Digital Policy Rounds

The Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy is an interdisciplinary research centre dedicated to understanding and responding to the social, political, and policy challenges posed by our evolving information ecosystem and digital technologies.Collaborating  with a network of academic, policy, journalistic and community stakeholders, the Centre works to understand and address the democratic harms of emerging media technologies and to inform and develop fair and accountable governance systems.Its critical research, policy advocacy, and events inform public debates about the changing relationship between media and democracy.

The Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy

Every third Thursday of each month, join us at noon ET for a discussion featuring relevant stakeholders about a topic in digital policy

The DIGITAL POLICY ROUNDS monthly series brings together broadly defined researchers, policy-makers and civil society voices to discuss interdisciplinary topics at the intersection of media, technology and democracy. Our objective is to expand beyond narrowly-defined "evidence-based" frameworks of policymaking to instead question what counts as evidence, and whose voices are included and amplified in public and policy debates about digital democracy. This series is a partnership between <ul><li><a href="https://digitaldemocracies.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Digital Democracies Institute</a>, <a href="https://democracy.ubc.ca/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"></a></li><li><a href="https://democracy.ubc.ca/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions</a>, </li><li><a href="https://www.ryersonleadlab.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Leadership Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University</a>, </li><li><a href="https://www.mediatechdemocracy.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy</a> and <a href="https://techlaw.uottawa.ca/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"></a></li><li><a href="https://techlaw.uottawa.ca/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Centre for Law, Technology and Society.</a></li></ul>

<h3>UPCOMING SPEAKERS &amp; SESSIONS</h3>February 16 - TECHNOLOGY-FACILITATED GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE<a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/digital-policy-rounds-technology-facilitated-gender-based-violence-tickets-530738893317" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Register here</a>March 16 - MIS/DISINFORMATION AND THE QUESTION OF AUTHENTICITY<a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/digital-policy-rounds-misdisinformation-and-the-question-of-authenticity-tickets-530757478907" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Register here</a>

SCHEDULE <ol><li>November 17th, Noon - 1pm ET: Polarization and radicalization</li><li>December 15th, Noon - 1pm ET: Climate justice, media and technology</li><li>January 19th, Noon - 1pm ET: Health communications</li><li>February 16th, Noon - 1pm ET: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/digital-policy-rounds-technology-facilitated-gender-based-violence-tickets-530738893317" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence</a></li><li>March 16th, Noon - 1pm ET: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/digital-policy-rounds-misdisinformation-and-the-question-of-authenticity-tickets-530757478907" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Mis/disinformation and the question of authenticity</a></li></ol><h3>HOST</h3>
Supriya Dwivedi is the Director of Policy &amp; Engagement at McGill&#x27;s Centre for Media, Technology &amp; Democracy. She became personally invested in combating misinformation and disinformation through her experience as the host of a morning show on a Toronto talk radio station. Mis and disinformation regularly found its way onto the airwaves, and it directly contributed to the volume and level of vitriolic threats Supriya received. After a particularly vile threat that targeted her daughter, Supriya resigned.
Supriya also has extensive experience in government relations and public affairs, where her work has largely focused on providing strategic counsel to both international and Canadian clients on public affairs campaigns at all levels of government, maintaining and building stakeholder relationships, and assessing the policy implications of legislation within the Canadian regulatory framework. 
Supriya has a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) from McGill University, as well as civil law (LL.B.) and common law (J.D.) degrees from Université de Montréal. She is a highly sought-after media commentator, appearing weekly on CBC’s “Power &amp; Politics” and writing regularly for The Toronto Star and The National Observer.
When she’s not busy with work, Supriya enjoys quoting random lines from The Simpsons (seasons 3-8), almost always out of context. You can follow her on Twitter @supriyadwivedi.

