RightsCon Toronto 2018

In 2011, the first RightsCon was held to explore human rights in the digital age. Each year since, the event has grown dramatically in size, scope and impact. In November 2017, Amnesty International launched its Silicon Valley Initiative to explore how technology can transform the human rights movement. Now at RightsCon 2018, Access Now and Amnesty are hosting a re-grounding session where participants explore what human rights / civil society organizations, Silicon Valley's tech giants and Toronto's burgeoning tech startup scene can learn from each other to counter threats to human rights and improve human rights protection.
Using a "curbside coaching" rotational format, this 60-minute lunchtime workshop pairs civil society and human rights organizations from around the world with large tech companies actively confronting human rights challenges and tech startups from Toronto's tech hub to explore what they can do to effectively address human rights threats. Addressing human rights violations will be only one aspect of the discussion -- we will also explore ways to improve the protection of human rights with technology innovation, whether it's through new forms of documentation and analysis, better organizing or finding practical solutions to human rights problems.
Through timed rotations at tables zoned by theme -- artificial intelligence, data-driven decision making and data-driven storytelling, Internet security, digital threats against civil society, cybersecurity capacity building and technical assistance, data protection, freedom of expression, Internet shutdowns, blockchain, etc -- attendees learn what is needed for the tech sector to embrace threat work, what has been effective, what doesn't work and what new collaborations can be explored.
A facilitator from Amnesty International and Access Now will be stationed at each table will capture best practices, lessons learned and new partnerships / collaborations surfaced during that table's discussion, and secure commitments from the table participants which collaboration they want to pursue post-RightsCon. This workshop will be a conversation-starter that sparks dialogue and connection through the three-day event.