Dear Friends, The Global Network of Internet & Society Research Centers (NoC) is happy to welcome 8 new participants from across the world! The joining Centers are described below. Please visit the links to get further information on their current research, areas of interest, and on the contact persons. The full list of the Centers involved in the NoC - currently 76 - is available at http://networkofcenters.net/centers. -- The following Centers have joined the NoC as *Participating Centers*, i.e., academic research centers whose agenda is primarily focused on Internet & Society topics. They are listed in alphabetical order. * *Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC) at the Queensland University of Technology***[Brisbane, Australia] o Webpage: http://qut.edu.au/research/dmrc o Twitter: https://twitter.com/qutdmrc o The QUT Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC) conducts world-leading research that helps society understand and adapt to the changing digital media environment. It is a leading Australian centre for the fields of media and communication, areas in which QUT has achieved the highest possible rankings in ERA, the national research quality assessment exercise. Our research programs address the challenges of digital media for journalism, public communication and democracy; the dynamics and regulatory challenges of emerging digital media economies; and the embedding of digital media technologies into the practices of everyday life. The DMRC has a particular focus on innovative digital methods for social and cultural research, including the analysis of ‘big social data’; is actively engaged with the Asian region across all its research programs; and has a strong commitment to research training for academic and industry researchers alike. o The main contact person within the NoC is*Jean Burgess*, Director of the Digital Media Research Centre (see http://staff.qut.edu.au/staff/burgesje/). * *Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University *[Washington DC, USA] o Webpage: https://elliott.gwu.edu o The George Washington University has educated generations of international leaders and advanced the understanding of important global issues since 1821. The Elliott School of International Affairs, named in honor of former GW President Lloyd H. Elliott and his wife Evelyn, is dedicated to this mission. The Elliott School has the first program in a school of international affairs on digital trade and internet governance issues. Students can also receive a Masters with a concentration in international internet issues. Students can take courses in cyber-security, digital trade, digital diplomacy and other emerging areas. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Susan Ariel Aaronson, *Research Professor at Elliott School of International Affairs (see https://elliott.gwu.edu/aaronson). * *Governance and Innovation Program at the MBR School of Government *[Dubai, UAE] o Webpage: http://www.mbrsg.ae/RESEARCH/e-Government/Governance-and-Innovation.aspx o The Governance and Innovation Program has conducted regional research initiatives and programmatic activities to study the implications of government policies and strategies for innovation and ICT adoption. The program also aims to assess the impact of the paradigm shifts taking place in the Arab World on reform, modernization and transformation of Arab public administrations and the new emerging societal dynamics. The program works closely with similar programs and initiatives on joint research projects on youth, gender, public management and entrepreneurship. Fields of research include, among other things, the study of digital transformations, future governance models and public interactions, digital governance, social media and citizen participation in the Arab region. o The main contact persons within the NoC is*Fadi Salem*, Fellow and Director of the Governance and Innovation Program (see http://www.mbrsg.ae/HOME/ABOUT-US/Faculty-Researchers/Fadi-Salem-(1).aspx) * *Nordic Centre for Internet and Society at the Norwegian Business School * [Oslo, Norway] o Webpage: http://www.bi.edu/cis o Twitter: https://twitter.com/BI_NCIS o The Nordic Centre for Internet and Society was founded to bring together a wide range of disciplines, methodologies, and viewpoints to analyse and understand the growing influence of digital technologies on working life and society. As an academic think-and-do-centre, we aim to bring together scholars and practitioners from Norway, Scandinavia, and the rest of the world to explore the re-invention of work and organizing in a digital, networked, and media-rich environment. At the same time, it is our ambition to be part of a global community of researchers who study the manifold implications that the Internet and digital communication technologies have on the way we work, interact, and lead our daily lives, with particular interest on the impact of digital technologies on people in the context of work resp. work-like settings. We aim to create a tight loop between rigorous research, teaching, and practical engagement, helping us to inform, test, and share our ideas, while allowing us to reach entrepreneurs and policy makers, innovators and researchers, technologists and users. o The main contact persons within the NoC are *Christian Fiesler*,**Associate Professor, and*Christoph Lutz, *Assistant Professor (see http://www.bi.edu/research/bi-research-centre-for-internet-and-society/peopl...). * *Research Centre in Information, Law and Society of the University of Namur *[Namur, Belgium] o Webpage: http://www.crids.eu/ o The Research Centre in Information, Law and Society (Centre de Recherches en Information, Droit et Société) is focused on a wide spectrum of information society-related issues, such as telecommunications, privacy, intellectual property, e-commerce, e-government, e-health, big data, cyber-security, the Internet of Things, the sharing economy, e-journalism, digital literacy, algorithmic governance and network sociology. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Antoinette Rouvroy*, Professor of the University of Namur (see https://directory.unamur.be/staff/arouvroy). -- The following Centers have joined the NoC as *Affiliated Participants*, i.e., other types of institutions, still with Internet & Society-related open threads, carried out, e.g., as non-academic research centers, policy-support entities, or think tanks. They are listed in alphabetical order. * *Arab World Internet Institute (AWII) *[Tunis, Tunisia] o Webpage: http://awii.org o Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWIInstitute o The Internet with its uniqueness inspires everything we do at The Arab World Internet Institute. We aim to be a regional Internet policy centre of excellence, promoting understanding of challenges and opportunities for action in the Internet industry. We focus on internet related topics and its evolution and use in the Arab Region, and this includes areas such as Internet access, access to information, intellectual property, privacy, cyber security and Internet governance. We work to achieve this mission by involving community members, users groups, public agencies, business leaders, and educational institutions. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Khaled Koubaa*, Founder and President of the Arab World Internet Institute (see http://awii.org/people/khlaed-koubaa/). * *Derechos Digitales *[Santiago de Chile, Chile]* * o Webpage: https://www.derechosdigitales.org/ o Twitter: https://twitter.com/derechosdigital o Derechos Digitales is an independent nonprofit digital rights organisation, focusing its advocacy work mainly on freedom of expression, privacy and access to knowledge in Latin America. The mission of Derechos Digitales is to defend, promote and develop human rights in the digital environment, using advocacy tools directed towards policy makers, private companies and the general public of Latin America. For this goal, Derechos Digitales conducts and coordinates research for intel. Derechos Digitales’ work combines legal research, public policy and technology analysis, advocacy and communications. Founded in Santiago in 2005, Derechos Digitales includes staffers from four different Latin American countries. Derechos Digitales coordinates regional efforts with activists working nationally to have impact in regional-level discussions, develop communication materials that can be replicated throughout the region, and assist other digital rights advocacy groups. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Claudio Ruiz*, Executive Director of Derechos Digitales (see https://www.derechosdigitales.org/quienes-somos/equipo/) * *Institute for Research on Internet & Society (IRIS*) [Belo Horizonte, Brazil] o Webpage: http://irisbh.com.br/en/ o Twitter: https://twitter.com/institutoirisbh o The Institute for Research on Internet & Society (IRIS) is a think tank and research center founded in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Its mission is to explore, study and understand the Internet’s impact on modern society: its development, dynamics, norms and standards. Aware of the importance of information and communication technologies to economic and technological development in the 21st century, IRIS also seeks to understand how Law and related subjects can contribute to advance and strengthen an environment that favours innovation, entrepreneurship and the common Internet user’s welfare. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Pedro Vilela, *Founder and Researcher at the Institute for Research on Internet & Society (see http://irisbh.com.br/clinica/equipe/) Again, a warm welcome to all new participants in the Network of Centers! -- *About the Network of Internet and Society Research Centers* The Global Network of Internet and Society Research Centers (NoC) was launched by a group of academic centers in 2012 in recognition of the lack of internationally coordinated research and engagement activities in issues concerning the Internet and related technologies. The NoC is a collaborative initiative among academic institutions with a focus on interdisciplinary research on the development, social impact, policy implications, and legal issues concerning the Internet. This collective aims to increase interoperability between participating centers in order to stimulate the creation of new cross-national, cross-disciplinary conversation, debate, teaching, learning, and engagement regarding the most pressing questions around new technologies, social change, and related policy and regulatory developments. See http://networkofcenters.net/get-involved/. Follow the NoC on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Network_Centers) and on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/NetworkofCenters). -- Lorenzo Canova Nexa Center for Internet & Society Politecnico di Torino - DAUIN http://nexa.polito.it Project Manager Global Network of Internet & Society Research Centers http://networkofcenters.net/