<h3>PAST SPEAKERS &amp; SESSIONS</h3>November 17 - POLARIZATION &amp; RADICALIZATIONHate crimes in Canada are on the rise, as are concerns that the country is polarizing. The pandemic has revealed both new and longstanding global movements of radicalization and violent extremism, often enabled by our digital ecosystem. How concerned should we be here in Canada? And what can be done?SPEAKERS:<ul><li>Louis Audet Gosselin, Scientific and Strategic Director, Québec Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence (CPRLV)</li></ul>
As Scientific and Strategic Director at the CPRLV, Louis Audet Gosselin manages the team in charge of scientific content, research projects, monitoring of scientific publications and the strategic development of the organization.
Louis holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the Université du Québec à Montréal and a Master’s degree in history from Université Laval, he works since 2016 in the field of research regarding the prevention of radicalisation and violent extremism. He has also conducted research on several issues affecting religious dynamics in West Africa, including extremism.<ul><li>Stephanie Carvin, Associate Professor of International Relations, Carleton University</li></ul>
Stephanie Carvin is an Associate Professor of International Relations at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Her research interests are in the area of national security and international security and international law. Currently, she is teaching in the areas of critical infrastructure protection and national security.
Stephanie holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and published her thesis as Prisoners of America’s Wars: From the Early Republic to Guantanamo (Columbia/Hurst, 2010). Her most recent book is Stand on Guard: Reassessing Threats to Canada’s National Security (University of Toronto Press, 2021) which was nominated for the 2021 Donner Prize. She is the co-author of Intelligence and Policy Making: The Canadian Experience (Stanford University Press 2021) with Thomas Juneau, and Science, Law, Liberalism and the American Way of Warfare: The Quest for Humanity in Conflict (Cambridge, 2015) co-authored with Michael J. Williams. From 2012-2015, she was an analyst with the Government of Canada focusing on national security issues.<ul><li>Amira Elghawaby, Director of Strategic Communications and Campaigns, Canadian Race Relations Foundation</li></ul>
Amira Elghawaby is a journalist and human rights advocate. She currently serves as the Director of Strategic Communications and Campaigns at the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. Previously, Amira worked in Canada’s labour movement and additionally spent five years promoting the civil liberties of Canadian Muslims at the National Council of Canadian Muslims between 2012 and 2017. She has supported several national initiatives to counter hate and to promote inclusion, including as founding board member of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and past board member at the Silk Road Institute. Amira obtained an honours degree in Journalism and Law from Carleton University in 2001.<ul><li>Madison Reid, Director of Collaborative Public Safety Programs, Government of British Columbia</li></ul>
Madison Reid is the Government of British Columbia’s Director of Collaborative Public Safety Programs. One of these programs includes Shift BC, an initiative aimed at addressing Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism (IMVE) by adopting a public health lens, thereby empowering the high-calibre social services operating in British Columbia to tackle this interdisciplinary issue. Her previous roles include Senior Manager of Innovation at the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Adjunct Professor of the Sociology of Race &amp; Ethnicity, and various program management roles in both the private and public sector. Madison also sits on the Canadian Federal Working Group on Countering Radicalization to Violence (CRV) and IMVE, as well as the British Columbian Provincial Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Working Group and Civil Disobedience Working Group.
After her undergraduate degree (B.A. hons. Social Psychology), she went on to complete an M.Sc. in Nationalism Studies at the University of Edinburgh, where her research focused on the politics of sexual and gender-based violence in ethno-national conflict. Her other academic and professional research interests include anti-racism and anti-hate initiatives, the psychology of propaganda, and approaching the issue of societal polarization through the lens of social conformity. She has presented at various conferences including The Global Counterterrorism Forum as part of the Canadian Delegation, Shift’s Annual Practitioner’s Symposium, EU RAN’s Digital Study Visit to Canada, UNESCO-PREV’s Partnering in Practice: Preventing Social Polarizations Conference and UNESCO-PREV’s Prevention of Radicalization and Extremist Violence Workshop, Public Safety Canada’s Women in Terrorism &amp; Counterterrorism, Harvard University &amp; NATO Global Safety Evaluation Network International Workshop, CPN-PREV’s Violent Extremism Digital Mapping Project and Public Safety Canada’s Intervention Guidelines for Child Returnees Workshop, along others.

