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Book Launch & Panel Discussion “LGBTQI Digital Media Activism and Counter-hate Speech”
14 December, 2022 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
LGBTQI Digital Media Activism and Counter-hate Speech: Experiences from Asia and Europe
As media are rapidly evolving, social movements and activists are increasingly taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the wide range of communication tools and platforms to organize their networks, form collective identities and develop new languages of resistance to counteract anti-gender and homophobic discourse.
Rendering visible LGBTQI cultural resistance, expressed through digital media activism and counter-hate discourse is of utmost importance not just in Italy but also in Asia and globally. Invisibility and the symbolic annihilation of LGBTQI people in media and popular discourse have historically signified powerlessness for LGBTQI people, and have also contributed to the dissemination of harmful misrepresentations of gender and LGBTQI identities, promoting negative stereotyping, increasing prejudices, hate, discrimination and homophobia, also leading to direct physical violence in many cases. These attitudes are fully embodied and expressed by actors mobilizing nationally and transnationally in anti-gender countermovements.
Tech firms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube face growing scrutiny for hate speech and misinformation. They have not invested enough in developing countries, and lack moderators with language skills and knowledge of local events. The result is that hate speech and abuse, particularly in local languages, often goes unchecked and local communities are disregarded, potentially increasing polarization and risk of violence. This was the case of Indonesia, where significant online hate speech has targeted religious and racial minority groups, as well as LGBTQ people, with bots and paid trolls spreading disinformation aimed at deepening divisions.
Communication is central to activism and resistance. While a great amount of scholarship has been invested in studying anti-gender mobilizations and their violent and trauma-generating discourses, the book that will be presented during this event and the organized panel discussion, will shift the attention on LGBTQI social movements and their digital media activism and non-violent communication practices, sharing experiences from Asia and Europe, which often are unheard of.
You’re cordially invited to join the event, with a panel discussion followed by a cocktail reception and book signing on 14 December 2022, 18:00-19:30 at SEA Junction, 4th Floor, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC). The panel is composed of:
Moderator:
- Sriprapha Petcharamesree, Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University
Speakers
- Sara Gabai, Author and Communication Expert
- Emilie Palamy Pradichit, Founder and Executive Director, Manushya Foundation, Thailand
- Henry Koh, Executive Director, ILGA Asia (on line)
The Book is available in all main e-stores including: Amazon I Book Depository I Google Play
Limited copies will also be available at SEA Junction during the event.
Short Bios Moderator and Speakers
Dr. Sriprapha Petcharamesree is the former Director of the Ph.D. Program in Human Rights and Peace Studies (International) of the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies at Mahidol University in Thailand. In October of 2009, she was appointed by the national government to act as the Thai Representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, a role she served in until December of 2012. She is currently Co-Chair of the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism advocating for effective regional human rights systems in the ASEAN region. She holds a degree in Political Science from Thammasat University as well as a D.E.A. in Comparative Politics and a Ph.D. in International Politics with distinction from the University of Paris-X.
Sara Gabai has worked in Asia and Central Asia with European Union-funded programs, UN agencies, academic institutions, NGOs, civil society organizations and local communities, on communication for development initiatives. Her passion and expertise range from human rights to digital media activism and freedom of expression, media literacy education, gender and women’s economic empowerment, environmental and sustainability issues. Sara earned her Ph.D. in Human Rights and Peace Studies (2021) from the Institute of Human Rights and Peace, Mahidol University, Thailand, a MSc in Gender, Media and Culture from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a BA in Communications and a Minor in English Literature from John Cabot University, Italy.
Emilie Palamy Pradichit, the Founder & Executive Director of Manushya Foundation, is an intersectional feminist visionary & international human rights lawyer specializing in accessing justice for marginalized communities through strategic litigation before the United Nations (UN) — where her innovative work has successfully held governments and businesses accountable for their human rights abuses and violations. Working on the ground, she also endorses women & youth to speak truth to power at the forefront of their fight for justice and equality as well as defends indigenous, forest-dependent, LGBTIQ+ & marginalized communities across Asia.
Henry Koh (They/Them) is the current Executive Director of ILGA Asia. Prior to joining ILGA Asia, Henry served as a human rights specialist with regional human rights organizations and the United Nations. They had extensive experience engaging in UN advocacy to advance SOGIESC rights, access to healthcare for vulnerable groups, freedoms of expression, assembly and association. Henry is also the co-founder of Beyond Borders Malaysia, focusing on refugees’ rights, Assistant Secretary-general of PROHAM (Society for the Promotion of Human Rights), and the Malaysian MSM Representative for the UN Global Fund’s Country Coordinating Mechanism (2019–2022). They initially joined ILGA Asia as the Research Officer from March to July 2021, and was part of ILGA Asia’s UN Human Rights Mechanisms trainers from 2017 to 2019.
For information/reservation for our events, please email southeastasiajunction@gmail.com or phone: +66970024140.
Organizer
SEA Junction, established under the Thai non-profit organization Foundation for Southeast Asia Studies (ForSEA), aims to foster understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio-cultural dimensions, from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 408 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium), SEA Junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information see www.seajunction.org, join the Facebook group and follow us on twitter and Instagram @seajunction.
