Valerie Frissen wins Lifetime Achievement Award
On 10 October, Valerie Frissen was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Internet Society Foundation. The professor by special appointment received the award in recognition of her tireless efforts in the field of internet freedom, digital rights and internet governance.
Professor Frissen, who has held the special chair in Digital Technology and Social Change since September 2018, received the honourable award at an anniversary event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Internet Society Netherlands Chapter (ISOC-NL). Lousewies van der Laan, Marleen Stikker, Nani Jansen-Reventlow, Olaf Kolkman and Oscar Kneppers were also awarded this prize alongside her. The event took place in the Felix Meritis building in Amsterdam and the award was handed out by Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands.
Professor Frissen has been involved in internet law for many years now, and in addition to her role at Leiden University, is Director of the Foundation for Internet Domain Registration in the Netherlands (SIDN) Fund. Despite her extensive experience, she was surprised to receive the award, which was launched in honour of the foundation’s 25th anniversary. Ruben Brave, ISOC-NL’s Chair, feels Professor Frissen is fully deserving of the award and posted the following on LinkedIn:
‘Valerie’s contribution to the Dutch internet community is invaluable. Her commitment to digital rights, open technology and societal impact perfectly aligns with the values we cherish as an internet community. Valerie is a true pioneer who has enhanced the role of civil society and shown us how, with the correct funding, technology can be used to bolster an inclusive society.’
Professor Frissen is especially pleased that the award seamlessly aligns with the SIDN Fund’s mission. She says: ‘SIDN, and the resulting fund, is committed to safe, open, accessible internet for all. Through the fund, we aim to support civil society organisations that work to achieve this by allocating money to worthwhile initiatives. I feel very grateful and honoured to receive this kind of award in recognition of that.’
Image: Elena Fidanovska