Just a few minutes ago in Geneva, the A2K3 Conference , organised by the Yale Law School Information Society Project (ISP) and a number of other affiliated institutions, began with an opening address by Jack Balkin, a Yale Law School Professor and Director of the ISP. The objectives of this event, which follows the tradition of making prominent to scholars, policy-makers and the broader public and of analysing the dimensions and role of A2K, are further reaching. It seeks to provide distinct enquiries and a broader understanding at the same time of the incredible variety of issues that the A2K movement brings together, such as health, government, culture, competition, and standards, just to name a few.

Referring to the words of the organisers, the conference considers how, in a global knowledge economy, the ability to access and produce information and control its dissemination increasingly determines wealth, innovation, human development, and individual freedom. Panels address such topics as media and communication rights, electronic health issues, open access to science and scholarship, copyright exceptions and limitations, prizes as alternative innovation models in areas such as health and climate change, access to knowledge and global trade, open business models, and the development agenda at the World Intellectual Property Organization. 

All these issues are understandably critical for the IJCLP project itself. We are most fortunate to have the partnership with the ISP and to publish the best papers submitted for the fifth interdisciplinary writing competition (the winner of which has been shortly announced) in conjunction with the A2K3.  

I will keep you posted on some intriguing topics that will surely come up during the next three days.
If I miss on something (which I probably will), the very kind ISP people have provided us with a live blogging of all panels http://a2k3.org/.