December 15 - CLIMATE JUSTICE, MEDIA &amp; TECHNOLOGYWhile governments around the world are beginning to address the need for democratic governance of our digital systems, climate remains largely siloed from public and policy debates about digital technology. Many of the most polluting technologies, including so-called “Green AI” are offered back to us as “sustainable” tech solutions to the climate crisis. Policymakers around the world are struggling to assess the environmental costs of digital technology without meaningful transparency and accountability mechanisms for greenwashing, climate obstruction and disinformation that continue to impede climate action around the world. While the market concentration of “Big Tech” has come under mounting public and state scrutiny, the same handful of companies are quietly extending their monopoly over land, water, and other natural resources. This event aims to bring tech researchers, digital policy experts, Indigenous scholars and civil society advocates to discuss the intersection of environmental and digital policy, the need for justice-oriented policy frameworks, and what the digital rights and climate justice movements can learn from each other more broadly. <ul><li>Michael Khoo, Climate Disinformation Co-chair at Friends of the Earth &amp; Co-CEO, UpShiftStrategies</li></ul>
Michael has 30+ years experience developing communications campaigns on progressive issues. He has focused on a diversity of issues including climate change, tech platform disinformation, LGBTQ and transhealth rights, plastics pollution and petrochemicals, and fossil fuel financial regulation. At Friends of the Earth, Michael developed its climate disinformation campaign in 2018, and has since built a 35+ organization coalition to advocate for technology policy to rein in big tech, and for transparency and content reforms for social media companies. He has published research on the intersection of climate denial and QAnon, documented the spread of climate disinformation on Twitter and Facebook, and written about transparency policies for social media companies. 
His work to help the social media company Pinterest develop a climate disinformation policy was cited by President Obama as “a good example about how social media companies can respond to disinformation when they want to”Before co-founding UpShift, he was executive vice president at Spitfire Strategies where he built the company’s digital division and coordinated the 2014-2015 national Net Neutrality campaign, a large-scale coalition campaign that overcame the entrenched Washington telecommunications industry. Michael was vice president for communications at the reproductive health rights group PAI from 2009-2012 and served as the organization’s interim co-director in 2010.
Previously, he worked as a vice president at Fenton Communications, Washington representative for the Union of Concerned Scientists,and campaigner for Greenpeace Canada and the David Suzuki Foundation. 
Originally from Canada and of Malaysian &amp; British descent, Michael lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, son and extremely timid 90 lb dog Lulu.<ul><li>Anne Pasek, Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Media, Culture, and the Environment at Trent University</li></ul>
Anne Pasek is an Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Media, Culture, and the Environment at Trent University, cross-appointed between the Cultural Studies Department and Trent School of the Environment. Her research explores the cultural politics of climate change, with a particular emphasis on the social and technical means through which carbon is enumerated and mobilized within diverse social formations, including climate denialism, the tech sector, and the arts. She is also the director of the Low-Carbon Research Methods Group, a network of scholars examining the climate and equity impacts of decarbonizing academic work, and the Experimental Methods &amp; Media Lab, a hub for research-creation and critical making at Trent with a particular focus on emerging climate tech. She is a Co-PI and Energy &amp; Climate Lead of the Sustainable Subsea Networks project funded by the Internet Society Foundation.<ul><li>Ta'Kaiya Blaney, Activist, actor &amp; singer-songwriter</li></ul>
