Here are some sessions that we will be a part of:

• Anti-oppression Principles for Global Internet Freedom and Human Rights Work – Monday, March 5, 2:30-4:45 p.m. with Dia Kayyali, (WITNESS),  Kaustubh Srikanth (Totem), Elizabeth Rivera (IFEX/Global Voices/WITNESS), Sarah Aoun, (Mozilla Open Web Fellow/ Tandem)

This 2-hour long workshop will focus on finding solutions to the ways in which we recurringly see various privileges – such as being from North America or Europe, having light skin, or being a man–exert themselves in the human rights and internet freedom community.

Full description can be found on the IFF schedule here.

• Going beyond Values Statements: Prioritizing Healthy Organizational Cultures – Tuesday, March 6, 12:15-1:15 p.m. with Nicolas Sera Leyva of (Social Media Exchange/SMEX), Dragana Kaurin (Localization Lab) Nathalie Marechal (PhD Candidate, USC Annenberg) Dia Kayyali (WITNESS)

This panel will be “an intentional conversation about the impact of organizational working cultures on the ability of individuals to go about their work in a healthy, positive, constructive manner. The ultimate goal of this session is to ignite a conversation which leads to a series of collaboratively developed standards – standards which organizations of all shapes and sizes in our community should embrace to demonstrate their commitment to we the individuals who advance their causes and serve our communities.”

Full description can be found on the IFF schedule here.

• Right to Record – Wednesday, March 7, 10-12 p.m. with Dia Kayyali and others.

What is the right to record? We’re glad you asked. We see the right to record as the right of everyone, not just credentialed press,  to film the police and military when they are carrying out their duties.  If you are interested in learning more about the right to record or our research so far, want to join this work, or want to share your experiences with filming the police, please stop by!

• WITNESS the Apps – Thursday, March 8, 12-2 p.m. with Dia Kayyali and the Guardian Project

We will be discussing the Android apps we have been working on with the Guardian Project. We will provide demos, and we would also love your feedback. We’ll have some special treats for folks who take a few minutes to chat with us about our apps. You can download ProofMode here and ObscuraCam here.

See you in Valencia!

Technology, video and social media have become everyday tools for activists around the world- but they have also become tools for repressive governments and other bad actors. Although the National Security Agency documents leaked by Edward Snowden led to a national conversation about mass surveillance, the threats posed by such spying are mostly hypothetical. Unfortunately, the threats posed by targeted surveillance are anything but hypothetical. Communities, especially those that remember the abuses of the FBI in the 60s and 70s, do a lot to protect themselves- but there is always more to know.

The discussion will be moderated by our own Dia Kayyali, who coordinates WITNESS’ tech + advocacy work, engaging with technology companies and working on tools and policies that help human rights advocates safely, securely and ethically document human rights abuses and expose them to the world.

When: Thursday, March 15, 2018, 7-9pm

Where: Matter, New York, NY (more details in RSVP link)

Our panelists include:

Virginia Eubanks – Author of Automating Inequality: How High Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor

Sarah Aoun – Co-Founder of Tandem

Bina Ahmad – Public Defender of The Legal Aid Society

Luba Cortes – Rapid Response Coordinator at Make the Road New York

Kei Williams – Movement NetLab // Organizer-In-Residency at Civic Hall

Refreshments will be served! Sound interesting? RSVP here.

For activists: Grassroots Digital Security Training

When: March 16, 2018, 9am-5pm

Details and to RSVP click here.