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USAID Contribution

CivicSpace.tech: Citizen Engagement in a Digital Age

Published
Authors
USAID/DRG Center
Description

How can we ensure digital technology is being used to create a more just and peaceful world? USAID’s Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) Center and the Strengthening Civil Society Globally created the CivicSpace.tech resource to help the DRG community better understand the upsides and potential pitfalls of using digital technology in civic engagement. Focusing on how DRG issues are affected by emergent technologies, this two-part webinar series will explore how civil society and USAID missions can use the CivicSpace.tech resource to better navigate these new technologies.

 

This is a two part series:

 

Session 1. Mediated & Monetized: How Social Media Invaded Civic Space

 

Social-media platforms have become core communication channels for civil society around the world. Yet the information shared over social media is mediated and monetized by private companies and governments, who possess new tactics for censorship, control and information manipulation. They influence what you see, how you feel and act, and even provide new methods for violence. Join our expert panelists from SCS Global and USAID to deep dive into everything from data monetization and content moderation to online security and censorship.

 

The session is joined by:

- Lisa Vermeer, Digital Policy Advisor International Center for Non-Profit Law (ICNL)

- Josh Machleder, Senior Advisor for Media and Internet Freedom at USAID

- Usama Khilji, Director of Bolo Bhi, an advocacy, policy, and research organization focused on internet policy and safety in Pakistan.

 

Recording: Attached

Transcript: Attached

 

 

Session 2 on Robots, Drones & AI: Who’s Watching Us 24/7?

 

Integrating digital technology and the use of data in democracy, human rights and governance programming can have significant benefits. But the vast amount of data collected through interventions such as drones, Smart Cities, robots, even Digital IDs, raises increasing concerns about privacy, surveillance of citizens, and inequality. Join expert panelists from SCS Global and USAID to explore these risks and how our awareness can help mitigate for them.

 

This session will be joined by:

- Jared Ford, Senior Advisor for Digital Technology, Civic Activism, and Media at USAID

- Jon Camfield, Director of Global Technology Strategy, Internews

- Maria Paz Canales, Executive Director, Derechos Digitales

 

Recording: Attached

Transcript: Attached

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