FINAL COMMUNICATE 2008 LECTURE TACKLES TABOO OF TERRORISM AND THE INTERNET
International academic speaks at Porthcurno Telegraph Museum event

Press release: May 2008 (PDF version, 34KB)

"Cyberterrorism" and use of the Internet for terrorist activity is the controversial subject being tackled in the final lecture in the Communicate 2008 series being held by Porthcurno Telegraph Museum.

Dr Maura Conway, a leading academic on the subject from Dublin City University, will be taking the lecture on Thursday 29th May from 7.30pm at University College Falmouth's Tremough Campus.

Dr Conway's principal research interests are in the area of terrorism and the Internet, including "cyberterrorism" and the functioning and effectiveness of terrorist websites.

She has written several published works and spoken all over the world, including at the United Nations in New York and the European Union in Brussels.

At the Communicate 2008 lecture, Dr Conway will talk about whether widespread use of the Internet has contributed to "new terrorism", the September 11th attacks on the Twin Towers and use of the online media for sharing information for warfare purposes.

She said: "There has been an explosion in terrorist Internet use post-9/11. The War on Terror has pushed many terrorists even further underground than previously and therefore forced a greater reliance on the Internet for communication. Violent jihadists, in particular, are very heavy Internet users."

Dr Conway's talk, entitled New Media, New Terrorism is the final event in the Communicate 2008 lecture series, being hosted at Tremough by Porthcurno Telegraph Museum.

Museum director Libby Buckley said: "This is probably the most controversial of the topics we've covered in our Communicate 2008 series. Dr Conway is an expert in her field and we're delighted that she's able to join us for this fascinating lecture.

"We have strong links with University College Falmouth, and these events have enabled us to debate some interesting topics relating to 21st century communication."

Students studying media and broadcasting courses at University College Falmouth are also being encouraged to get involved - broadcasts and digital podcasts are being planned so the lectures can be accessed digitally after the events have taken place.

The event will be chaired by Chris Rogers, political correspondent for BBC South West.

Tickets for the events are priced at £5.00, £4 concessions and are available from the Poly in Falmouth, telephone 01326 212300 or online at www.thepoly.org.

For more information about Porthcurno Telegraph Musuem, go to www.porthcurno.org.uk.

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For more information please contact Rachel Foster on 07989 695522 or email rachelvfoster@tiscali.co.uk.

Notes for Editors

Porthcurno Telegraph Museum www.porthcurno.org.uk 01736 810 478

Background
Porthcurno has a unique historic provenance: this is where the telegraph cables that linked Britain with its Empire and other nations came ashore. The valley was the hub of international cable communications from 1870-1970 and also training college for the communications industry until 1993. Porthcurno was the largest cable station in the world.

Our collection is unique in its completeness. We have the only working cable station (complete in all details except the actual cable) in the world. We also have all the supporting materials and associated ephemera that are rarely preserved with such collections. Porthcurno also had one of the earliest commercial wireless stations in 1902 so we are able to show the emerging competition between cable and wireless technology.

The ethos of the museum is to have as much as possible to be demonstrated in working order. To keep the collections working we rely on the knowledge and support of a dedicated team of volunteers.

History of the PK Trust
The Porthcurno Telegraph Museum is owned and operated by The Cable & Wireless Porthcurno and Collections Trust (The PK Trust) an independent educational charity and heritage trust. The PK Trust was created in 1997 by Cable & Wireless to hold the Company's historic buildings and collections at Porthcurno.

Its main activities are the operation of Porthcurno Telegraph Museum and the management of the Cable & Wireless historic archive. The museum and archive already provide access to an internationally recognised resource and have become a centre for the education of the public in the history of telegraph communications. As well as a successful museum a lot of work is carried out with local schools and community groups.