The 2024 Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute is Open for Applications

In the tradition of the Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute, now in its third decade, this year’s edition — Technology, Policy and Democracy in Flux: From Inequalities to Inclusion — brings together regulators, policymakers, graduate students, academics, NGOs and others to engage with issues at the heart of technology law and policy: democracy, justice, and security in the digital age.

2024 is a year of unprecedented electoral contests. Around 4 billion people are expected to vote across 50 countries. As generative AI becomes more sophisticated, there are growing concerns about the accelerating spread of mis/disinformation around elections and the increasing use of internet shutdowns and surveillance as a response to both domestic and international threats. As some have suggested, we are in the midst of a ‘polycrisis’ turned ‘permacrisis’. In this year’s Summer Institute, we will focus on several core themes, including AI for development and human rights, its growing application in anticipating crises, the role of technology in conflict, and the regulation of new technologies, including AI and social media.

With the participation of speakers from around the world, we will explore these themes in the context of 2024’s year of elections and the pressures facing a range of polities.  By focusing on current events such as the continuing wars in Ukraine and Ethiopia, the politics of AI policymaking across the Global South, and efforts to curb hate speech in countries that have markets marginal to Big Tech, we will explore issues of infrastructure, inequalities, and ways to foster inclusion. Our approach is decidedly global, with an emphasis on the Global South.

We will also use our vantage point from the UK to discuss emerging issues in the EU and engage with local actors, including Ofcom, the BBC, and the European Commission.  As with Summer Institutes in the past, we will have speakers from across Oxford, as well as prominent guests from policy, government and the private sector. One of the most exciting aspects of the Summer Institute is the vibrant and engaged group of participants and the lasting networks created.

For over two decades, the Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute has built a dynamic cohort of alumni worldwide. Join us to discuss contemporary issues of global media policy over breakfast, during seminars, and on long walks through the Oxford countryside!  Please get in touch with us if you have any questions: pcmlp@csls.ox.ac.uk.

Apply by March 24, 2024 for an early decision: https://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/oxford-media-policy-summer-institute-2024/

The final application deadline is April 24, 2024.