Autumn as we all know is the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ -and of the SCL Forum and SCL Conference. Had Keats been around today, I am reasonably confident that the mellow fruitfulness he would be referring to on his blog would have included the words of wisdom imparted at the SCL Forum and the enlightenment to be gained from the SCL Conference each year. If, as the first frosts approach and apples thud to grass, you feel that you have missed out on the fruits of autumn, do not despair. The SCL Forum is now available as a podcast on the site.
The Forum is different from many gatherings. Its mix of the academic and the practical leads to a genuine exchange of ideas and the sort of very positive confusion which leads to new thinking. This year’s Forum, the sixth annual Forum hosted by Herbert Smith LLP, was entitled ‘The New Shape of European Internet Regulation’. The session on intermediary liability encapsulates the approach for me in that it has a speaker from the European Commission, a speaker from Microsoft and an academic so that one leaps from straight information to solid opinion and ends with a delightful riff from Dr Daithi MacSithigh on apps (I laughed and learned in equal measure).
It is not the SCL mission to educate and entertain but it is nice when the educational function can be delivered in such an entertaining way. I do not pretend that it is as good as being there in person – you will miss out on the dancing girls and the networking – but it is very good nonetheless. SCL members can get out their pipe and slippers and spend a series of evenings in the company of the speakers at the Forum or gather a group together in a lunchtime session at work and listen to Dr Alessandro Aqcuisti’s fascinating keynote.
What’s more, whether you listen with pipe and slippers or in a group, you can get double value by completing the online CPD courses that are currently available for three of the sessions (Keynote, Intermediary Liability and Freedom of Speech). If you have been too busy to complete your allocation this year, this is a major bonus. And for SCL members that is free CPD. With that sort of Autumn deal, who needs the songs of Spring?
The podcast can be accessed {here: http://www.scl.org/site.aspx?i=we22622}. Go and listen.
