The pandemic has impacted how civil society organisations do advocacy work, derailing weeks (or months, in our case) of planning. However, we knew we had to adapt and innovate. Instead of a physical conference, we decided to execute a fully online youth conference for April 4, 2020. And, despite less than a month of planning, we did it.
The internet is a primary source of information on the global COVID-19 pandemic. But Arakan (formally known as Rakhine State) in western Myanmar is now experiencing the longest internet shutdown in the world. The internet blockage has also caused a lack of information and knowledge concerning COVID-19.
Coconet is an Asia-Pacific regional initiative supporting changemakers to build the digital rights movement. In October 2019, Coconet II expanded the space for new changemakers: activists, journalists, artists, technologists, filmmakers, lawyers, and researchers, who represent a wide variety of social and environmental movements. Over 120 changemakers from 22 countries converged in Antipolo, Philippines, to discuss and share their knowledge on digital rights, exchange tactics and skills, and plan joint campaigns and collaborations to strengthen their respective movements as well as support broader ones.
While governments and health workers worldwide are focused on combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, they are also busy fighting another related pandemic that cuts across all sectors of society: a massive āinfodemicā equally as wide-reaching and harmful.
COVID-19 has raised some serious questions: Can privacy and public health security go hand in hand? Is it enough to use safeguards such as transparency and the use of intrusive technology only when absolutely necessary?
EngageMedia worked with Dr. Jun-E Tan, an independent researcher and digital rights expert, to produce a blog post, a three-part series on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and human rights in Southeast Asia, and a video wrapping up the discourse for the whole engagement.
Members of the Coconet community took part in the fourth Myanmar Digital Rights Forum (MDRF), which focused on the importance of digital rights in the face of disinformation, internet shutdowns, and emerging technologies.
We are going to take a closer look on what can happen when AI is weaponised and used against civil and political rights (CPR) such as the right to life and self-determination, as well as individual freedoms of expression, religion, association, assembly, and so on.
By utilising humour and the shareability of memes, it becomes clear that memes can be used for the diffusion of information across the Internet because of their speed and capillarity on social media.
This is the second in a series of articles on the human rights implications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of Southeast Asia, targeted at raising awareness and engagement of civil society on the topic.
Despite the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) in our everyday life and communications, it is still little understood by much of civil society in Southeast Asia. What exactly is AI? And what are its current applications in the region? How do we relate these new technologies with risks of human rights violations? And what are the possible advocacy strategies?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a topic that digital rights activists in the region are concerned about, but have little understanding of. At the moment, civil society has more questions than answers to the human rights implications of machine learning and massive amounts of data collected to train the machines.
“The security and well-being of activists need to be addressed both online and offline,” says Zack Lee, the Asia grant officer of Voice.
Hija Kamran from Media Matters For Democracy, Pakistan, contemplates about the stories she heard from other activists at Coconet II
Arthit Suryawongkul from Thai Netizen Network articulates the importance of community and collaboration, and the importance of cross-movement spaces like Coconet in Southeast Asia.
Feminists from Malaysia & the Philippines share their insights on the need to build movements on digital rights in Southeast Asia.
Solidarity works. Solidarity crosses borders, solidarity crosses differences. Indonesian activist Dhyta Caturani urges everyone to grow and nurture the solidarity for successful movements across Southeast Asia.
Her allies on the ground reported that when Dinh Thao arrived at the airport, more than 10 security officials surrounded her and took her into an interrogation room. They have lost contact with her from that point onwards. Advocates from across Southeast Asia have are calling for her immediate release.
While movements for various human rights issues are thriving in Asia — in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Philippines, West Papua, etc.– sustained movement-building remains crucial in the region.
