Researcher roles are crucial in the digital rights field. They inform strategy, threat landscaping, give us a better understanding of emerging issues, digital culture, and reveal opportunities.

Hear from Natasha Felizi, Journalism and Media Director at Instituto Serrapilheira in Brazil, what it takes to start a career in research in digital rights. Digital culture, campaigning, association with academic institutions, and research for action are some of the topics that we will discuss in this session.

Natasha Felizi is a science and technology researcher and activist. She currently works as the Journalism and Media Director at Instituto Serrapilheira, a private, non-profit institution created in Brazil to support science and promote critical thinking. She has been responsible for building the Journalism and Media portfolio, which aims to create a better-informed public sphere by supporting journalists, creating digital communications strategies and campaigns, and connecting outstanding scientific ideas to an emerging network of journalists, filmmakers, podcast creators, and digital influencers. As a feminist, Natasha worked for civil society organizations as a researcher and advocate for digital rights and its intersection with gender issues and other civic issues. But her original background is in Russian Literature and her first job was to write about contemporary art for a website. So she frequently wonders: Who am I and how the hell did I end up here?

A Career in Technology Research in Digital Rights

Nonprofits and grassroot organizations play a key role in the digital rights field. Their programming goals run the gamut, but overall are responsible for supporting frontline activists and efforts advancing different types of issues. Roles at both nonprofits and grassroots are also diverse - from finance to communications to program monitoring.

Hear about Nathaly Espitia Diaz journey from frontline activist to working at Colombian grassroot org (Nois Radio) to now being program officer at Internews. Find out what working in a nonprofit in the digital rights field is like, the types of opportunities exist, and what skills are needed.

Speaker:

Nathaly Espitia Diaz works at the intersection of technology, communication, culture, environment and social change. She excels as a content creator and communication and advocacy strategist, currently serving as Program Officer for South America at Internews. She works developing projects related to Digital Rights and Internet Freedom as well. One of the co-funders of the alternative communication collective Noís Radio. The majority of her work centers around working with indigenous, Afro-descendant, and campesinos communities, an area in which she has almost 15 years of experience. Creator and coordinator of Convite noisradio.co/convite just to facilitate the amazing work the community does.

A Career in Grassroots to International Nonprofits

Technologists can do much more than code. They can also play key leadership roles in the field of public interest technology, or using technology for public good. Finding good technologists to join the cause has become even more critical as civil society across the globe face more threats sitting at the intersection of social justice, human rights and technology.

Join ACLU’s Senior Staff Technologist, Daniel Kahn Gillmor, and find out how he got into this field, what skills you need, and how you can play a key role in helping confront emerging technological threats coming down the road.

Speaker:

Daniel Kahn Gillmor is a Senior Staff Technologist for the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, focused  on the way our technical infrastructure shapes society and impacts civil liberties As a free software developer and member of the Debian project, he contributes to fundamental tools that shape the possibilities of our information-rich environment. As a participant in the IETF he fosters the creation of new generations of networking and cryptographic protocols designed and optimized for privacy and security.

A Career in Public Interest Technology

Whether you are a developer, designer, a UX expert or project manager, your skills are essential to build the technology tools used by activists, journalists and citizens around the world, to protect themselves and advance their mission.

Hear from Giovanni Pellerano, co-founder and co-author of Globaleaks, one of the most important whistleblowing software in the world. Learn about his professional adventure and his project’s journey to a sustainable organization. Find out how secure a job career in a prominent field with a good team!

Speaker:

Giovanni Pellerano is a computer engineer and whistleblowing hacktivist. Co-founder and co-author of GlobaLeaks, Giovanni has been involved in the software’s architectural design since the early stages and has supported directly and indirectly several hundred whistleblowing projects around the world. He currently leads the research and development of the software.

A Career in Tech Tool Making

Policy isn’t just for politicians. As an informed advocate and changemaker, you can have a direct and positive impact on how the Internet is developed. Hear from Ayden Federline, currently a Landecker Democracy Fellow, on what it takes to develop a career in policy advocacy. Learn how he got started in the field, what skills are in demand, and what do job prospects look like in the future.

Speaker:

Ayden Férdeline is a Landecker Democracy Fellow where, with the support of the Alfred Landecker Foundation and Humanity in Action, he monitors the development of the UN Secretary-General’s proposed Global Digital Compact ahead of 2024’s Summit of the Future. He was previously a rapporteur with the Forum on Information and Democracy, a research consultant to the National Democratic Institute as well as the National Endowment for Democracy, and a Mozilla technology policy fellow.

A Career in Policy Advocacy

The digital rights field is an emerging field, which looks at challenges arising at the intersection of social justice, human rights, and technology. While exciting and at the cusp of issues facing societies throughout the world, its expansiveness can also be overwhelming to people trying to break into the field. Join us to gain an overview of the digital rights field, as well as different career paths available to you. You can also ask questions about the future sessions of the Village!

Speakers:

Sandy Ordonez has been working in digital rights for over 12 years, primarily focusing on growing the field and elevating the leadership of underrepresented communities. Currently, the head of TCU, Sandra is one of the first Latinas to occupy leadership positions in the open source community, notably having served as the first Director of Comms for the Wikimedia Foundation.

Danae Tapia is a feminist writer, multimedia artist and technologist born in the Chilean working class. Danae is the founder of The Digital Witchcraft Institute, her fellowship with the Mozilla Foundation and an arts organization where she leads projects that fall at the intersection of posthuman technology, deep migrations and climate justice. She is also a lecturer of Hacking and Autonomous Practices at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

An Overview of the Digital Rights Landscape for Career Seekers

J. Bob Alotta works on Global Programs at the Mozilla Foundation, focusing on grassroots, academia, and civil society and internet freedom tools. We talked about the changes that have taken place in the digital rights field, the challenges of dealing with funders, how users could increase their online safety, and also about Artificial Intelligence issues.

Team CommUNITY