Over 100 experts applied to the Observatory’s Steering Committee, reflecting a strong engagement from Academics all over the world to contribute to the Observatory’s mission of assessing the impact of the digital information ecosystem on democracy.
The open call for applications to join the Steering Committee of the International Observatory on Information and Democracy (OID) launched on June 2nd has now officially closed.
The Forum has received over 100 applications (42% women and 58% men) from 38 countries. They represent more than 15 fields of research ranging from political science to engineering, through anthropology, economy and data science.
While a majority of candidates are based in Northern America and Europe, the Nomination committee will ensure geographical representation in the composition of the Observatory’s Steering Committee.
This strong participation is the result of direct applications and nominations from peer academics and thought leaders, and demonstrates civil society and academia’s appetite to get involved in the inaugural work cycle of the Observatory.
Applications will be reviewed by the prefiguration group of the Observatory, co-chaired by Shoshana Zuboff, Emeritus Professor at the Harvard Business School and Angel Gurria, former Secretary General of the OECD.
The Steering Committee will guide the Observatory’s mission to conduct regular evaluations of phenomena observed in the digital information space, and their impact on democracy. It will seek to aggregate existing evidence and translate it into actionable policy recommendations through the innovative multilateralism mechanism offered by the Partnership for Information and Democracy endorsed by 50 countries.
The composition of the Observatory’s Steering Committee will be announced in September, marking the launch of the Observatory’s first work cycle.