Following the success of the first Palestine Digital Activism Forum, 7amleh - the Arab Center for Social Media Advancement announced today that a second Forum will take place on Wednesday, January 17 2018.

18 December 2017, Major international digital activism forum to take place in Palestine

7amleh - the Arab Center for Social Media Advancement announced today that a second Forum will take place on Wednesday, January 17 2018. The day-long event, which aims to provide a platform for discussions around issues affecting digital activism in Palestine and the wider international community, will be held at the Palestine Red Crescent Society Hotel in Al-Bireh.

It will feature panel discussions and Q&A sessions that look at innovation in digital activism in Palestine; the protection of digital rights in the country and beyond; and global trends in digital activism. A range of different issues will be explored under these three headings with the purpose of exploring various aspects of digital activism, sharing best practice and to develop solutions for emerging challenges in this field. These include examining digital rights within a human rights framework; Israeli violations of Palestinian digital rights; Facebook’s policy of moderating content in conflict areas; and using video blogs for documentation. Local movers and shakers will join the panels alongside representatives from leading global organisations and social media giants, making this a truly international event.

Panellists will include Aibhinn Kelleher (Facebook), Farah Mustaklem (Levant Wikimedia User Group), Omar Shakir (Human Rights Watch), Dr. Issam Abdeen (Al-Haq), Mahmoud Hassan (Addameer) and Matthias Spielkamp (AlgorithmWatch). Attendees will also have the opportunity to take part in interactive workshops on a variety of subjects from crowdfunding and filming evidence on mobile phones to digital privacy and more. These will be led by representatives from Build Palestine, IMEU, Witness and SumOfUs among others. Nadim Nashif, 7amleh’s Executive Director, said: “Recent global events, and those closer to home in Palestine, have made it clear that we need to be more proactive in fighting for and claiming our rights. The digital world provides opportunities to think outside the box when it comes to traditional activism but we need to work together to be as effective as possible.

“7amleh’s second Palestine Digital Activism Forum will bring leading experts and practitioners from all over the world together to share best practice and, crucially, to discuss key issues and developments affecting digital activism and digital rights in Palestine that have implications for the wider international community.”

Omar Shakir, Human Rights Watch Israel and Palestine Director, said: "Recent years have seen all authorities on the ground, including Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, arrest Palestinians based on social media posts and otherwise use the digital space to restrict rights. This forum provides a needed space to grapple with these pressing challenges and consider how best to safeguard the rights to free expression, privacy and protection of data."

7amleh is a non-profit organization aimed at enabling Palestinian and Arab civil society to effectively utilize tools of digital advocacy through professional capacity building, defending digital rights and building influential digital media campaigns. 7amleh looks forward to welcoming attendees from all over the world and encourages anyone interested in coming to the Forum to sign up here. This link also provides further information about the Forum’s programme and contributors.

For any media queries or interview requests please contact:

Tamara 7amleh PR Consultant E: 7amlehforum@gmail.com

For general information about the 2018 Palestine Digital Activism Forum please contact:

Nadim Nashif 7amleh Director E: nadim@7amleh.org T: +972 (0)526403634