01.10, 19:20–19:40 (Europe/Berlin), Forum (zeitunabhängig)
Sprache: English
Digitalization is crucial for linking the environmental struggles in the Global South with the rest of the world, and for creating international solidarities. At the same time, digital activism is rendered vulnerable to the increasing attacks on freedom of expression and imprisonment of critical voices, as the work of the India Justice Project, a political advocacy organization based in Berlin shows. These challenges need to be responded to through the democratization of the digital world underpinned by indigenous, secure and open source digital technologies.
IJP is a political advocacy organization based in Berlin concerned with the regressing political-economic situation in India. By participating at the Bits & Bäume conference, we want to support the importance of digitalization for leveraging the indigenous peoples struggles. Our experience shows that digital technologies have made it possible to expand the environmental movement beyond the discourse in the Global North to account for the political economic complexities in the Global South. This is particularly in reference to the increasing authoritarianism in India together with the neoliberal, privatized and globalized character of capitalism that has resulted in expropriation of indigenous land and resources. At the same time, digital activism is rendered vulnerable to the increasing attacks on freedom of expression in India and imprisonment of critical and marginalized voices. Therefore, we support the demand for democratization of the digital world through indigenous, secure and open source digital technologies.
