Lost (and Found) in Translation: My Experience at RightsCon (Continued)

Post #2: Helping Coders & Activists Realize Their Shared Purpose

In my last post, I shared an overview of my recent experience at the Silicon Valley Human Rights Conference hosted by ACCESS -- an advocacy organization that focuses on digital and internet rights. This first-of-its-kind gathering brought together human rights activists, business leaders and policy makers to share perspectives in a way that I had never experienced before.

Since attending the conference, I’ve been thinking a lot about the complexity of the human rights landscape and how its diverse actors think about and articulate their work in such different ways. It’s as if these actors speak different “languages” that reflect the culture of their sectors and the roles they occupy. And while I recognize that providing a forum for free expression is a crucial first step in bringing constituencies together, it became increasingly clear that “translation” would be necessary to help these actors better understand, debate, and hopefully take action in support of a common purpose.

In this post, I’d like to focus on how the translation phenomenon plays itself out in the relationship between two specific constituencies that were present at the conference -- activists and coders-for-good. In addition to the many corporate representatives and policymakers in attendance, there were a significant number of individuals who are involved in developing the technologies that can directly support the work of human rights activists on the ground.

The ultimate purpose of these two constituencies should presumably be the same -- to promote global human rights. However, when a shared taxonomy is missing from the conversation, it becomes easy for that larger purpose to get lost in translation. The good intentions of coders and activists become ineffectively harnessed and the products insufficient to address the needs of those who must use them.

This issue played itself out in one particular session on Coding for Human Rights. What began as a polite panel discussion erupted into a lively debate when some attendees shared their frustrations about the inaccessibility of the solutions being developed. At issue was the culture of excessive training and why coders have failed to develop apps that are more intuitive and user-driven. In another informal breakout session, Patrick Vink of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative posed a similar question, wondering why new technologies were being developed in a vacuum without the involvement of the activists who use them.

On one level, it would seem simple enough to bring coders and on-the-ground human rights activists together to co-create solutions. But this conference reminded me of the significant bridge building or “translation” work that still needs to be done.  

My wheels began turning about the ways in which TechSoup Global and our Community-Driven Innovation (CDI) team could convene and bring together constituencies that don’t naturally gravitate towards one another despite their shared goals. I thought about our experience with Restart Romania – a community engagement collaboration between CDI and TechSoup Romania that enabled participants to present projects and collaborate for social change. What made this Challenge special was its emphasis on the sharing of ideas and community input that will ultimately drive better social good products.

I also thought about our NetSquared Local groups and the innovative ways in which they are connecting technical experts with grassroots nonprofits to meet concrete needs. I realized that we at TechSoup Global could play a crucial role as an intermediary or “translator” to help these diverse actors work concretely together to achieve their shared purpose.

The Silicon Valley Human Rights Conference was at its best when it reminded us of that shared purpose, most especially during the final plenary session. Access Executive Director, Brett Solomon, was delivering his closing remarks by presenting copies of the Silicon Valley Standard (SVS) to dignitaries and activists in attendance. In an unscripted moment, he called up Lebanese cyber activist Imad Bazzi (@TrellaLB) to receive a copy and make a few informal remarks. But just moments before, Imad had just received news that two of his friends had been killed in Syria. He struggled to find a way to give voice to what could not be adequately expressed in words. He simply said “we will keep fighting, we will bring the change.” At that devastating moment, there were no language barriers to speak of. We all understood that despite our different roles and perspectives, we had to work together for those who gave their lives to defend the human rights of us all.