Join us at Bread&Net 2021 from 24 to 26 November, to defend digital rights in the Arabic-Speaking Region
This year Bread&Net will take place both online and offline as we try out a new hybrid system for a more intimate experience. Bread&Net is an event by our community, for our community. We’ve come a long way since our first unconference in 2018, but we couldn’t have done it without you. We look forward to reading your submissions.
Bread&Net 2020 Webinars
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Bread&Net 2021 Themes
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The Arabic-speaking region faces both dramatic challenges and promising opportunities at the intersection of technology, democracy and human rights. Communities living in the region have struggled to protect their freedoms and privacy while coping with rampant violations of their human rights, often amid larger political and economic instability. Nonetheless, the digital space remains invaluable for grassroots organizing to dismantle oppressive systems, expressing dissent, and producing knowledge.
In Palestine, we saw tech companies and the Israeli occupation collude to censor Palestinian voices. In the Gulf region, states are increasing their investments in digital economies and spy-tech, fortifying their surveillance infrastructure. At the same time, Big tech companies are expanding their collaboration with these authoritarian regimes. In Syria, documentation uploaded online has played a crucial role in the pursuit of accountability for crimes against humanity. In the post Covid-19 reality, privacy concerns continue to be on the rise. Activists and civil society organizations have struggled to hold Big Tech accountable for the impact of their business models and policies on freedoms, both online and in real life . Nonetheless, collaboration and coalition-building in the civic sphere has created a powerful front of defense against digital threats to democracy and human rights. The Bread&Net themes below seek to capture the challenges we’re facing, build on the progress we’ve made, and discuss where we go next. |
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Theme 1: Policy Advocacy in Difficult Contexts
The Internet is embedded in a structure of governance that is informed by transnational corporate interests and by governmental laws. Time and again, we’ve seen how policies and decision-making at the corporate and governmental levels have often compromised online freedoms of people in our region. The haphazard and uninformed content moderation of the Palestinian narrative proves the inadequacy of these policies to protect those who are struggling to make their voices heard as they seek essential freedoms, online and offline. These policies are often inherently biased and reflect a lack of a comprehensive understanding of political and social nuances specific to our region. There is also a serious absence of accountability in relation to policies both removed and indifferent to marginalized communities in the Arabic-speaking region. Middle East and North Africa.
This theme explores the relationship between the business models and political structures that operate today, and the control exerted in online spaces to uphold and sustain those systems. More specifically, we are asking: How is our region vulnerable to online policy practices that violate human rights, social justice, and freedoms? And how can we respond to these violations on a regional level?
Policy and advocacy in difficult contexts, topics include:
This theme explores the relationship between the business models and political structures that operate today, and the control exerted in online spaces to uphold and sustain those systems. More specifically, we are asking: How is our region vulnerable to online policy practices that violate human rights, social justice, and freedoms? And how can we respond to these violations on a regional level?
Policy and advocacy in difficult contexts, topics include:
- Business and human rights
- Content moderation, and censoring social justice narratives
- Corporate ownership, transparency, and accountability
- Digital identification
- Digital rights in a digitized health sector
- Governance and control of Internet infrastructure
- Censorship and Internet shutdowns
- Surveillance
- Regional civil society response to corporate policies (i.e. the most recent censorship of Palestinian voices worldwide)
- Feminist internet as a sustainable alternative to existing models
- Consolidation of power by Internet monopolies
Theme 2: Digital Security in Practice
The digital leap following the pandemic has significantly reshaped our methods of personal and professional communication, rendering digital security a matter of consistent practice rather than a personal preference.
In a region saturated with internet surveillance and human rights violations, how are communities creating structures of support, mutual learning, and solidarity? How can we facilitate such structures? And what are the urgent threats faced by individuals and communities in the region?
Digital Security in Practice topics include:
In a region saturated with internet surveillance and human rights violations, how are communities creating structures of support, mutual learning, and solidarity? How can we facilitate such structures? And what are the urgent threats faced by individuals and communities in the region?
