Timed around this October’s national and local Digital Inclusion Week events, the RGK Center’s Tech & Society Initiative in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin is hosting a series of virtual/asynchronous and in-person discussions exploring the roles governmental, corporate, and philanthropic funders play in advancing digital/data rights, justice, equity, and inclusion in the U.S. and beyond.
Goals of this symposium include:
- Initiating collaborations that build, share, and mobilize knowledge to inform governmental, corporate, and philanthropic investments in digital/data rights, justice, equity, and inclusion.
- Generating ideas about how to strengthen and expand equitable access to funding ecosystems to advance digital/data rights, justice, equity, and inclusion.
- Identifying under resourced types of interventions needing funding to help prevent and remedy risks and harms of living in a digital society.
See below for more details on the symposium week.
Global Virtual Participation [Ticket 1]: Until Thursday, October 19th
The virtual portion of our Symposium has already begun in Slack! Participation begins immediately after registration and continues through October 19th. Attendees will be invited to join our Tech and Society Initiative’s Slack workspace to meet advocates, funders, researchers, policymakers, community leaders, and students interested in learning more about work that advances digital/data rights, justice, equity, and inclusion. In this Slack community, we will share resources on advocacy practices, funding initiatives, policymaking, and research related to the Symposium theme leading up to and during the week of the Symposium.
Between now and October 16th, we look forward to building and sharing knowledge that leads to co-creating at least one Zoom session (to be scheduled between 16-19) focused on the Symposium’s three goals.
Local In-Person Convening [Ticket 2]: Friday, October 20th ~ Austin, TX
For those who can join in-person, we will host a convening on Friday, October 20th to wrap up a week of virtual discussion, resource-sharing, and collaboration. At this portion of the Symposium, we will explore how Texas-based funders, advocates, researchers, policymakers, students, and community members are working on issues of digital/data rights, justice, equity and inclusion.
The in-person convening will be hosted from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in Austin, TX. Lunch and parking will be provided.
In-Person Convening Agenda
- 9 – 10:15 a.m. Welcome Breakfast and Remarks
- 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. Summary of Research Perspectives from Virtual Portion of the Symposium
- 12 – 1 p.m. Lunch
- 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Interactive Funder “"Fishbowl”
- 2:45 – 3:30 p.m. Roundtables on Symposium Goals
- 3:30 – 4 p.m. Wrap up and Closeout
More details, including speakers bios, to be released. Questions? Email rgktechsociety@austin.utexas.edu.