AMI 06-21 Face to Face

Maria Rosa Gibellini enjoys overseeing an association that does not represent any specific interest. Instead, the European Internet Forum acts as a platform for debate and discussion. And, as James Lancaster discovers, the conversation has never been livelier…

JL Your association acts as a forum for MEPs to discuss areas of policy in relation to the internet and the broader digital realm. What new talking points has the pandemic thrown up?

MRG The interest has never been higher, now that the pandemic has made everyone realise the importance of the internet and digital technologies for the resilience of our society and economy, and for the future recovery. More attention has been drawn to issues such as internet access, connectivity, digital skills, cybersecurity and data, but also fake news and content moderation.

JL Besides political members, you also have household-name ‘business members’ – from Amazon to Microsoft to Facebook. What role do they play? They must have their own ideas about policy!

MRG The European Internet Forum was established by MEPs over 20 years ago as an open and inclusive network bringing together stakeholders in the digital policy arena to discuss relevant issues. Our membership features not only MEPs from different political groups but also a very diverse range of organisations – which includes big tech companies, of course. All our members can contribute their views at our debates. Some member organisations invest a lot of energy into their policy work, while others are smaller players and cannot afford to do the same. While they may play in a different league, at our forum they play side by side - whether they share the same views and interests or not. Our membership fee scheme reflects our efforts toward inclusiveness, and our debates are not sponsored by specific members, they are financed via membership fees.

JL You also have ‘association members’ made up of NGOs, trade associations, universities who also want their place at the table. Can it sometimes be difficult to keep the peace?

MRG Unlike many associations in Brussels, EIF does not represent specific interests. Our members appreciate the unique, multi-stakeholder nature of our association and don't expect it to be otherwise. At our forum, members do not need to agree, they may just as well agree to disagree. The neutrality of our forum is definitely its strength, specially from a policy-maker’s point of view. I know it can be seen as a weakness at the same time, as it limits what you can do for your members – but our forum’s credibility comes from its impartiality.

JL You have worked your way up through the organisation, from executive assistant to events manager to director general. What has been the biggest change under your leadership?

MRG I am grateful to the European Internet Forum for the opportunity I have had to grow professionally: I was only 30 when I was appointed director general. I was lucky to find a role model in my predecessor, who hired me and with whom I worked side by side for a few years in my previous roles. When the opportunity to replace her arose, I found a lot of support from EIF’s board and leading MEPs who knew me and trusted I was ready for the challenge. 10 years later, I am pleased to see they did not regret it! It has been a great time.

The biggest change under my leadership was one that involved the restructuring of the association’s governance in 2014, in order to increase its transparency and ensure a smoother running of its decision-making bodies, where MEPs and representatives from member organisations work together in a delicate ecosystem. The change was well timed and helped steer the association forward in a way that also protected it from any attempts to transform it into something else. Political leadership remains key, in balance with the participation of stakeholders.

“Digitalisation brings people closer when distant but can make them distant if close.”

Maria Rosa Gibellini

JL How has your understanding of the internet changed since you joined the EIF 13 years ago?

MRG Although European Commission President von der Leyen announced the start of Europe’s digital decade, the digital transformation has started already over a decade ago! The speed of change may have not always been the same and for sure the level of awareness has never been as high as it is today. When I joined EIF, members were talking about a true internet-enabled revolution on its way, now digital is getting everywhere, it is more tangible and easier to explain why one should care.

JL It must be a fascinating time for the Forum, with so much debate around cyber-security, freedom of speech, ownership of data etc. How do you manage to switch off at night?

MRG Yes, now more than ever, there is a lot happening on the digital policy front. At our forum we have increased the number of monthly debates from two to three and still that is sometimes not enough to cover all the policy issues that land on the political agenda. I switch off at night by keeping my mobile phone in another room!

JL What have been the biggest challenges for your association over the last 18 months?

MRG Running a programme of entirely virtual events and managing a team one hundred per cent in smart working for over a year were the biggest challenges for my association, but they were also unprecedented opportunities: we had always wanted to implement virtual events and smart working to a certain extent – the testing time came before we knew it.

In a short time, we have managed to bring our full programme of monthly debates from offline to online and have even attracted new stakeholders thanks to a wider outreach. We explored suitable platforms, adjusted our traditional format and I improvised myself as event moderator. My board was supportive, and my team was very hands-on and effective.

However, while digital policy may be our members’ bread and butter, this does not make them necessarily comfortable when it comes to using their own devices and applications. Not everybody embraces changes at the same speed, people need time to learn and we have to take that into account.

JL From a leadership perspective what has the last 18 months taught you?

MRG The meaning of the motto ‘Never let a good crisis go to waste'. Like many associations, the need to keep running our business despite the pandemic has accelerated the digitalisation of our association in many ways: I have seen it as a positive impact, a way to develop, although the pressure came from unprecedented circumstances.

I have also learned how to support my team throughout these difficult times: we have all been living though this pandemic, and I believe such an unusual experience has brought us closer as human beings in a way. It is important to feel we all care for each other and that we are not alone, that we still belong, although distant.

JL You are a conference producer by profession – does any part of you miss being an events manager?

MRG I am a planner by nature and the event organiser in me comes in handy when it comes to producing events with the association I co-founded – Digitalians, a network bringing together over 500 Italian digital policy professionals. I run it with the other co-founders and a group of volunteers.

JL What are your thoughts on online conferencing? Is it the future or a step backwards for associations? Or something else altogether?

MRG Digitalisation brings people closer when distant but can make them distant if close. While digital technologies help remove geographical and physical barriers, the human factor will always play a vital role in our relations with other people: if you are close enough to someone and can meet in person, do so… it is a different level of personal connection. Likewise, networking events bring an added value that online conferencing cannot replicate. A mix of online, in-person events and hybrid will be the way to go in the future.

JL You are also the VP of the European Society of Association Executives. What do you get out of that personally and professionally?

MRG Professional development, exchange with peers and networking. Association leaders have a lonely job in many ways – and they may end up with the false impression that they know it all just because everybody listens to them. While this may be reassuring, exchanging with other leaders facing similar tasks and challenges is extremely valuable and opens up your mind, all the more so in the middle of a crisis, or at a time of fast change, and encourages you to step out of your comfort zone. At ESAE you find association professionals just like you, but also from different sectors. Although you may think otherwise at first, you soon find out that you have a lot in common! I find it very refreshing.

JL Tell our readers something about the internet they might not know!

MRG The internet has been around for a few years before it became what we know today: it was only with the invention of the World Wide Web that everything has changed – it connected the world via the internet. I had the great pleasure of meeting both the inventor of the Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee and one of the inventors of the Internet, Vint Cerf, at our forum – an opportunity I will never forget. Apparently, former US president Bill Clinton and then prime minister of Sweden, Carl Bildt, were the first global leaders to exchange emails over the web, in 1994.

JL What are your hopes for the next 12 months?

MRG I hope we will all be able to find a new work-life balance, by keeping the best of the physical and virtual worlds. I hope we will understand how to use technologies to make our lives better but by choice, not out of necessity.

FIND OUT MORE