Call for Nomination for the Observatory’s Steering Committee

Are you a thought leader working at the intersection of technology and democracy ? Are you keen to join a cohort of world-class experts to oversee the first international and trans-disciplinary evaluation of the information ecosystem and its impact on democracy ?

Become a member of the IOID’s Steering Committee, or recommend fellow researchers!

During the last Summit for Information and Democracy on the margins of the UN General Assembly in September 2023, the Forum announced the creation of the International Observatory on Information and Democracy (IOID).

The IOID aims to aggregate and synthesize existing research and offer policymakers a periodic global assessment of the information and communication space and how it impacts democracy.

Conceived as an IPCC-like entity for the information and communication space, this ambitious initiative went through a thorough feasibility study led by a prefiguration group chaired by Former Secretary General of the OECD Angel Gurría and Professor Emeritus, Shoshana Zuboff, with the participation of Nobel Prize Maria Ressa.

The Observatory has already mobilized over a hundred academics across continents and disciplines, all calling to support the initiative on World Telecommunications and Information Society Day, a few weeks ago.

The Observatory’s first research cycle is planned to start in September with the creation of thematic working groups. The objective is to provide by the end of 2024, a synthesis of international academic publications answering the most urgent questions at the intersection of information and democracy.

In order to achieve this level of collective ambition, the Observatory will be overseen by a steering committee composed of world-class academics and experts, responsible to inform its thematic priorities and to supervise its report’s publication process.

As this global evaluation infrastructure prepares to launch, the Forum is opening a call for nominations to compose the IOD’s Steering Committee. The call will be open until July, 3rd 2023 and interested parties can either apply themselves or recommend names. You can find out more about the selection process and criteria, and how to express your interest within.

The composition of the Observatory’s steering committee will be announced on the week of July, 17th by the prefiguration group.

For more information and to nominate yourself or others click here.