Digital Dilemmas: Democracy and Public Discourse Online
Discussion
The impact of digital media on societies is a subject of continuous debate. While some emphasize the corrosive influence of disinformation and hate culture on social cohesion, some highlight the potential of digital platforms for enabling emancipatory civil movements, like #metoo.
In his publication "Capital and Resentment", German literature researcher Joseph Vogl outlines the various connections between capitalism, financial markets, digital platforms, and the polarisation of society. Digital capitalism, in which profit is generated from information, stirs up resentment and thus also endangers key functionalities of the public space.
Schedule:
Date: 30 November 2023
Time: 18:30 h onwards
Venue: Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata
In this discussion, experts and activists from Germany and India will debate with the audience the following questions:
- How can we balance the commercial interests of digital platforms with the need for accurate information and constructive public debate?
- How can we ensure equitable access to digital platforms, particularly for marginalized communities, to promote social justice?
- How do digital spaces influence public movements, the rights of individuals and the role of the state?
- If we could design the online spaces that we wish for - how would they look like in order to facilitate debate, mutual understanding, and provide personal safety?
The discussion is a collaboration between Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan and the Internet Freedom Foundation.
Speakers
Elisa Lindinger is co-director and co-founder of SUPERRR Lab, a Berlin-based feminist organization dedicated to designing diverse and equitable futures in tech and beyond. Trained as an archaeologist, Elisa has worked in the fields of culture and computer science for more than a decade, both inside and outside of academia. Her work focuses on the social impact of new technologies and their regulations.
Erik Tuchtfeld is co-chair of D64 - Center for Digital Progress, one of Germany's largest civil society organisations for digital policy. With its thirteen working groups, D64 addresses all aspects of digital transformation, with a current focus on digital public spaces and possible responses to the rise of right-wing populism in Europe and beyond. A lawyer by training, Erik's main areas of interest are the regulation of social platforms, freedom of expression and the right to privacy in the digital sphere.
Shuddhabrata Sengupta is an artist and curator with the Raqs Media Collective, Delhi. and one of the foremost cultural commentators in the country. Raqs Media Collective enjoys playing a plurality of roles, often appearing as artists, occasionally as curators, and sometimes as philosophical agent provocateurs. They create installations, make videos, photographs, print and online works, play with archival traces, make exhibitions and art interventions in public spaces, write essays, enact lecture-performances, engage with pedagogical procedures, edit books, design events, and foster collaborations.
Moderation
The discussion will be moderated by Samata Biswas, an academic who runs the South Asia Network for Communication Displacement and Migration
Details
Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata
Park Mansions, Gate 4
57A, Park Street
700 016 Kolkata
Language: English
Price: Free Entry. Registration Mandatory.