Digital Security in Practice topics include:
- Emerging regional threats to digital security
- Sustainable training methodologies
- Collaboration and knowledge sharing
- Secure communication and circumvention tools
- Imagination, creativity and hacking censorship
Theme 3: Resistance Communities
Censorship, surveillance, hate speech and misinformation have posed serious threats to freedom of expression and communal resistance among vulnerable peoples in societies under political, economic and cultural hegemony. Global lockdowns and curfews have also created a new landscape of digital existence that is not easily accessible to everyone, which leads to excluding some people from their social circles. Regionally, this shift has also disadvantaged marginalized communities who relied on physical assembly to support one another as they process and advance their respective causes.
What sort of practices can communities adopt to maintain digital and physical environments that cherish safe communication in the struggle for collective emancipation? How are we taking care of our mental and physical well-being in these times of worldwide uncertainty?
Resistance Communities topics include:
What sort of practices can communities adopt to maintain digital and physical environments that cherish safe communication in the struggle for collective emancipation? How are we taking care of our mental and physical well-being in these times of worldwide uncertainty?
Resistance Communities topics include:
- Vulnerable groups at risk during COVID-19
- Dis/misinformation in context of conflict and dictatorship
- Hate speech: from online posts to offline experiences
- Sex, gender, and sexuality online
- Holistic health and self-care
- Online gender and identity based violence
- At-risk communities and tech
- Supporting and sustaining online networks and communities
- Community-led responses to the access divide
Theme 4: Technology as Resource
Technology has brought us tools that allow us to overcome and survive state oppression and disempowering Internet policies, which has helped defend civic space online and offline especially with the pandemic where the line between physical and online life has become extremely blurred.
This plays a significant role in fostering safe spaces to explore, practice, research, construct, preserve and disseminate our cultural narratives both locally and globally. How can we as artists, academics, activists, journalists, Internet researchers, and others leverage these tools and platforms to sustainably promote access to information and open culture in the face of a wide range of barriers, including national disasters, censorship, language restrictions, content moderation, and intellectual property rights?
Technology as Resource topics include:
This plays a significant role in fostering safe spaces to explore, practice, research, construct, preserve and disseminate our cultural narratives both locally and globally. How can we as artists, academics, activists, journalists, Internet researchers, and others leverage these tools and platforms to sustainably promote access to information and open culture in the face of a wide range of barriers, including national disasters, censorship, language restrictions, content moderation, and intellectual property rights?
Technology as Resource topics include:
- Technology and catastrophe
- Language and localization
- Documentation and archiving
- Online education practices
- Copyright and intellectual property
- Open data practices and research challenges
- Cryptocurrency
- Civic engagement in the digital age: the importance of tech in campaigning, social movements, and legislative change.
Bread&Net is an Arabic-language unconference that will strengthen efforts across the MENA Region to defend human rights in digitally networked spaces.
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Why Bread&Net
Over the past decade, civil society has become dependent on access to digital networks and tools. In the MENA Region, however, the advantages these networks and tools afford have been mitigated by increasingly restrictive laws, scaled-up mass surveillance, disinformation campaigns, and crackdowns on online freedom of expression. The resulting constriction of civic space has all but neutralized advocacy for digital rights. Bread & Net will reactivate and renew an existing yet latent network of multidisciplinary stakeholders by offering an open and safe space from which to devise strategies and tactics that respond to these challenges. |
Advisory Committee
Will be announced soon |
Organized by:
SMEX is a Lebanese NGO that since 2008, has worked to defend digital rights, promote open culture and local content and encourage critical, self-regulated engagement with digital technologies, media, and networks across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). |
Code of Conduct
Bread&Net 2021 - Attendance Guide
This year’s Bread&Net will be hosted on Venueless, an open source platform that combines top-notch streaming with powerful communication tools into a digital experience that both attendees & speakers will love.
Watch this demo to know more about Venueless: https://demo-de.venueless.events
Venueless consists of the following virtual areas (pages) that you can navigate between them smoothly:
This year’s Bread&Net will be hosted on Venueless, an open source platform that combines top-notch streaming with powerful communication tools into a digital experience that both attendees & speakers will love.
Watch this demo to know more about Venueless: https://demo-de.venueless.events
Venueless consists of the following virtual areas (pages) that you can navigate between them smoothly:
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Bread&Net is intended to be an open and safe space in the MENA Region for the discussion of topics related to digital rights. In order to maintain this environment for everyone, our participants, including staff, speakers and attendees, across all physical and virtual platforms, are required to adhere to the high standards of behavior of this Code of Conduct. By participating in Bread&Net 2021, you agree to abide by this Code of Conduct and the rules set out herein.
