User:M.Oghia

Michael J. Oghia is a Belgrade-based Internet governance consultant & editor focusing on sustainable access, digital rights, media literacy, and development. He served as the co-focal point for WS 1 at EuroDIG 2016, and is serving as the focal point for WS 11 during EuroDIG 2017.

He represented the Internet Society (ISOC) as a 2015 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) ambassador to IGF 10 in João Pessoa, Brazil, and as a 2016 IGF returning ambassador to IGF 11 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Michael is a third culture kid (TCK) with professional experience in conflict resolution, journalism & media, civil society, and academia. He collaborates with DiploFoundation as assistant curator for the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) and Digital Watch observatory, and was formerly the communications manager of iGmena, a program launched in 2012 by Hivos. Michael is actively involved in regional IGF initiatives, such as the Southeastern European Dialogue on Internet Governance (SEEDIG) and the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG), as well as intersessional IGF initiatives, such as the Best Practice Forums (BPFs) and various Dynamic Coalitions (DCs). He is also a member of multiple Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) communities, including the Non-commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG), Noncommercial Users Constituency (NCUC), and Middle East and Adjoining Countries Strategy Working Group (MEAC-SWG), and participated in ICANN58 as a fellow. Michael has lectured on Internet governance at the Media and Digital Literacy Academy of Beirut (MDLAB), co-organized a youth seminar on cybersecurity and digital rights in Bosnia & Herzegovina with the Cooperation and Development Network of Eastern Europe (CDN), as well as attended various Internet governance and media policy-related training programs, including the 2016 EuroDIG New Media Summer School and the 2016 Annenberg-Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute. He holds a Master of Arts in sociology from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and a Bachelor of Science in sociology from the University of Louisville in Kentucky, USA. Michael also loathes referring to himself in third person.

Country experience: USA, Lebanon, India, Turkey, & Serbia

[Twitter]: @mikeoghia LinkedIn: /in/mikeoghia