[Commlist] Call for participation: October Tech & Society Symposium on the Roles Funders Play in Digital/Data Rights, Justice, Equity, and Inclusion

Call for Participation (Interest forms needed by August 11th): October 
Symposium Researching the Roles Funders play in Advancing Digital/data 
rights, justice, equity, and inclusion in the U.S. and beyond (in 
person/virtual options)

As the COVID-19 pandemic made clear, being online has become essential 
to everyday life worldwide. Yet, while the digital world seems here to 
stay, to what extent do we get to choose to be part of it, or not?

What are the risks of being either online /or/ offline?

Being online carries many harms and risks 
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/ai-bill-of-rights/> associated with 
misinformation, surveillance, artificial intelligence (AI), 
datafication, discrimination, tracking, profiling, etc.

Being offline, whether by choice or circumstance, means being cut off 
from essential services and also experiencing social isolation.

And what are the necessary protections or remedies to address these 
risks or harms?

Globally, these are the concerns of those working to 
advance digital/data rights 
<https://digitalfreedomfund.org/digital-rights-for-all/>, justice 
<https://www.weforum.org/whitepapers/pathways-to-digital-justice/>, 
equity <https://ctu.ieee.org/what-is-digital-equity/>, and inclusion 
<https://www.un.org/techenvoy/sites/www.un.org.techenvoy/files/general/Definition_Digital-Inclusion.pdf>. 
And all of these efforts require funding.__

Yet the issue of “funding” is often the "elephant in the room”. An 
important concern for everyone, but something many don’t talk about. 
This is likely because, as experts 
<https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo23530413.html> have 
noted, “Philanthropy is everywhere…[It] is not just a beneficent 
activity or a funding mechanism. It can also be a form of power”.

For example in the U.S.: A September 2022 report 
<https://bit.ly/46UvOx0>__examining U.S. philanthropic giving toward 
digital equity found that in spite of the pandemic highlighting the 
urgency of addressing digital inequity, philanthropic funding in this 
space has largely remained stagnant. According to the report, “Funding 
for digital equity makes up less than 1% of overall giving by large 
foundations”.

We invite you to join the RGK Center at the LBJ School of Public Affairs 
in co-creating a timely, inclusive, and robust exchange of diverse ideas 
and perspectives to build and share knowledge together about the many 
roles funders play in the fields of digital/data rights, justice, 
equity, and inclusion worldwide.

Our questions include:

·What is the state of scholarship on the roles funders (governmental, 
corporate, or philanthropic) have been playing to help prevent or remedy 
the many risks and harms of living in a digital society?

·What are lessons learned, success stories, and best practices related 
to funding in these fields? What’s working and what’s not? What 
challenges have funders and grantseekers faced?

·What should funders focus on next, why, and how?

Our goals invite collaboration to…

·Identify under resourced types of interventions necessary to keep 
people safe in a digital society.

·Generate ideas about how to strengthen and expand equitable access to 
funding ecosystems to advance the fields of digital/data rights, 
justice, equity, and inclusion worldwide.

·Initiate collaborations that build, share, and mobilize necessary 
knowledge to inform governmental, corporate, and philanthropic 
investments in these fields of work.

We seek a wide variety of participants (scholars, policy advocates, 
community leaders, public officials, technologists, policymakers, 
journalists, funders, etc.) from the following sectors:

·Government (public sector)

·Corporate (private sector)

·Social sector (civil society/civic sector)

Please consider joining this conversation by adding your insights, 
questions, and participation preferences here:



Call for Participation | RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community 
Service <https://rgk.lbj.utexas.edu/call-participation>

---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ commlist.org)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------