This year’s iteration of Bread&Net will primarily be conducted online, and we want to maintain a safe digital space in which all participants can engage both constructively and thoughtfully with each other, while assured of their physical and emotional security. Our diligent team is committed to taking all measures necessary to make this a reality, but are aware of the limitations a virtual event imposes on us. By adhering to the Code of Conduct, participants can do their part in making Bread & Net 2021 a success. |
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Discrimination
At Bread & Net, we do not tolerate unfair discrimination, including, but not limited to, on the basis of race, gender, gender identity and expression, sexuality, religion, age, class, nationality, ethnicity, disability, medical condition, physical appearance, body size, and language. Accordingly, our participants may not conduct themselves in a way that unjustifiably favors or discriminates against particular individuals or interests. Harassment
We are committed to maintaining a safe and healthy environment in which no participant is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination in any Bread&Net activity. Harassment is therefore strictly prohibited. Harassment encompasses forms of unwelcome conduct, including physical, verbal, sexual, intellectual and otherwise, that can create a hostile environment which erodes this commitment, and may occur online or in person. Examples of unacceptable behaviors includes:
Privacy and Confidentiality
All participants are obligated to respect the privacy of fellow participants. This obligation is heightened due to the nature and format of an online event. Participants may use pseudonyms, turn their cameras off during sessions, or take any other reasonable measure in order to protect their privacy. Participants are free to repeat information shared during a session, but the identity, affiliation or other personal information of other participants may not be shared without their expressed consent. Participants will also refrain from posting about specific individuals or tagging them on social media unless express consent is obtained. At the start of each session, speakers and moderators will remind participants of the level of privacy expected. This will also be noted in the session description. Video and audio recording of sessions and activities is forbidden. Written records of sessions, including through transcripts, blogs, and articles, must redact the identifying information of fellow participants unless their express consent is provided. Adherence to the Code
Failure to comply with this Code will be dealt with promptly, seriously, and confidentially. If you fall victim to / become a target of such behavior or aware of actions by others that conflict with this Code, please contact a Bread & Net team member immediately via SMEX’s Signal number: +961 81 633 133 or on bncoc@smex.org . Your complaint will remain anonymous unless you express consent to the alternative. If your concern or complaint regards a member of the Code of Conduct committee, we can assure you that the committee member will not handle your complaint, nor will the contents of your complaint, including your identity, be disclosed to them. If this makes you uncomfortable, or you would otherwise find this process difficult for another reason, you may reach out to a member of the Bread & Net team you trust, and they will escalate your complaint to the appropriate channels. The Code of Conduct committee will respond to all complaints appropriately, taking into account the nature and severity of the offense, and support for the complainant. Possible actions the committee may take include, but are not limited to, warnings, expulsion from future Bread & Net iterations, or restricting access to our social media channels. In exceptional cases, criminal charges may be filed. Individuals about whom the complaint is made will be given an opportunity to make representations to the committee either during or after the event. We welcome constructive comments from participants on our Code of Conduct. Code of Conduct Committee
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Reception Area
This is the first page on the Event, here you will see the event details and agenda, and you will view the current live panels and sessions. |
Stage
This is the main stage of the Event, where we will stream the keynote and panels, it will be live all the time during the Event. |
Sessions
This area where parallel will happen, usually sessions will appear based on its schedule. Participants can join via video and audio to interact in the workshop. |
Expo
In this area we will have virtual booths for our partners, participants can join the booth to learn more about the partner organization and interact with them. |
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Help Desk
Our team will be available at any time to assist you with any technical issues, question or query you might have. |
Translation/Interpretation:
If you need access to language translation (interpretation) English <-> Arabic or Sign language, please follow these instructions:
If you need access to language translation (interpretation) English <-> Arabic or Sign language, please follow these instructions:
- The interpretation will be over a Zoom Link which will be shared at a later stage
- For a better experience, you need to open the Zoom link using a different device such as your mobile phone.
- Make sure to connect the device you will be using for the interpretation with a headphone/ear pods.
- The idea of using your phone with Zoom for translation is similar to the interpretation device in real life physical conferences.
- The interpretation will be for English and Arabic languages only, with the video of sign interpretation
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