[Video] Digital Self-Determination Research Sprint Showcase

The final session of the Digital Self-Determination Research Sprint offered an opportunity to reflect, celebrate, and look ahead. The session started with highlighting how far the Sprint had come in terms of topics covered and conversations shared. Participants Carmen Ng, Rory Torres, and Constanza M. Vidal Bustamante each presented summarized reflections on different thematic arcs of the Sprint. Participants then took turns discussing the impact of artifacts created by other participants, emphasizing the collaborative and mutually-informative nature of these Sprints.    

Watch the video of the final session

For instance, Tomás Guarna discussed works by Ana Margarida Coelho and Eraldo Souza dos Santos, whose initial explorations of digital self-determination in the first session opened up new ideas about the topic for him. İdil Kula also discussed how Narayanamoorthy Nanditha’s Session 3’s artifact on the preservation of regional literature is important and relevant for her own context. 

The session then moved on to Urs Gasser engaging with the session leaders, who organized individual sessions, and session speakers to hear about what they learned from being a part of the Sprint. The session shifted to highlighting the work of Bernard Caycedo and the Center for Internet and Society at the Rosario University (ISUR) in Bogota, Colombia, who were running a separate Sprint inspired by the work being done in this BKC and DAH-hosted Sprint. 

In the final part of the session, participant videos were shared focusing on people’s three essential concerns around digital self-determination that governments should consider. After these videos, Roger Dubach, a Swiss Ambassador and Deputy Director of the Directorate of International Law, responded to the videos, facilitated further discussions, and discussed next steps.