Ta'Kaiya Blaney is from the Tla'Amin First Nation and grew up along the shores of the Salish Sea in British Columbia, Canada. She began her activism at the age of 10, when she took aim at the oil company Enbridge with her song and music video "Shallow Waters." When she was 13, Ta'Kaiya became the youngest person ever to have intervened at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. She urged the Forum to create an Indigenous Children's Fund to "ensure the survival and well-being of we, the Indigenous children and youth, now and for the generations to come." She has spoken at United Nations conferences, environmental events, and in classrooms across Canada and internationally. 
Ta'Kaiya is also an award-winning actress, having appeared in numerous short films, music videos, and animated shows; in 2018, she won a Leo Award for Best Lead Performance by a Female for her portrayal of the protagonist Ella in the critically-acclaimed film Kayak to Klemtu. Ta'Kaiya uses her many talents to complement her activism as she travels across Canada and around the world to effect change as a youth ambassador who believes that the recognition of Indigenous rights is vital to the health of the planet.<ul><li>Carlos R.S. Milani, Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Media, Culture, and the Environment at Trent University</li></ul>
Carlos R.S. Milani is Full Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the Rio de Janeiro State University’s Institute for Social and Political Studies (IESP-UERJ). He is the current director of the Interdisciplinary Observatory on Climate Change (<a href="http://obsinterclima.eco.br/en/home-english/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">http://obsinterclima.eco.br/en/home-english/</a>). He is also a research fellow with the Brazilian National Science Council, the Rio de Janeiro Research State Foundation, and the Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI). His research agenda includes comparative foreign policy, international development cooperation, and climate change politics. His latest books are Cooperación internacional al desarrollo: entre solidaridad e interés (2023, in Spanish by El Colegio de México), Atlas of Brazilian Defence Policy (2017, in Portuguese) and Atlas of Brazilian Foreign Policy (2016, in English). His latest articles, course syllabi and research projects are available at <a href="https://www.carlosmilani.com.br" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.carlosmilani.com.br</a>. <ul><li>Joycelyn Longdon, Founder of ClimateInColour </li></ul>
Jovcelyn Longdon is a Cambridge University PhD student and environmental activist-academic. Her research takes an interdisciplinary approach, combining machine learning, ecoacoustics, forest ecology &amp; local ecological knowledge. 
She is the Founder of ClimateInColour, an online education platform and community for the climate curious. Its purpose, to make climate conversation more accessible and diverse, has garnered a community of 30K+ conscious and curious individuals. The platform is a launchpad for critical conversations, with Joycelyn often infusing a much needed element of hope and easily digestible information to the climate and environment space. 
She has collaborated with a wide range of organisations including Meta (previously Facebook), Estée Lauder, Samsung and Greenpeace. Joycelyn has written for award-winning media company gal-dem as their climate columnist and is a regular climate contributor on the Skv News Daily Climate Show.<ul><li>Nisreen Elsaim, Chair of the UN Secretary General Youth Advisory on Climate Change</li></ul>
Nisreen Elsaim is an environmental and climate activist who began activism in 2012. Nisreen has a Bachelor's degree in physics and a Master's degree in renewable energy, both from the University of Khartoum, Sudan. She is the General Coordinator for Youth and Environment - Sudan (YES), which is platform that gives all youth environmental activists the network they need. 
Nisreen is also the Chair of Sudan Youth Organization on Climate Change (SYOCC). Nisreen leads and mentors large number of young people with in YOUNGO, PACJA, Abu Dhabi youth Voices, and others across a variety of regional and global platforms. She is a junior negotiator with the African Group of Negotiators in the field of technology transfer, focusing on country policies that concern climate change and renewable energies. 
Nisreen is a published author, having written several policy papers on climate change, renewable energy, gender and youth empowerment. In 2020, Nisreen was chosen to Chair the UN Secretary General Youth Advisory on Climate Change. She is also a member of the inaugural cohort of the Marianne Initiative for Human Rights Defenders, launched by French President Emmanuel Macron.

