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Events

Explore our upcoming events, find video and audio from our past events, and subscribe to stay updated on all of our talks, panels, and live webcasts.

Welcome to the Berkman Klein Center’s events. These get-togethers are all about having great conversations and making new connections in a friendly and inclusive space. We believe everyone has something interesting to say. Please bring your ideas, experiences, and unique perspectives. Feel free to critique ideas and speak from your own experience, all in the spirit of lively and respectful discourse.

Thanks for helping us create a great community atmosphere!

Our hybrid and virtual events are hosted on Zoom with closed-captioning. Questions can be submitted to the moderator, who will highlight popular and emerging themes and relay them to the speakers. Please note that translation services are currently unavailable.

Public event recordings will be available one week after the event. You can find them on the event page or BKC’s YouTube channel. For the latest updates, follow BKC on X or LinkedIn.

Respiratory illnesses like flu, COVID-19, and RSV affect millions annually. Protect yourself and others by wearing a high-quality face mask in crowded indoor settings and staying home if you're unwell.

Harvard University and the Berkman Klein Center welcome individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact our Event Specialist at [email protected] in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for American Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance, if possible. Please note that the University will make every effort to secure services, but that services are subject to availability.

For further questions about accessibility on Harvard's campus, we invite visitors to check out Harvard University Disability Resources page and the Digital Accessibility page.

For in-person attendees, below is a list of resources regarding parking and accessibility at HLS. Harvard is a tough area to find parking, but we do have a number of options around Lewis.

For those with accessibility needs who have handicap parking permits:

  1. Private HLS parking is available at 10 Everett St Garage (the garage recommended for events) for a moderate fee. Passes must be purchased in advance and printed ahead of time. For more info on Accessible Parking at HLS click here.
  2. Public handicap spots are spread out throughout Cambridge. Click here for a guide to public Cambridge parking, and click for campus interactive accessibility maps. The closest spots within reasonable walking distance and NO major roadways to cross are located at 2 Kirkland St, 23 Everett St, and 12 Oxford St. All 3 locations are located within 1 block of Lewis. Please note, so long as the driver has a legal handicap permit, they can park at any public, paid metered spot, or "Residents Only" spot in Cambridge, but MUST have their permit displayed at all times in their car window. If the permit is not visible, they will be ticketed and/or towed. They do NOT need to park in a handicap spot so long as their permit is visible.
  3. The most accessible streets to park on (meaning no major roadways to cross and within reasonable distance of Lewis) are Everett St, Oxford St, and Kirkland St.

For those not using handicap parking permits:

  1. Private HLS parking is available at 10 Everett St Garage, 52 Oxford St Garage, and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. These are the 3 privately owned Harvard garages recommended. Click here for daily permit purchasing information, which must be done ahead of the event. A day rate is $25. Click here for Harvard’s Parking Map.
  2. Public, metered parking spots are available. They range in maximum parking time limit from 2-4 hours for $1.50-$2.00/hour. Please note, if you pay using the mobile Passport Parking app, you will NOT be able to renew your session once it ends. You will have to feed the meter using coins as the app will not permit you to surpass the maximum parking limit. (continued below).
  3. Car-pooling and public transportation are great ways to save money and time. These methods of transportation are highly recommended to those who can do so! 

The Berkman Klein Center is located on the 4th and 5th floors of the Lewis Law Center. The street address is 1557 Massachusetts Avenue. Most events occur in the 5th floor multipurpose room. The Center is wheelchair-accessible and includes accessible restrooms. The building is key card access only. For public events, staff will be stationed at the door to allow entry.

If an event is being catered, it will be noted in the event description and you will be prompted to indicate your dietary preferences on the RSVP form. Food is always offered on a first come, first served basis. The more we know, the better we can prepare, so please always RSVP. If you were unable to RSVP, please still come but consider not taking a meal unless there is an abundance.

Using a variety of local caterers, BKC does its best to provide an assortment of clearly labeled dietary options at all catered events. We usually have vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options available.

For all event related needs or concerns, please contact someone on our Events Team at [email protected] or call our Event Specialist at 617-384-0596. Thank you.

Past Events

Apr 10, 2012 @ 12:30 PM

All You Need is Love (& a manager, an accountant, & a web designer)

Making it as a Musician in an Increasingly Networked World, with Future of Music Coalition's Kristin Thomson and Berkman Fellow Erin McKeown

On April 10, join Future of Music Coalition's Kristin Thomson and Berkman Fellow Erin McKeown as they discuss the changing landscape for musicians and music fans. Drawing on data…

Apr 9, 2012 @ 12:00 PM

Public Access To Federally Funded Research: Copyright And Other Issues

Does mandating free online access to papers resulting from federally funded research violate the Copyright Act or treaty obligations? A distinguished pair of panelists will…

Event
Apr 3, 2012 @ 12:30 PM

The Growth and Decay of Shared Knowledge

Dennis Tenen, fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society

In this talk, Dennis will discuss our intuitions about knowledge domains and the methods by which such intuitions could be modeled empirically. Along the way, we will have the…

Mar 27, 2012 @ 12:30 PM

The Digital Dialectic

Virginia Heffernan, Yahoo News

The Digital Dialectic: analog culture, digital culture and what's next.

