Digital Ethics in Times of Crisis: COVID-19 and Access to Education and Learning Spaces

The Berkman Klein Center hosted a Research Sprint that convened a global cohort of approximately 40 student participants from 21 different countries spread over five continents, under a project led by the Global Network of Internet & Society Centers (NoC) on the Ethics of Digitalization. The project advances dialogue and action at the intersection of science, politics, the digital economy, and civil society broadly. The Research Sprint explored specific normative questions around the disruption, challenges, and opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic represents in the realm of education.

One in a series, this Sprint took place over three months and followed a first Sprint hosted by Berlin’s Humboldt Institute on platform governance. The larger initiative is conducted under the patronage of German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and is supported by Stiftung Mercator.

This document is the result of an iterative co-creation process among student participants, program staff, and subject matter experts. Each of the snapshots found within represents a concise synthesis of each of the program’s anchor sessions and associated themes. The program regularly invited active contribution and was designed for all participants to serve as equal contributors.