RightsCon Toronto 2018

Digital Participation is a precondition for freedom of speech in a digital age. However, negative interventions in free digital communication are common: Internet shutdowns, censorship and digital attacks against journalists exist in many countries around the world.

We want to invite participants to a fictional country where they will be
slipping into the role of a stakeholder within our digital ecosystem, for example “government”, “journalist”, or “citizen”. By confronting them with disruptions such as internet shutdowns or the silencing of critical voices, participants are confronted with the repercussions of these challenges. A full game set with a "Monopoly" like play board, event cards and avatar cards is provided so that it will also a playful experience.

The goal of the session is to make the concept and relevance of digital participation more tangible by letting participants discuss within the realms of a simulation game. The discussions in this simulation game should illustrate how
multifaceted the field of digital particiation is and how severe disruptions from outside can be, but also what can be done to broaden digital participation.