Community Network Spotlight: Indigenous Rights, Digital Sovereignty and Community Networks

22 Oct 2026
10:00am - 11:30am
FREE
Building 8 - RMIT University City Campus Building 8, 360 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia (008.04.011 Megaflex 1)

Join the Internet Society's Community Network Infrastructures SIG for a hybrid gathering on Indigenous rights, digital sovereignty and community networks, featuring speakers from Australia, Indonesia, Mexico and North America.

The Internet Society's Community Network and Infrastructure Special Interest Group (ISOC CNI SIG) invites you to join this community gathering, held in person at RMIT with online speakers.

The Internet Society (ISOC) is a global nonprofit dedicated to building an Internet that is accessible, secure, and trustworthy for everyone. It advances connectivity, supports Internet infrastructure and governance, and advocates for policies that help the Internet remain an open and inclusive resource for society.

Community-centred connectivity initiatives (CCCIs) around the world have proven essential to efforts to connect the unconnected. Each year, more CCCIs operate sustainably and provide better services to their communities. No longer a fringe experiment, community networks are here to stay.

What does Indigenous Digital Sovereignty look like when it encompasses connectivity, data control, autonomy, capacity building, and shared learning? What risks and challenges have communities encountered, and how can community ownership of digital infrastructure support cultural preservation, environmental stewardship, and economic self-determination?

The ISOC CNI SIG is dedicated to supporting and celebrating community network infrastructures worldwide. Join the SIG via the ISOC website; membership is free.

Agenda

Expand all sections

Welcome and introduction to the ISOC CNI SIG (Jan Brueggemeier, ISOC CNI SIG)
First Nations Connectivity Road Show (Jenny Fraser, in person)
Introduction to the work of the First Nations Digital Inclusion Index in Australia (Daniel Featherstone, in person)
Community Networks in Indonesia (Gustaff Iskandar, Common Room, online)
One example of Indigenous connectivity in the North American region (ISOC, TBC, online)
Running Internet Exchange Points in Fiji and PNG (Warren Finch, ISOC, pre-recorded)
How do international telecommunication frameworks translate into an Australian context? A short conversation between Adriana Labardini (Rhizomatica, Mexico; online) and Daniel Featherstone (FNDIAG)

Speakers

Jenny Fraser (Migunburri, Artist Curator, in person)
Daniel Featherstone (First Nations Digital Inclusion Index, FNDIAG, in person)
Gustaff Iskandar (Artist & Community Networks Builder, Indonesia, online)
Adriana Labardini (Rhizomatica, Mexico, online)
Warren Finch (ISOC, pre-recorded)

This event is supported by RMIT Regenerative Futures Institute as part of the Energy Futures events season.

Upcoming events

Community Network Spotlight: Indigenous Rights, Digital Sovereignty and Community Networks

22 Oct 2026

Join the Internet Society's Community Network Infrastructures SIG for a hybrid gathering on Indigenous rights, digital sovereignty and community networks, featuring speakers from Australia, Indonesia, Mexico and North America.

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

Learn more about our commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Community Network Spotlight: Indigenous Rights, Digital Sovereignty and Community Networks