Name: Daniel Albahary

Age:  33

Country: Canada

Main development interests: Intellectual property law, access to information, Internet security

Main reason for coming to IGF: Incredible opportunity to get involved early on in the development of the international action plan for Internet governance

3 favourite Web sites: NYTimes.com, Washingtonpost.com, theglobeandmail.com (or maybe ebay.ca)

For University of Ottawa law student Daniel Albahary, the road to the IGF began two years ago with an unexpected phone call. It was from a former roommate from Dan’s years at Ottawa’s Carleton University, where in 1996 he earned an Honours B.A. in Political Science (with distinction), with additional courses in philosophy, economics and law. “We hadn’t spoken since university, and my friend, who’s been a lawyer for years, asked me if I was one yet. When I said no he was mortified. He said it was absolutely imperative that I become one, because good lawyers can make a difference.”

Dan had planned to be a lawyer from when he was very young, yet in 1996 other pursuits had beckoned. “Rather than go to law school right away, I wanted to go out and see the world,” he explains. “My initial goal was to become a film maker.”

He did just that, successfully establishing himself mostly as a production coordinator and in other positions in Toronto’s highly competitive film industry, where he worked on short and feature-length film and television productions with many high-profile actors.  

In 2000, Dan made a career switch to information technology, specializing in Web design and technical communications. When that fateful call from his former roommate came in 2005, Dan was working as a technical writer at Waterloo-based Research in Motion, producer of the extraordinarily successful Blackberry.

Exploring legal aspects

Now in his second year of law school, Dan is exploring the legal aspects of interests he developed while working in information technology. “I became increasingly interested in large issues that are critical to how and why technology is used. What kind of climate encourages the production of culture, how do we control and regulate access to resources, how can information be made available to everyone. It’s easy to think of the Internet as just wires and boxes, all of the technical components, but really the Internet is about the control of information, who has access to what, and at what cost.”

As a research assistant and collaborator with several of his University of Ottawa professors, Dan has been able to draw on his expertise in film. For example, with Michael Geist, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, Dan has produced and directed two short films on piracy in Canada and is now developing a feature-length documentary on legal issues with digital rights management.

An incredible opportunity

Dan is excited about attending the IGF. “To have this opportunity as a second-year law student is incredible,” he says. “Where else can you dialogue with so many people from so many places? I’m really looking forward to meeting the other delegates, to learn from the perspectives they bring from their countries, their challenges, and to see how I adjust my own understanding based on this. And I can bring that experience back here to my colleagues.”

It’s quite possible that attending the IGF will play a considerable role in Dan’s third, post-law school career. “I plan to be an intellectual property lawyer, probably either as an academic or have a policy position in the Department of Justice or another ministry where I can participate in shaping policy and law. For me, attending the IGF is an opportunity to get involved early on in the development of the international action plan for Internet regulation.”