January 19 - HEALTH COMMUNICATIONSThe COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the essential role of communication in promoting public health. Public health officials, medical practitioners, health journalists, and civil society groups have shown impressive dedication and innovation in getting health messages to different communities. At the same time, during the pandemic we have seen huge quantities of false and deceptive information, along with a polarization around public health measures that has left many communities distrustful of health officials and/or each other. The result is poorer health outcomes and fractured politics.Policymakers around the world have struggled to identify communication strategies that can address these and other challenges in an online ecosystem dominated by social media platforms. They are also exploring regulatory approaches to address some of the obstacles and harms that this ecosystem amplifies.To discuss these issues, this event brings together digital media experts with public health communicators in government and civil society roles.SPEAKERS:<ul><li>Jaigris Hodson, (Tier II) Canada Research Chair in Digital Communication for the Public Interest and Associate Professor at Royal Roads University</li></ul>
Jaigris Hodson, PhD is a (Tier II) Canada Research Chair in Digital Communication for the Public Interest and Associate Professor at Royal Roads University in Victoria, B.C. Her research uses qualitative methodologies to understand how digital technologies can facilitate or hinder the practice of communication in the best interests of the public. As such, her grant funded research projects consider a wide variety of topics ranging from COVID-19 misinformation, digital health communities, technology facilitated online abuse, and climate change communication.<ul><li>Sabina Vohra-Miller, Co-founder of the Vohra-Miller Foundation, Founder of Unambiguous Science, co-Founder of the South Asian Health Network &amp; Doctor of Public Health student at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health</li></ul>
Sabina Vohra-Miller has an MSc in clinical pharmacology and toxicology and is currently a Doctor of Public Health student at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. She is the co-founder of the Vohra-Miller Foundation, a philanthropic endeavor with the goal of making systemic, sustainable, and meaningful changes to healthcare in Canada.
Sabina is the founder of Unambiguous Science, which is a fact-based, educational platform that aims to make science accessible and approachable. She is also the co-founder of the South Asian Health Network, a grassroots volunteer-based organization focusing on culturally appropriate health education content and advocacy to address structural inequities in health care within the South Asian community. 
Sabina’s passions include both science education, especially countering vaccine mis- and dis-information, as well as promoting and advocating for health equity and access to healthcare. As a first-generation immigrant and woman of colour, she believes strongly in community-based approaches that help build a more resilient and equitable Canada for everyone.<ul><li>Dr. Krishana Sankar, Award-winning researcher and trained scientist, Science Advisor and Community Partnerships Lead for ScienceUpFirst</li></ul>
Dr. Krishana Sankar is an award winning researcher and trained scientist and a sought after speaker. She completed her PhD at the University of Toronto in the Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Sankar is currently the Science Advisor and Community Partnerships Lead for ScienceUpFirst, an initiative of the Canadian Association of Science Centers. Through her work with the organization, she has engaged and collaborated with several community partners that serve those in equity-deserving populations. A major aim of her work is to remove barriers to access of accurate and relevant information and to tackle misinformation in these groups.
As a passionate science communicator, Dr. Sankar has been dispelling health and science misconceptions for several years, in person and on social media. Since March 2020, she has been sharing accurate scientific information about COVID-19 and the vaccines with different communities in Canada, The United States, Australia and Guyana. She has also spoken about her journey and strategies used to dispel misinformation online during COVID-19 pandemic with organizations including the CDC, NIH, United Nations and the Government of Guyana.<ul><li>Harlan Pruden, Indigenous Knowledge Translation Lead at Chee Mamuk, co-founder of the Two-Spirit Dry Lab, Managing Editor of TwoSpiritJournal.com and advisory member for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Gender and Health</li></ul>
Harlan Pruden (pronouns - anything said mindfully and respectfully) is nehiyô/First Nations Cree and works with and for the Two-Spirit community locally, nationally, and internationally. Harlan is the Indigenous Knowledge Translation Lead at Chee Mamuk, an Indigenous health program at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and a co-founder of the Two-Spirit Dry Lab. Harlan is also the Managing Editor of TwoSpiritJournal.com and an advisory member for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Gender and Health.

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