Estonia, the Land of Skype: How to Address International Governance Issues during COVID-19 Pandemic?

The 2021 Estonia Capstone project broadly focused on how to advance international human rights, with a particular emphasis on how these rights apply to the COVID-19 pandemic situation and state governance. To this end, cross-cutting issues were examined, including media freedom (the necessary or sine qua non basis for the advancement of all human rights), transparency, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, libel laws, as well as governance generally, seeking to identify ways in which adherence to fundamental human rights have been challenged during the pandemic and how these rights can be strengthened, defended and supported going forward. Supplementing the research on media freedom, which analysed how developments in the field threatens journalists and their exercise of the democratic right to free speech, the Capstone team supported research on the prospective 2021 Global Conference for Media Freedom that will be held in Tallinn, Estonia, analysing possible panel topics, and identifying international, as well as still undiscovered, experts and voices in journalism and also digital technology, which is at the center of modern world’s media freedom.

As the host of the 2021 global conference, Estonia, notwithstanding that it is a small state with only one million plus people, will be recognized as a leader in e-governance and as a voice for the advancement of global human rights and media freedom, which is the basis and foundation for peace and stability. It is the hope of the entire 2021 Capstone team that its work will enshrine Estonia’s voice and ideas at the core of a New Age of Enlightenment.