RightsCon Toronto 2018

This roundtable will ask participants to reflect on why digital rights campaigns often use certain messaging frames more frequently than others in public and political communications, and if there are broader values sacrificed when we do that. For example, is consistently tapping into nationalism, or capitalist notions of "innovation", ultimately more harmful to broader societal progress, or a necessary trade-off to achieve tangible change within digital rights? If it is necessary, how can we mitigate potential collateral damage or hold ourselves accountable to other human rights movements? The intended outcomes of this session are: potential alternatives and more intersectional campaign design, clear-eyed acknowledgement if/where there are no alternatives, and accountability strategies. Speakers will include leading digital rights advocates from Bits of Freedom, Derechos Digitales, Free Press, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Net Blocks, OpenMedia, Public Citizen, Prostasia, Research ICT Africa, and Turkey Blocks. Please Note: To support honest, reflective, and meaningful discussion among participants, this session will be subject to Chatham House Rules. Participants are welcome to follow along and contribute during the session in our collaborative note-taking document, at tinyurl.com/trickledownprogress.