The 2012 OECD Foresight Forum on “Harnessing Data as a New Source of Growth: Big data Analytics and Policies” was held on 22 October 2012 in Paris. This edition fostered discussions on the social and economic issues related to big data analytics. Horizontal issues included privacy, intellectual property and competition, addressed in domains such as science and research, government administration, labour markets or health care.
Several ITAC members were involved in sessions of the Forum:
- Mr. Laurent Liscia, Executive Director (OASIS): “Towards standards for enhancing data operability”
- Mr. Harry Halpin, Technology and Society Domain (W3C): “The protection of digital identities in the context of big data analytics”
- Mr. Robin Wilton, Technical Outreach for Identity and Privacy (ISOC): Concluding statements
Following successful fellowships in 2010 and 2011, ITAC had the opportunity to contribute again to the Forum by enabling the participation of two young fellows from the Internet Society’s Next Generation Leaders programme (NGL):
- Solon Barocas (USA) is a doctoral student in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University (Presentation: Hazarding A Guess: The Dangers of Mining Big Data)
- Keisha Taylor (Trinidad & Tobago) works in London as a Communications Manager for TechSoup Global, a San Francisco based non-profit that provides technology information and resources to nonprofits around the world (Presentation: Big Data for Better or Worse: Transforming Stakeholders & Development; Influenced by ICT Governance/Policy)
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About the OECD Technology Foresight Forums
First launched in 2005, Technology Foresight Forums are annual events organized by the OECD Committee for Information, Computer, and Communications Policy (ICCP), to help identify opportunities and challenges for the Internet Economy posed by technical developments.
Foresight Forums represent a collaborative effort of policymakers from member and non-member governments, business, civil society, and the Internet technical community. They are a good opportunity to give voice to stakeholders’ concerns and create a constructive dialogue between all relevant actors. Past forum topics include RFID, Next Generation Networks, Participative Web, Smart ICT and Cloud computing.