Digital Literacy and Social Activism

27 June, 11:30 a.m., Room Aeltestenrat
Hosted by Deutsche Welle

In this session, winners and Jury members of the Deutsche Welle Blog Awards will share and discuss their experiences.

With the emergence of social networking, digital literacy has become a major factor in enabling people to raise their voices, communicate, collaborate and pursue wide-scale social and political reforms. Internet activists are archetypal digital literates. They use digital technology effectively to find, summarize, evaluate, create, curate and spread information. But even experienced online activists need to engage digital illiterates and people without Internet access before anyone can raise popular awareness of social and political issues, push for change or come even close to overthrowing a dictator.

The panel and audience will discuss how Internet activists bridge the gap between the digital literate and illiterate. The winners and Jury members of the Deutsche Welle Blog Awards - The BOBs - will showcase their projects and strategies. By distinguishing their exemplary campaigns, DW performs a key and multilingual role in connecting traditional information providers and a growing community of online activists.

Panelists:

Konaté, Boukary
Teacher and Blogger, Mali. Winner of the "Special Topic Award Education and Culture", The BOBs 2012

Ulrich, Claire
Editor of Global Voices en francais, Member of Global Voices Board of Director, France. Jury Member The BOBs 2012

Alam, Shahidul
Photographer, Teacher and Social Activist, Bangladesh. Jury Member The BOBs 2012

Abadpour, Arash
Blogger and Activist from Iran, currently livin in Canada. Jury Member The BOBs 2012

Zeier, Kristin (Moderation)
Head of Background English, Deutsche Welle, Bonn, Germany