Proposal

APrIGF 2022 Session Proposal Submission Form
Part 1 - Lead Organizer
Contact Person
Ms. Parsa Sajid
Email
Organization / Affiliation (Please state "Individual" if appropriate) *
Indiviual…
Designation
Researcher
Gender
Female
Economy of Residence
Bangladesh
Primary Stakeholder Group
Civil Society
Part 2 - Session Proposal
Session Title
Circulation of hate speech
Session Format
Fireside Chat
Where do you plan to organize your session?
Onsite at the venue (with online moderator for questions and comments from remote participants)
Specific Issues for Discussion
We propose a fireside chat session on hate speech and digital ethnography in the context of Bangladesh and South Asia. The speakers will present ongoing and critical issues on hate speech in digital spheres in the region while also highlighting their work with examples from Bangladesh. They will present reflections on circulation of hate speech in Bangladesh, particularly a collation/documentation of experiences and perspectives from a wide variety of communities – ethnic and religious minorities, queer people, artists, activists – in the hopes of engaging the audience and fostering meaningful discussion on the issue. At stake are: the extent to which social media platforms incentivize hate speech circulation; the manner in which particular kinds of hate speech gain traction in Bangladesh and South Asia with reflections on social, cultural, political-economic trends; the ways in which regulation of hate speech is instrumentalized to repress freedom of expression and the contours and complexities of freedom of expression in a digital economy. The speakers will use two key references – a. a document on based on discussions with diverse groups on their views on hate speech and freedom of expression, b. an illustrative mapping of circulation of hate speech on social media in Bangladesh. Given the format of the discussion, a fireside chat, the discussion will be informal and with a focus on audience engagement in order to foster lively and collective conversations on the issue. The goal is to create a participatory space and framework for critical discussions on hate speech and freedom of expression especially on social media and digital space in Bangladesh/South Asia/in the region with the hope that these discussions and feedback can inform our future work in the area.
Describe the Relevance of Your Session to APrIGF
The fireside chat will be relevant to the thematic tracks of inclusion (primary) and trust (secondary). Through open ended discussions with references to specific experiences from Bangladesh and South Asia, the goal of the session is to engage the audience in a lively conversation on hate speech and freedom of expression in the digital sphere that can also offer some ways forward. A people centric internet, especially one that safeguards against violence towards the marginalized, is an ideal yet to be achieved. Despite democratizing conduits of communication and facilitating connection among communities, social media and the digital sphere have also contributed to and magnified circulation of hate speech. This very problem has also been instrumentalized to curb freedom of expression and increase surveillance often hurting the same people – the marginalized and oppressed – these measures are supposed to help. This fireside chat hopes to contribute to these critical conversations around democratic spaces and social media, freedom of expression and hate speech, and how we can envision a people friendly internet.
Methodology / Agenda (Please add rows by clicking "+" on the right)
Time frame (e.g. 5 minutes, 20 minutes, should add up to 60 minutes) Description
5 minutes Introduction; expectations and goals for the session by the facilitator
15 minutes Scene setting and high-level points by the contributors
25 minutes Audience engagement around key themes and questions with participation from contributors and facilitator
10 minutes Wrap-up by the contributors
5 minutes Possible next steps and summation by the facilitator
Moderators & Speakers Info (Please complete where possible)

  • Moderator (Primary)

    • Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
    • Expected Presence: In-person
    • Status of Confirmation: Proposed

  • Moderator (Back-up)

    • Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
    • Expected Presence: In-person
    • Status of Confirmation: Proposed

  • Speaker 1

    • Name: Parsa S. Sajid
    • Designation: Researcher
    • Gender: Female
    • Economy / Country of Residence: Bangladesh
    • Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
    • Expected Presence: In-person
    • Status of Confirmation: Proposed

  • Speaker 2

    • Name: durdana farid
    • Designation: Researcher
    • Gender: Gender neutral
    • Economy / Country of Residence: Bangladesh
    • Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
    • Expected Presence: In-person
    • Status of Confirmation: Proposed

  • Speaker 3

    • Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
    • Expected Presence: In-person
    • Status of Confirmation: Proposed

  • Speaker 4

    • Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
    • Expected Presence: In-person
    • Status of Confirmation: Proposed
Please explain the rationale for choosing each of the above contributors to the session.
Lead contributor: Parsa Sanjana Sajid has extensive experience in the field of formation of social spaces including online spaces with intersecting interests in digital access, gender justice, queer identities. Most recently she led a two-year exploratory research in Bangladesh for Association for Progressive Communications (APC)’s EROTICS project on sexual rights and digital access. For that, she focused on queer, sex worker, youth access to and use of the internet. She also led and conducted Astraea Foundation’s landscape analysis on queer rights in Bangladesh and Nepal. Ms. Sajid has also conducted research on circulation of hate speech on social media and currently expanding on her work on digital access for low-tech users in Bangladesh. Her other interests include visual and media ethics, urban spaces, and social movements. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Harvard Kennedy School of Government in the US.

Co-contributor: durdana farid studied Economics at BRAC University in Bangladesh but is a student of Anthropology at heart. They have worked in the areas of research, training and curriculum development and are a certified Gender Trainer. Currently working as the project manager for Oroddho Foundation, they have also recently directed a short documentary “মুক্তির নতুন দিগন্তে” covering the “Rage Against Rape,” protests that took place in Dhaka in collaboration with The Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education (KIGEPE). They typically work through a critical feminist lens and have taken part in contributed to multiple research projects/fellowship funded by Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Association for Progressive Communications (APC), CARE Bangladesh, Malala Fund, Asia Pacific Trans Network (APTN), and are interested in further exploration of decolonial gender studies. On days when they're not overwhelmed with work, they try to write poetry.
Please declare if you have any potential conflict of interest with the Program Committee 2022.
No
Are you or other session contributors planning to apply for the APrIGF Fellowship Program 2022?
Yes
Number of Attendees (Please fill in numbers)
    Consent
    I agree that my data can be submitted to forms.for.asia and processed by APrIGF organizers for the program selection of APrIGF 2022.