An invitation for those committed to upholding digital rights and freedoms: SMEX and 7amleh are collaborating to host digital rights events in our region!
Our region is at a volatile and bleak moment. Over the past year, Sudan has been under a harrowing and largely forgotten war, with over eight million people forced to flee for safety and nearly 20 million facing severe food insecurity. In Yemen, more than half the population is in dire need of aid after a decade of fighting. The Israeli occupation continues its unrelenting genocidal agenda in Gaza while bombing towns and villages in Lebanon’s south on a daily basis.
Violence and political instability inflict immeasurable suffering upon millions and also bring about significant challenges to digital rights in our region. In response to these pressing issues, we invite you to participate in our upcoming events, Bread&Net Online, hosted by SMEX, and the Palestine Digital Activism Forum (PDAF), hosted by 7amleh. These meeting junctures offer an opportunity to discuss, address, and respond to unprecedented risks affecting our digital rights
On May 13, 14, and 15, SMEX will host Bread&Net Online: Digital Rights in Times of War. This event features panel discussions that will address regional challenges related to internet access and shutdowns, content moderation, misinformation, and data privacy, among others. On June 4 and 5, 7amleh will host their annual Palestine Digital Activism Forum (PDAF), Artificial Intelligence (AI): Revolutionary Promises & Discriminatory Realities. The forum will be an opportunity to explore AI’s potential for positive social impact and driving innovation forward while highlighting the horrific consequences AI-fueled technologies have had on Palestinians. It will address the use of AI-targeting systems and facial recognition technologies during wartime and the mass surveillance of social movements.
We are meeting over the next two months to share insights, build on past work, and rethink new ways of imagining our collective fight against persisting and emerging challenges.
Through collaboration and mutual support, we can strengthen the digital rights movement and work towards a future where the rights and freedoms of all individuals, both online and offline, are upheld and protected.
What is Bread&Net?
Every year, SMEX hosts and organizes the leading unconference on digital rights and freedoms in West Asia and North Africa: Bread&Net. Advocates for human rights in the digital age can find and join trusted, diverse networks where they can build their knowledge on digital rights and work together to pressure power holders to respect and protect their human rights. The aim of Bread&Net is to build, expand, and strengthen the movement for digital rights in WANA, equipping it in its struggle for greater freedom, social justice, accountability, and security for all people in the region.
About PDAF
7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media started the Palestine Digital Activism Forum in 2017 and has become one of the pillars of 7amleh’s annual programming. It seeks to provide a space for exchanging social media experiences, expertise, and developing strategies to address challenges and threats faced by digital activists. Additionally, PDAF aims to link the work of local organizations and movements with international counterparts to exchange experiences, find solutions to dilemmas, and establish cooperation and coordination of actions.
Sincerely,
Bread&Net and PDAF
7amleh, SMEX
About SMEX
SMEX is a non-profit that advocates for and advances human rights in digital spaces across West Asia and North Africa through research, campaigns, and advocacy. We encourage users to engage with digital technology, media, and social networks responsibly and critically.