Here’s a quick recap of what happened on Day One of AruWSIG19, as well as a look ahead at what to expect today.
Officially, the workshop started at 9 am and there was plenty of activities during the mid-morning.
During the day, workshop attendees began arriving at the Obuntu Hub, eager for the workshop to begin.
Among the sessions yesterday was Introduction to Internet Governance, Infrastructure and Institutions.
Takeaways from that session were;
Internet Governance is the development and application of shared principles, norms rules, decision-making procedures, and programs that shape the evolution and the use of the internet. A key outcome from that session was that, although internet governance deals with the core of the digital world, governance cannot be handled with the digital-binary logic of the true or false, or good or bad.
There was a session that challenged participants on how often we use our smartphones to speak about Human Rights Violations by using our social media handles especially Twitter?
It has been noted that recently, there is a rise in documenting Human Rights Violation by using smartphones. The transition from Press Releases and Speeches (Participation Online) have proved that the youth are engaging online with their leaders where they directly challenge their leaders and hold them accountable. The mobilization of youth and people online is becoming quite common and it has also prone people to fake news from the government leaders who don’t agree with what the citizens who hold them accountable.
Another amazing session was facilitated by George Owuor from Facebook, who took participants through Content Moderation on Social Media.
Content Moderation is the practice of monitoring and applying a pre-determined set of rules and guidelines to user-generated submissions to determine best if communication is permissible or not.
Content moderators protect Facebook’s 2.3 billion members. Who protects them? The moderators protect Facebook’s users from exposure to humanity’s darkest impulses. Constant exposure to violence, hatred and sordid acts can wreak havoc on a person’s mental health.
The session that followed was on Feminist Principles of the Internet which was facilitated by Rebecca Ryakitimbo. During this session, participants were split into groups and they took time to discuss what they understand by: The Feminist Principles of the Internet are a series of statements that offer a gender and sexual rights lens on critical internet-related rights. They were drafted at the first Imagine a Feminist Internet meeting that took place in Malaysia in April 2014. The meeting was organised by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and brought together 50 activists and advocates working in sexual rights, women’s rights, violence against women, and internet rights. The meeting was designed as an adapted open space where topics were identified, prioritized, and discussed collectively.
On Tap For Today:
#AruWSIG19 gets better today with presentations discussing:
- Research and Data Driven Advocacy.
- Introduction to Digital , Media and Social Mobilization tools for digital rights campaigns.
- Mindful Conversations, ICT and Mental Health among others.
Stay Tuned for more updates throughout the workshop.
Enjoy!