Human Rights Talks

Internet Shutdowns and #KeepItOn with Felicia Anthonio

On today's episode, Access Now's Felicia Anthonio talks to MIGS about internet shutdown and the organization's #KeepItOn Campaign, a #KeepItOn coalition made up of over 210 organizations across the world. In 2021 alone, Access Now and the coalition documented 182 internet shutdowns across 34 countries. Read their report here.

This conversation is part of our initiative on Digital Authoritarianism, supported by the  U.S. Embassy in Ottawa.

Digital Authoritarianism with Caitlin Thompson, Coda Story

Caitlin Thompson, a reporter at Coda Story, joins us to talk about digital authoritarianism and the different methods used by regimes around the globe to silence dissent and surveil citizens. She also warns us that democratic governments must remain vigilant not to use similar techniques. You can subscribe to Caitlin's newsletter here https://www.codastory.com/coda-newsletters/

This conversation is part of our initiative on Digital Authoritarianism, supported by the  U.S. Embassy in Ottawa.

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Genocide in Ukraine - a discussion with Senator McPhedran

As the war in Ukraine rages on, MIGS organized a Twitter Spaces with Canadian Senator Marilou McPhedran. On 28 April, the Senate unanimously passed a motion recognizing that the Russian Federation is committing acts of genocide against the Ukrainian people.  This discussion marked the launch of our new project, the Global Parliamentary Alliance Against Atrocity Crimes, supported by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Canada.

Peter Guest on internet shutdowns

In this episode of Human Rights Talks, Peter Guest talks about internet shutdowns and how authoritarian regimes use the off switch to silence dissent. What are the human and financial costs of shutdowns ? What are the tactics used ? Listen to our conversation.

Peter Guest is the enterprise editor for Rest of World. He has worked for the Nikkei Asian Review in Tokyo, where he was the cover story editor. Prior to that, he led the FT’s This Is Africa magazine.

 

This conversation is part of our initiative on Digital Authoritarianism, supported by the  U.S. Embassy in Ottawa.

Human Rights Talks: Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on Combatting Antisemitism

The Canadian Taskforce to Combat Online Antisemitism is a MIGS project aimed at analyzing current trends in online antisemitism, holocaust denial and distortion, and looking at ways we can build better Canadian resiliency to it while addressing what tech companies and other actors can do to tackle this issue. 

As part of this project, MIGS spoke to Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on Combatting Antisemitism. Von Schnurbein works with EU Member States, the European Parliament, civil society organizations, and academia to strengthen policy responses to antisemitism, as well as to hate crimes and discrimination more broadly.

Human Rights Talks: Discussing Sharp Power with Kevin Sheives and Rachelle Faust

In this episode of Human Rights Talks, Kevin Sheives and Rachelle Faust (International Forum for Democratic Studies) join us to discuss the concept of sharp power and how it differs from soft and hard power. They also talk to us about the International Forum's Sharp Power Research Portal, which features examples and analyses of the scale and impact of authoritarian sharp power around the world. This conversation is part of our initiative on Digital Authoritarianism, supported by the  U.S. Embassy in Ottawa.

 

Rachelle Faust is Assistant Program Officer at International Forum for Democratic Studies at NED

Kevin Sheives is the Associate Director at the International Forum for Democratic Studies at NED

Human Rights Talks: Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies

The Canadian Taskforce to Combat Online Antisemitism is a MIGS project aimed at analyzing current trends in online antisemitism, holocaust denial and distortion, and looking at ways we can build better Canadian resiliency to it while addressing what tech companies and other actors can do to tackle this issue. As part of the project, we are launching a series of podcast episodes.

In this episode, MIGS student fellow Nadia Trudel interviews Jaime Kirzner-Roberts the Director of Policy at the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC).

Human Rights Talks: Professor Marlene Grossman on the rise of antisemitism

The Canadian Taskforce to Combat Online Antisemitism is a MIGS project aimed at analyzing current trends in online antisemitism, holocaust denial and distortion, and looking at ways we can build better Canadian resiliency to it while addressing what tech companies and other actors can do to tackle this issue. As part of the project, we are launching a series of podcast episodes. In this episode, MIGS student fellow Nadia Trudel interviews Professor Marlene Grossman, the coordinator of the psychology department at Vanier College and the coordinator of Vanier’s Symposium on the Holocaust and Genocide.

What’s next? – US-Canada relationship to confront digital authoritarianism

This episode is a recording of an event organized as part of the digital authoritarianism series supported by the US Embassy to Canada.

This discussion features U.S. Consul General Ana Escrogima, David Kaye (clinical professor of law, University of California, and former UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression), Chris Walker (VP for Studies and Analysis, National Endowment for Democracy), Suzanne Nossel (Chief Executive Officer of PEN America), Ron Deibert (Director of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School, University of Toronto) and Inga Kristina Trauthig (Research Manager and Senior Research Fellow, Center for Media Engagement, University of Texas, and Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation).

Human Rights Talks: Interview with Richard Marceau

The Canadian Taskforce to Combat Online Antisemitism is a MIGS project aimed at analyzing current trends in online antisemitism, holocaust denial and distortion, and looking at ways we can build better Canadian resiliency to it while addressing what tech companies and other actors can do to tackle this issue. As part of the project, we are launching a series of podcast episodes. In this episode, MIGS' Executive Director Kyle Matthews interviews Richard Marceau, former MP and senior advisor for the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).