The seventh episode of Feminist Digital Futures features Mariana Valente and her thoughts on what inclusive, feminist tech looks like. Mariana unpacks how race, caste, sexuality, and other identities intersect with gendered experiences online, the tension between visibility and invisibility for marginalized communities, the heterogeneity of the Global South and why Global North solutions can't be applied indiscriminately, and the importance of creativity in both tech design and offline resistance. 

Episode Navigation
00:10: Introduction
00:47: About Mariana
04:16: How gender and other identities affect experiences of the online sphere
10:24: Why equal access to and participation in social media is a feminist issue
13:41: Mariana's vision of a feminist social media
18:31: How platform design and governance needs to change, from a feminist and Global South perspective, and opinions on platform attempts to regulate content
27:13: Conclusion

Mariana Valente is Director at InternetLab. She holds a doctorate, a master’s degree and a bachelor's degree from University of São Paulo Law School. She is a professor at Insper University. Mariana was a visiting researcher at the University of California, Berkeley (USA), a DAAD fellow with a certificate in German law from the LMU University in Munich (Germany), and a researcher with the Linkage Program at Yale Law School (USA). Before InternetLab, she was a professor and researcher at the Center for Technology and Society of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, and legal coordinator of the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo. She is also a researcher at the Center for Law and Democracy at CEBRAP (Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning) and served as Creative Commons Brazil coordinator (2019-2021). She works especially with internet policy, cultural markets and access to knowledge, and gender equality and its intersections with technologies.

Hosted by: Tanvi Kanchan
Research and conceptualization: Nandini Chami & Tanvi Kanchan
Post-production: Tanvi Kanchan
Podcast artwork by: Harmeet Rahal

Acknowledgements
This podcast series has been produced as part of the Feminist Digital Justice project, a joint policy research and advocacy initiative of IT for Change and DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era). The series is co-supported by the World Wide Web Foundation.

Visit botpopuli.net/podcast for more.

Feminist Digital Futures with Mariana Valente

In the eighth episode of Feminist Digital Futures, Sohini Bhattacharya joins us to discuss the power of social media in allowing public sphere participation of women and people of marginalized genders, and why we need to work towards making it a safer space. Sohini touches upon the politics of representation, how gender plays into digital literacy and access to technology, and why we need rules and norms to govern online spaces to make them more equitable.

Episode Navigation
00:10: Introduction
00:47: About Sohini
01:58: How gender and other identities affect experiences of the online sphere
10:27: Why equal access to and participation in social media is a feminist issue
15:09: The importance of social media in public sphere participation
17:04: Sohini's vision of a feminist social media
20:20: How platform design and governance needs to change, from a feminist and Global South perspective
25:39: Conclusion

Sohini Bhattacharya is an intrepid intrapreneur and social change enthusiast who has 25+ years of experience in the development sector. Currently she is President and CEO at Breakthrough, a global human rights organization working in the U.S. and India, that uses multi-media, popular culture, leadership development and community mobilization strategies to prevent gender-based violence. Prior to this, Sohini had helped found an organization working with women, worked directly with grassroots communities on livelihoods projects and built market-artisan interfaces.  Before joining Breakthrough, Sohini spent 10 years at Ashoka Innovators for the Public, an international organization building an ecosystem for social entrepreneurs, first ramping up the India program and then working on institution building for Ashoka in South Asia. Sohini was also instrumental in helping set up Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) in India, an offshoot of EVPA in Asia. Sohini has interest and years of experience in theatre and dance and loves cooking, reading, handicrafts and handlooms and travelling. Sohini sits on the board of Dastkar and Kolkata Sanved and is a Trustee of Read India, a sister concern of Read Global, creating community-led sustainable libraries.

Hosted by: Tanvi Kanchan
Research and conceptualization: Nandini Chami & Tanvi Kanchan
Post-production: Tanvi Kanchan
Podcast artwork by: Harmeet Rahal

Acknowledgements
This podcast series has been produced as part of the Feminist Digital Justice project, a joint policy research and advocacy initiative of IT for Change and DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era). The series is co-supported by the World Wide Web Foundation.

Visit botpopuli.net/podcast for more.

Feminist Digital Futures with Sohini Bhattacharya

The final episode of Feminist Digital Futures features Erika Smith, who emphasizes the importance of freedom, transparency and fun in feminist imaginations of social media. Erika discusses how social media algorithms can foist violent content on users, why we need to foreground choice when it comes to internet access, why reform in platform design and governance needs to move beyond being tokenistic, and what the on-ground impact of social media content moderation programs have been like.

