Provocations about human rights in the digital world

Is the Internet destroying the planet? How do we design tech-related outreach with, not for, young people?

These provocations -- and six others -- challenged participants to consider new ways of thinking about human rights in the digital world during the Network of Internet & Society Centers (NoC) Human Libraries: Meet NoC Women session at RightsCon 2019.

Designed by Sandra Cortesi, Director of Youth and Media, Levin Kim, an affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, and Nicole West Bassoff, a Project Coordinator at BKC, the session highlighted the research and thoughts from women from the NoC, a collaborative initiative among academic institutions with a focus on interdisciplinary research on the development, social impact, policy implications, and legal issues concerning the digital technologies.

The eight women from across the globe discussed their work and proposed a provocation for participants to think about. After the panel, the NoC women joined participants at tables around the room to answer questions and discuss their thoughts, as participants designed their own creative visuals on paper with arts and crafts supplies, using these provocations as inspiration.

One participant's collage

The art activity allowed participants to explore the provocations in a safe, creative, and playful way, Kim explained after the event. Towards the end of the session, participants shared their creations and discussed their thoughts on the prompts. 

The panelists and their provocations were:

  • Chenai Chair – Research ICT Africa (RIA), Researcher/Comms & Eval Manager

    • Provocation → How do we research the taboo and hidden in our gender and digital tech work? 

  • Azza El Masri – SMEX, Campaigns Manager

    • Provocation → Is there room for positive affect (such as humor and amusement through play) in incentivizing safe behavior online?

  • Mariel García-Montes – MIT, PhD student

    • Provocation → How do we design tech-related outreach with, not for, young people?

  • Alison Gillwald – Research ICT Africa, Executive Director

    • Provocation → Can we address the digital connectivity paradox? 

  • Malavika Jayaram – Digital Asia Hub, Executive Director

    • Provocation → Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant are ladies who lunch. What do they talk about? 

  • Newman – metaLAB and Berkman Klein Center, Harvard University, Senior Researcher

    • Provocation → Do you believe you control your own choices and actions? If yes, then all or only some? 

  • Paola Ricaurte – Associate Professor, School of Humanities and Education at Tecnológico de Monterrey

    • Provocation → Is the Internet destroying the planet?

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