RightsCon Toronto 2018

People living in censored and repressive societies face incredible barriers that limit engagement online. In these environments, citizens are denied venues – publicly and online – where they can express opinions, exchange ideas, and engage freely in discussion about their country’s future. Creating online tools, platforms, and campaigns for people who face barriers to open discussion and access to information present unique challenges that traditional content development and distribution does not solve.

After five years in the field, the Digital Public Square at the University of Toronto has developed a specialized toolkit for creating exciting content and developing innovative platforms to expand access to information and freedom of expression in heavily restricted online spaces. Our projects have received over 50 millions visits from millions of users globally. Most importantly, our measurement and evaluation methodology has enabled us to quantitatively and qualitatively assess project impact.

This session will begin with a brief overview of our projects across the broader Middle East and China, and then immediately begin a structured seminar on our step-by-step development process that generated political accountability platforms, digital documentary filmmaking, online educational games, anonymous AMA tools, and interactive data visualization for online surveys.