Episode Navigation
00:10: Introduction
00:47: About Erika
02:46: How gender and other identities affect experiences of the online sphere
07:18: Why equal access to and participation in social media is a feminist issue
13:38: Erika's vision of a feminist social media
17:51: How platform design and governance needs to change, from a feminist and Global South perspective
22:04: Impact of platform content moderation programs
28:16: Conclusion

Erika Smith has collaborated in several projects strategizing against online gender-based violence since 2005 and the Take Back the Tech global coordinating team. Based in Mexico, Erika works in the Women's Rights Programme of the Association for Progressive Communications as part of the capacity building and networking strategy team, striving to make a feminist internet a reality and raising awareness in internet rights, digital safety and against OGBV. Originally from the US, Erika has lived in Mexico for over three decades where she started training women on the strategic use of computers and the internet in the early 90's. With a Masters Degree in IberoAmerican Studies, her educational background focused on women’s social movements and she became involved in ICT as a feminist organizer and part of ISP LaNeta's user support team. She is also on the board of the interpreter and translator collective Tlatolli Ollin/Words in Movement, dedicated to providing quality translation and interpretation on social justice issues.

Hosted by: Tanvi Kanchan
Research and conceptualization: Nandini Chami & Tanvi Kanchan
Post-production: Tanvi Kanchan
Podcast artwork by: Harmeet Rahal

Acknowledgements
This podcast series has been produced as part of the Feminist Digital Justice project, a joint policy research and advocacy initiative of IT for Change and DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era). The series is co-supported by the World Wide Web Foundation.

Visit botpopuli.net/podcast for more.

Feminist Digital Futures with Erika Smith

In the first episode of the EcoMinassat podcast series, we provide an overview of the way digital platforms are reshaping the economic terrain within the MENA region. Looking at their growing prevalence, we explore the relationships that are emerging between digital platforms, unemployment, and gendered livelihoods. We critically survey the ways in which these platforms have not only opened up new opportunities for local workforces but also introduced new forms of disruption and unique obstacles. 

Hosted by: Yosr Jouini 

Acknowledgement: This podcast has been produced as part of IT for Change’s Big Tech & Society Media Fellowship 2022.

Timestamps:
00:00: Introduction
02:05: Evolution of the digital economy in the MENA region with Dr. Ayad Alani
13:41: Platformization and unemployment with Uma Rani
19:48: The gender dimension with Uma Rani
35:43: The state’s role in regulating platforms
39:27: Concluding remarks


Episode 1: Mapping the Terrain

The second episode of the EcoMinassat podcast series draws attention to the under-documented experiences of platform workers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with a focus on the intersection of platform economy and socio-economic rights. In conversation with Sami Zoughaib and Wassim Maktabi, from the Policy Initiative, Lebanon, our host, Yosr Jouini, discusses the factors that lead workers in Lebanon to enter precarious platform work. They point out narratives of flexibility and entrepreneurship that drive vulnerable workers to platform work alongside larger socio-economic factors. They map out the landscape of social protections tied to more formalized work or poverty alleviation that such workers are de facto excluded from and the compounding of these vulnerabilities for foreign and refugee workers. The episode concludes with exploring policy reforms needed to offer protection to precariously employed platform workers.

Hosted by: Yosr Jouini 

Acknowledgement: This podcast has been produced as part of IT for Change’s Big Tech & Society Media Fellowship 2022.

Timestamps:
0:00: Introduction
1:22: Experiences and struggles of platform workers in MENA
2:58: Testimonies of striking workers
5:00: Workers’ demands and challenges
5:32: Introduction to Sami Zoughaib and Wassim Maktabi
5:49: Importance of platform work in the Lebanese economy
8:16: Necessity for gig work in Lebanon
9:47: Socio-economic rights of workers
10:35: Policy changes
15:33: Protection of platform workers


Episode 2: Platforms and Worker Power

The third and final episode of the EcoMinassat podcast series delves into the complexities surrounding platform work for refugees and displaced peoples, set against the unique challenges prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Engaging in dialogue with Andreas Hackl, an anthropologist affiliated with the University of Edinburgh, this episode commences by examining the myriad challenges confronted by refugee workers in MENA. These challenges encompass the obstacles arising from their refugee status, difficulties in accessing the digital economy, and specific barriers hindering entry into platform work. The discussion evaluates the potential and constraints of digital initiatives aimed at facilitating online livelihoods for refugees or displaced individuals, alongside the considerations essential for regulating platform work. Moreover, it underscores the significance of addressing issues pertaining to access and identification as pivotal steps towards fostering financial inclusion and cultivating equitable platforms for all workers.

Hosted by: Yosr Jouini 

Acknowledgement: This podcast has been produced as part of IT for Change’s Big Tech & Society Media Fellowship 2022.

Timestamps:
0:00: Introduction to the series and episode
1:46: Introduction to Andreas Hackl
2:40: Platform work and refugees
8:25: Challenges to integrating refugees into platform work in MENA
13:34: Potentials and limitations of platform work for refugees
18:47: Platform work regulation
25:17: Closing comments from Andreas Hackle
27:30: Conclusion


Episode 3: Where does the Refugee Crisis Fit in?

Bot Populi is an alternative media platform dedicated to looking at all things digital from a social justice and Global South perspective. Our podcast features insights from scholars, activists and academics from across the globe, who discuss questions around digital justice, internet governance and data rights, and examine the new contours of our digitalizing world. Engage with our work at botpopuli.net

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