Working Groups Globalization and Internet
Working Groups Globalization and Internet
WG1) TAFTA/TTIP beyond Economics – Impacts and Options for Participation from the Citizens Perspective
So far there are mainly economic numbers to show the possible positive results of a free trade agreement as TAFTA. These figures are used as arguments without putting them in relation to environmental, social and socio-economic factors or civil and consumer rights. We want to show what the impacts of TAFTA might be from a citizens perspective and how citizens can be involved in the process from the start. In our view the Internet is not only part of the negotiations but might also be a strategic instrument for citizens to contribute. We want to make positions of actors and stakeholders transparent and understandable, e.g. on tumblr (taftattipwatch.tumblr.com). Therefore we would like to collect, cluster and present the available information on interests, positions and negotiations in a way that allows citizens to understand the process and learn about possibilities to participate.
Contact person: Stefanie Klein ([email protected])
WG2) Does the Internet Create a New Culture: Supranational and Borderless?
The working group will investigate if the Internet is creating a new culture which is supranational and borderless. The contributors of this working group are Sebastian Haselbeck, Jan Lachenmayer, Fortune Nwaiwu, Bastian Koch, Ruben Schmidtmann and Mario Sorgalla. Their analysis will focus on the manifold impacts of the Internet on cultural aspects and they will also critically question if the Internet is indeed as borderless as it is often being said. Some concrete examples will add to the analysis. Furthermore visualizations, interviews with experts and a blog carnival - that deals with a specific topic and which will be addressed to the global blogger network FutureChallenges.org - will make the contribution of the working group complete.
Contact person: Bastian Koch ([email protected])
WG3) TAFTA/TTIP-Framing/Discourse, Legitimacy and Consumer Rights
The working group will start by taking stock of the actors, procedures and possible content of the TAFTA/TTIP negotiations. In order to do so, relations and comparisons to other previous or ongoing agreements such as ACTA, TTP and CETA may prove valuable. Once this is accomplished, the working group will attempt to identify the manner in which relevant TAFTA/TTIP discourses are framed, so as to better understand how they affect public debates. The working group will also analyze and question the legitimacy of the entire negotiation process, especially focusing on the matter of transparency - that is to say, what is actual versus what is feigned. A crucial part of the working group’s efforts will be to relate the aforementioned discourses to people’s everyday lives, especially in regard to their consumer protection, rights and guarantees.
Contact person: Hauke Gierow ([email protected])
WG4) Effects of TAFTA/TTIP and other Trade Agreements on Human Rights Participation and Sustainability
The group focuses on evaluating the consequences and influences of global and regional trade agreements and the trade areas established by them (e.g. TTIP/TAFTA), especially concerning issues of human rights and the participation by ordinary citizens and indirect stakeholders. More generally, we will focus on the question in how far matters of (ecologic) sustainability are impacted by the predicates of such agreements. In order to facilitate this, we have begun to take stock of actors and procedures as well as the likely contents of the TAFTA/TTIP agreement and accordingly started to compile a list of viable experts for interviews who may be able to provide valuable information. Thus, we want to shed light on the legal, social and political context of both the current as well as on future agreements.
Contact person: Jens Wiechers ([email protected])
