Carolillo (Deputy Head of Future Internet Unit at European Commission) TBC
Chris Mondini (Vice President, ICANN)
Stefano Giordano (President, ISOC Italy)
Maurizio Merico (Director, Department of Political and Social Studies UNISA)
Paolo Parente (CEO, WeBeetle)
Jamal Shahin (Co-Director, GIG-ARTS School)
Mauro Santaniello (Chair, GIG-ARTS; Co-Director, GIG-ARTS School)
Chiara Spiniello (Managing Director, GIG-ARTS School)
Daniela Tiggiano (Connessioni Umane ETS)
13:00–14:00
Lunch
Welcome Lunch
14:00–15:00
Keynote 1
Governing Digital Power, Renaming Tech: AI, Information Systems and the Public Interest
Keynote Speaker: Robin Mansell (London School of Economics and Political Science)
15:00–15:30
Coffee Break
Coffee break
15:30–17:00
Seminar 1
Internet Governance in Transition: Institutions, Infrastructures and Power
Chair: Mauro Santaniello (University of Salerno · UNU-CRIS)
Speakers: Marianne Franklin (University of Groningen); Francesca Musiani (CNRS, France); Jamal Shahin (Vrije Universiteit Brussel · UNU-CRIS)
Speakers: Marianne Franklin (University of Groningen); Francesca Musiani (CNRS, France); Jamal Shahin (Vrije Universiteit Brussel · UNU-CRIS)
Tuesday · 23 February
Tuesday
Internet Governance
09:00–10:00
Lecture 1
Infrastructure as Governance: Power, Control and Contestation in the Internet
Speaker: Francesca Musiani (CNRS, France)
10:00–10:30
Coffee Break
Coffee break
10:30–12:00
Seminar 2
Internet Governance Beyond the West: China, Russia, and African Perspectives
Chair: Marianne Franklin (University of Groningen)
Speakers: Adio-Adet Dinika (University of Bremen · ZeMKI); Riccardo Nanni (CNRS, France); Xiaojuan Grace Yang (Freie Universität Berlin · ICPC)
Speakers: Adio-Adet Dinika (University of Bremen · ZeMKI); Riccardo Nanni (CNRS, France); Xiaojuan Grace Yang (Freie Universität Berlin · ICPC)
12:00–13:00
Lunch
Lunch
13:00–15:00
Roundtable 1
Who Governs the Internet? States, Markets and the Technical Community
Chair: Daniela Piana (University of Bologna)
Business Speaker: TBA
Government: Gemma Carolillo (European Commission) TBC
Technical Community: Chris Mondini (ICANN)
Academic Community: Adio-Adet Dinika (University of Bremen · ZeMKI)
Business Speaker: TBA
Government: Gemma Carolillo (European Commission) TBC
Technical Community: Chris Mondini (ICANN)
Academic Community: Adio-Adet Dinika (University of Bremen · ZeMKI)
15:00–15:30
Coffee Break
Coffee break
15:30–16:30
Lecture 2
Who Rules the Internet? Polycentric Internet Governmentality in the Age of Big Tech–Big State Power
Speaker: Marianne Franklin (University of Groningen)
16:30–17:00
Discussion
Discussion & Wrap-up
Participants & faculty
Wednesday · 24 February
Wednesday
Digital Sovereignty & Constitutionalism
09:00–10:00
Lecture 3
Digital Sovereignty: Concepts, Actors and Controversies
Speaker: Julia Pohle (Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin)
10:00–10:30
Coffee Break
Coffee break
10:30–12:00
Seminar 3
Digital Sovereignty: Authority, Infrastructure and Strategic Autonomy
Chair: Paul Nemitz (College of Europe)
Speakers: Edoardo Celeste (Dublin City University); Riccardo Nanni (CNRS, France); Xiaojuan Grace Yang (Freie Universität Berlin · ICPC)
Speakers: Edoardo Celeste (Dublin City University); Riccardo Nanni (CNRS, France); Xiaojuan Grace Yang (Freie Universität Berlin · ICPC)
12:00–13:00
Lecture 4
Digital Constitutionalism: Constituting and Constraining Digital Power
Speaker: Edoardo Celeste (Dublin City University)
13:00–14:00
Lunch
Lunch
14:00–15:00
Lecture 5
Mapping Digital Bills of Rights: Actors, Principles and Trends
Speaker: Dennis Redeker (University of Bremen · ZeMKI)
15:00–15:30
Coffee Break
Coffee break
15:30–17:00
Seminar 4
Rights, Rule of Law and the Governance of Digital Power
Chair: Chiara Spiniello (University of Bremen · University of Salerno)
Speakers: Daniela Piana (University of Bologna); Oreste Pollicino (Bocconi University) (TBC); Dennis Redeker (University of Bremen · ZeMKI)
Speakers: Daniela Piana (University of Bologna); Oreste Pollicino (Bocconi University) (TBC); Dennis Redeker (University of Bremen · ZeMKI)
Thursday · 25 February
Thursday
Cybersecurity & Geopolitics
09:00–10:00
Lecture 6
Cybersecurity Governance in a Geopoliticised Internet
Speaker: Joe Burton (Lancaster University)
10:00–10:30
Coffee Break
Coffee break
10:30–12:00
Roundtable 2
Artificial Intelligence: Security, Rights and Governance
Chair: TBA
Speakers:
Business: Rosario Sorrentino (Comtel SPA)
Government: TBA
Technical Community: TBA
Academic Community: Claudia Padovani (University of Padova)
Speakers:
Business: Rosario Sorrentino (Comtel SPA)
Government: TBA
Technical Community: TBA
Academic Community: Claudia Padovani (University of Padova)
12:00–13:00
Lunch
Lunch
13:00–15:00
Roundtable 3
Digital Sovereignty in a Fragmenting World
Chair: Claudia Padovani (University of Padova)
Speakers: TBA
Speakers: TBA
15:00–15:30
Coffee Break
Coffee break
15:30–16:30
Lecture 7
How Geopolitics Gets Built into Digital Networks — and How to Stop It
Speaker: Niels ten Oever (University of Amsterdam)
16:30–17:00
Discussion
Discussion & Wrap-up
Participants & faculty
Friday · 26 February
Friday
Artificial Intelligence
09:00–10:00
Lecture 8
AI & Democracy: Evidence and the way ahead
Speaker: Paul Nemitz (College of Europe)
10:00–12:00
Roundtable 4
Governing Agentic AI: Identity, Standards and Infrastructural Actorhood
Chair: Nicola Palladino (University of Salerno, AI Act Advisory Forum)
Business Speaker: TBA
Government: TBA
Technical Community: Sebastian Hallensleben (Chair, CEN-CENELEC JTC 21 on AI) Online; Andrea Beccalli (ICANN)
Academic Community: Mauro Santaniello (University of Salerno · UNU-CRIS)
Business Speaker: TBA
Government: TBA
Technical Community: Sebastian Hallensleben (Chair, CEN-CENELEC JTC 21 on AI) Online; Andrea Beccalli (ICANN)
Academic Community: Mauro Santaniello (University of Salerno · UNU-CRIS)
12:00–13:00
Lecture 9
Computational Power: Governing AI, Democracy and Human Agency
Speaker: Paolo Benanti (LUISS Guido Carli)
13:00–14:00
Lunch
Farewell Lunch
14:00–14:30
Closing
Closing Session, Certificates & Farewell
GIG-ARTS School 2027
Join us in Salerno.
22–26 February 2027 · Five days of advanced learning, discussion and exchange on the governance of digital technologies.