Mar 27, 2012 @ 6:00 PM

Cyberscholar Working Group

The Cyberscholar Working Group is a forum for fellows and affiliates of the MIT, Yale Law School Information Society Project, Columbia University, and the Berkman Center for…

Mar 22, 2012 @ 6:00 PM

A conversation with Julie Brill, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission

with Professor John Palfrey, Harvard Law School & Berkman Center for Internet & Society

John Palfrey of the Berkman Center will engage the Commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission’s policy and enforcement initiatives in the area of online privacy and data…

Mar 21, 2012 @ 9:00 AM

Understanding the New Wave of Social Cooperation: A Triangulation of the Arab Revolutions, European Mobilizations and the Americ

This one-day workshop brought together several groups of researchers: members of the Council for European Studies (CES) European Social Movements research network who will be in…

Mar 20, 2012 @ 12:30 PM

What can 21st century open government learn from open source, open data, open innovation and open journalism?

Alexander B. Howard, Gov 2.0 Washington Correspondent for O'Reilly Media

In this talk on the power of platforms, Howard will talk about where the principles and technologies that built the Internet and World Wide Web are being integrated into…

Event
Mar 6, 2012 @ 9:00 AM

Truthiness in Digital Media

a symposium that seeks to understand and address propaganda and misinformation in the new media ecosystem

As the networked media environment increasingly permeates private and public life, driven in part by the rapid and extensive travels of news, information and commentary, our…

Feb 29, 2012 @ 4:00 PM

Webcast: Born This Way Foundation Launch

Information about the live webcast of the Born This Way Foundation launch at Harvard University.

Feb 28, 2012 @ 6:00 PM

Cyberscholars Working Group

at MIT

This month's presentations will include: Mayo Fuster Morrell on Digital commons: How does governance shape collaborative communities (in term of scale of participation and…

Feb 28, 2012 @ 12:30 PM

Online Consultation and Democratic Information Flow

Peter M. Shane, Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law at the Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law & Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School

When governments ask the public to consult online about policy decisions, is democracy strengthened? Peter M. Shane discusses at the Berkman Center.

Feb 24, 2012 @ 6:00 PM

Wadah Khanfar: "One Year after Mubarak: The Past and Future of the 'Arab Spring'"

Wadah Khanfar (Sharq Forum) followed by a dialogue with Joi Ito (MIT Media Lab), Ethan Zuckerman (Center for Civic Media), and Mohamed Nanabhay (Al Jazeera English)

Wadah Khanfar is president of the Sharq Forum, an international think tank focused on political and economic development in the Arab world, and former director general of the Al…

Event
Feb 21, 2012 @ 12:30 PM

The Promises of Web-based Social Experiments

Jerome Hergueux, Berkman Center Fellow

In this talk, Jerome Hergueux will engage the audience in a discussion about the specificities, limitations and promises of web-based behavioral experiments for advancing social…

Feb 15, 2012 @ 5:00 PM

[Feb 15] Film screening: "Bully" and Forum Discussion

HGSE Askwith Forum

Directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker, Lee Hirsch, Bully follows five kids and families over the course of a school year. As teachers, administrators, kids and…

Feb 14, 2012 @ 12:30 PM

Mate Choice in an Online Dating Site

Kevin Lewis, Berkman Center Fellow

Data from online dating sites also offer an unprecedented opportunity to address questions of longstanding interest to social scientists. In this talk, Kevin Lewis introduces a…

Feb 7, 2012 @ 6:00 PM

Connecting Democracy: Online Consultation and the Flow of Political Communication

Book event and discussion

A Panel Discussion about Connecting Democracy: Online Consultation and the Flow of Political Communication

Feb 7, 2012 @ 12:30 PM

Open Government Data for Open Accountability

Felipe Heusser, Berkman Center Fellow

The talk revises Open Government Data policy (OGD) as the ultimate chapter of a transparency story traditionally dominated by 'Freedom of Information Acts' (FOIA). It addresses…

Event
Feb 2, 2012 @ 6:00 PM

Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom

Rebecca MacKinnon, New America Foundation

In her timely book, Rebecca MacKinnon warns that a convergence of unchecked government actions and unaccountable company practices is threatening the future of democracy and human…

Feb 1, 2012 @ 7:00 PM

Symposium on Youth Meanness and Cruelty

As part of the Berkman Center‘s partnership with the Born This Way Foundation, the Youth and Media team has aggregated and summarized recent academic literature on youth…