Dear ISOC-CH members, Together with p≡p foundation, we are starting an 18-month long series of workshops as of January 2018 around the Values of Internet Technologies <https://www.isoc.ch/archives/3017> (VIT). This series of six workshops represents a platform for discussions and hands-on training to privacy, anonymity and security online. Concrete tech approaches will be presented and analyzed against bigger socio-political implications and the broader picture for each topic, with insights into current and upcoming Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Expert speakers and experienced trainers will propose scenarios and working solutions for policy as well as tech approaches to adopt privacy, respect anonymity and enhance security. Among the issues under investigation are the digital societal values and the technological specifications that can respond to the needs of modern society. Among the cross-cutting issues to be addressed, the workshops will look at the structure of new developments, e.g. how well are they able to interoperate, do they support federated development, are they decentralized, can they be used easily? The workshops will also examine how to strengthen Human Rights using certain technological approaches. The solutions proposed will draw on a wide range of expertise and will not rely on any single central infrastructure that users must adopt. Each workshop covers a different subject which we find important for how to design, implement and deploy current and future digital developments. The first workshop <https://www.isoc.ch/events/vit>, taking place on 25th of January in Biel/Bienne at Berner Fachhochschule (BFH), will focus on Decentralization. Privacy, trust and security are at stake ‒ in a pure technical sense as well as economically and socially. Decentralization is a significant feature for more agility, justice and resilience in our societies and their digital infrastructure. Expert speakers will elaborate on different aspects of the subject, followed by a hands-on session. Early registration (free of charge) is recommended: https://www.isoc.ch/events/vit The workshops are organized by Internet Society Switzerland (ISOC-CH) and p≡p Foundation in the framework of the project entitled 'Implementing Privacy via Mass Encryption', which received a 'Beyond the Net' grant from Internet Society. The first workshop in this series will be hosted by Berner Fachhochschule (BFH) and benefits from the support of Digitale Gesellschaft Switzerland (DigiGes) and CCC Switzerland (CCC-CH). The workshops are open to policy-makers, technologists, journalists, researchers, programmers, activists, students and interested users. We particularly encourage ISOC-CH members to participate and discuss with us. The agenda for the workshops will be prepared in close alignment with the demand-side, meaning that we need your presence and input! For us, this workshop series is a precious opportunity to hear from you, answer your questions and get feedback in terms of migration strategies for organizations, ease of use, ideas for specific features or other challenges that a resilient and future-proof Free and Open Source Software tech development can meet. Preliminary program: 1. Setting the scene for a digital future: What's important and how can it be achieved? 25th of January 2018 2. p≡p's Internet-Drafts and its implementations for digital communication technologies. Planned for April 2018 3. Human Rights and present / future ICT ‒ Why and how are they related? Planned for September 2018 4. How can digitalization mitigate current challenges of humanity? Planned for November 2018 5. Migration towards new and responsible IT ‒ Pathways for enterprises and public organizations. Planned for January 2019 6. "A network of networks" ‒ What are the most important requirements for spreading diverse and Human-Rights-solid Free and Open Source digital communication? Planned for April 2019 For more details, please visit: https://www.isoc.ch/events(@ISOCSwitzerland <https://twitter.com/ISOCSwitzerland>) We look forward to seeing many of you there on 25 January! --- Roxana Radu Chair, Internet Society-Switzerland -------ISOC-CH------ Website: http://www.isoc.ch/ Follow ISOC-CH on Twitter: ISOCSwitzerland <https://twitter.com/ISOCSwitzerland>