7amleh -The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media concluded the seventh session of the Palestine Digital Activity Forum 2023, on Thursday, with over 1,500 attendees.

Haifa, Ramallah, Gaza, May 25th, 2023, 7amleh -The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media concluded the seventh session of the Palestine Digital Activity Forum 2023, on Thursday, with over 1,500 attendees. The largest event on Palestinian digital rights was conducted in a hybrid format (in-person and online) across three days, beginning on Tuesday, May 23rd and ending on Thursday, May 25th. This year's policy sessions were held virtually, in parallel with in-person capacity-building workshops taking place in Haifa, and Jenin in the north, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Hebron, and Gaza in the south. This made the forum an open space for all Palestinians and other human rights defenders as well as activists, transcending all barriers, borders, and obstacles imposed on Palestinians and their allies.

The seventh edition of the forum was held under the theme of "Ending Digital Discrimination against Palestinians" to shed light on the issue of digital discrimination and its impact on Palestinian digital rights, within a local, regional, and international context. The forum provided a space for constructive discussions aimed at generating policy and practical proposals to end digital discrimination against Palestinians and other minorities around the world. It included over 50 activities, including policy sessions, inspiring discussions, workshops, and both in-person and virtual events, focusing on various issues related to the forum's overall subject. 

Inspirational speakers

This year, the forum hosted more than 90 speakers and trainers from various parts of the world, including Palestine, the Arab region, and elsewhere. There were several inspiring speakers among them. The first day of the forum, we had the participation of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese,the Yemeni human rights activist and Nobel laureate, Tawakkol Karman, and the Palestinian Minister of Communications, Dr. Isaac Seder. The speakers and trainers came from diverse backgrounds, including activists, human rights advocates, representatives from governments, civil society, and major technology companies including Meta, Google, Zoom, and Wikimedia, among many others.

Policy Sessions: Digital Discrimination: Dimensions, Effects, and Countermeasures.

This year's forum addressed numerous issues linked to digital discrimination against Palestinians, embracing an intersectional struggle approach with the struggle of the oppressed peoples in general and the global south in particular. The opening session addressed the impact of digital discrimination against Palestinians and marginalized communities on digital rights and freedoms, as well as how discriminatory regulations lead to oppressed peoples' marginalization. Other sessions on the first day focused on the influence of tourism apps, digital maps, and archives on oppressed peoples' narratives, as well as the use of surveillance techniques to intensify systematic discrimination against Palestinians and communities of color throughout the world. The first day concluded with a session concentrating on the economic impact of digital discrimination on Palestinian rights and opportunities, particularly addressing the effect of digital economic discrimination on Palestinians' right to freedom, justice, and dignity.

The sessions on the second day focused on various topics, including the influence of European legislation on Palestinian digital rights. The second session focused on the situation of the right to privacy in Palestine, particularly in light of legal deficiencies. The session on the digital gap highlighted the accessibility to the Internet in Palestine and its influence on education, work, and activism. The second day of the forum concluded with an exclusive meeting with Meta Oversight Board members, who focused on many crucial problems attributed to the Palestinian context, including the management of the term "martyr" in content across the platform.

On the third day, the sessions covered a wide range of topics, including a session on the potential impact of legislation in the United States on respecting and protecting digital rights worldwide. The final session examined how individuals may work together to overcome the impacts of digital discrimination and hold governments and corporates accountable.

Capacity Building Workshops.

The forum’s activities included 20 different training workshops addressing a variety of topics, ranging from digital to in-person. These workshops covered topics like digital rights news coverage, digital storytelling, digital mobilization to combat the effects of digital discrimination, storytelling for activists, creating digital narratives from historical archives, graphic design, digital security, and other related topics. These training workshops were conducted by Palestinian and international specialists and experts.

This year, as in the previous two years, the forum offered the "Best Digital Campaign of the Year 2022" award; to honor the efforts of activists and/or institutions working to develop digital campaigns in Palestine. This year's prize was granted to the Palestinian Vision Foundation for "(Min Jad al-Jad la walad al-walad)-From generation to generation" is the slogan of their campaign.

Finally, this year's forum was successful in breaking down the limits and physical barriers that seek to marginalize and exclude Palestinians from digital spaces. It offered a platform for Palestinians and their supporters to come together both inside and outside of Palestine, offering a forum for reflection and open discussion about the challenges and constraints that Palestinian digital rights face. The forum attempted to move beyond these challenges by presenting ideas and results that might address them constructively and creatively within an intersectional context. These forum activities are part of the broader efforts of the Wide Campaign to systematically work towards achieving a safe, just, and free digital space.