Views from Iraq: What Does Internet Freedom Mean to You?

Building on the momentum from the first day of IREX and IWPR's “Emerging Technologies, Emerging Democracies” conference in Erbil, Dr. Dr Adil Matloob, Advisor to Minister of Science and Technology, announced the details of Iraq's groundbreaking e-governance plan, saying that Iraq needs to address critical areas "to bring to light the transformational impact of information, communication and technology tools."

Other presenters focused on the role of citizen media in governance, from Twitter to open-source e-government tools. “Citizen led e-governance initiatives can create a safety net for [Iraqi] citizens," explained Noel Hidalgo of Digital Democracy. Mark Belinsky, the co-founder of Digital Democracy announced to the conference attendees that Iraq was recently assigned a Twitter “short code” (71117) enabling Iraqis to send SMS “tweets” from to their Twitter accounts. Short codes have been developed in other nations around the world, most notably in Haiti after a devastating earthquake destroyed Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010.

The announcement of a national e-governance plan coupled with aggressive private sector and civil society e-governance initiatives could help stimulate demand side pressure on the Iraqi government to establish the legal infrastructure for internet freedom. The question arising out of the conference now is how will Iraqis embrace this new technology so they can be an example to the Arab world in developing an open internet and using technology for transparent and inclusive governance? While the conference discussed issues, tools and concepts, now it is up to the Iraqi government and civil society to find their own answers.

More information and resources developed during the conference will be posted at www.iraqemedia.net