Index relies entirely on the support of donors and readers to do its work.
Help us keep amplifying censored voices today.
FEATURING SARAH BROWN IN CONVERSATION WITH HELEN LEWIS (New Statesman)
Join us in the heart of an inner London school community to launch the Autumn magazine with its special report on suppressed, ignored and censored voices – spotlighting silenced groups from around the world.
Join Sarah Brown in conversation with Helen Lewis, see an exclusive preview of They Will Have To Kill Us First the upcoming documentary from award-winning film-maker Johanna Schwartz, and catch Wail Gzoly’s startling Egyptian street photography.
Spirited debate, invigorating art and a free drinks reception at Lilian Baylis, a tiny but brilliant comprehensive school in the shadows of Westminster.
@IndexEvents – #notheard
When: Tuesday 15th October, 6:30 reception, 7:00-8:00pm event.
Where: Lilian Baylis School, SE11 5QY (Map/directions)
Tickets:Free, registration is required as space is limited.
The possible consequences of using social media should be taught to children as young as 10, although who should be responsible for doing so is still unclear. This was one conclusion from “Speak now: Regret Later?”, a Social Media Week event where as a specialist panel discussed how young people represent themselves online and what implications this may have on their future employability options.
A collaboration between Index on Censorship, The Student Journals and Youth Media Agency, the discussion was chaired by Index CEO Kirsty Hughes, with Asa Bennett, Huffington Post business reporter, Maya Wolfe-Robinson, commissioning editor on Guardian law and Comment is Free, and Siraj Datoo, co-founder of The Student Journals, making up the panel.
The majority of the audience who engaged in the discussion, all under the age of 25, felt they had evolved with the changes in social media and adapted their privacy settings and self-censored accordingly. This quickly lead the debate on the floor to progress to the question of the next generation of social media users; how should they be taught about the possible implications of what they post online and whose responsibility it should be to do this.
“Older people need to have an understanding of social media so that they can properly teach young people how to use it effectively,” commented Datoo, who admitted his own father had a Facebook account but no idea how to use it. He urged that it should be a collective engagement by all of those in contact with children to make them aware of the possible risks they take in using social media.
However, a comment from the floor argued that it should be the responsibility of parents – those buying their children the tablets, laptops and mobile phones on which they have access to social media – to educate them on how they could jeopardise future employment possibilities from what they share online.
One observation made was greeted with nods from around the room; how to use social media safely and without repercussions should be taught alongside sexual education in primary schools. Despite Facebook setting a minimum age of 13, a report by the London School of Economics found that almost half of all British children aged 9 to 12 are using social media networking sites. Many of these users do not take on board that the internet lasts forever- even some of the audience themselves were shocked to hear that Facebook and Snapchat, an app used to send images that supposedly dissolve from the screen after a set time, own and keep all photos posted or sent by their users.
“My heart bleeds for this generation growing up with their baby photos being posted online by their parents; they are born digital and the rest of their lives will be documented across social media,” said Wolfe-Robinson, with agreement from the panel that employers should take this into account in the future. “I fully support the idea for a right to be forgotten, for us not to be judged on comments we made in our youth, but I understand this is probably an unrealistic expectation.”
As part of Social Media Week 2013, debate the benefits and pitfalls of social media for you and your future career.
Social media skills are now required in almost any job, but what do employers really think of their employees’ online activity? Should you censor your output for the sake of your future? Paris Brown, former Kent Youth Crime Commissioner, stood down after tweets she’d written years earlier…
Join a specialist panel of media, law and freedom of expression experts to examine how what we say online can affect our futures?
#smwspeaknow
WHEN: 23 Sept, 2013, 6pm
WHERE: Centre for Creative Collaboration (16 Acton Street, London, WC1X 9NG)
TICKETS: Free, registration required. Please note this event is for 18-25 year olds.
NB Participants must be aged between 18-25 and be willing to debate and get involved with the issues discussed by our panel.
Student Journals is a website hosted and run for and by students, reporting on politics, lifestyle and culture across the UK.
Youth Media Agency is the strategic home of Youth Media in the UK; connecting and supporting over 300 Youth Media platforms including Radio, TV and Magazines, online and print.
The Centre for Creative Collaboration (C4CC) is an initiative of the University of London, supporting new types of collaboration using the principles of open innovation.
Index held an event last night with Doughty Street Chambers, where a panel of experts discussed whether or not democratic freedoms have been eroded by mass surveillance programmes.
The panel included the Guardian’s Technology Editor, Charles Arthur, Stephen Cragg, QC (Doughty Street Chambers), Index Chief Executive Kirsty Hughes, and Liberty’s Policy Director, Bella Sankey. The discussion was chaired by Kirsty Brimelow (Doughty Street Chambers, Chairwoman of Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales.)
Check out the conversation below, and be sure to follow @IndexEvents for updates on our future events: