Every year on December 10th, people across all nations, from all different backgrounds, religions, creeds, and orientations, come together to celebrate, commemorate, and remember the day the United Nations General Assembly implemented the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Originally ratified on December 10th, 1948, the UDHR is the most translated document in the world. It is the first official landmark of its time documenting the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being “regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, political opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or another status.

We at EthicsInTech.com believe that every human being is entitled to the inalienable rights described by our founding forefathers and that every human being has a voice – and a choice to stand up and speak up for what they believe in. We understand that our world does not receive redemption nor judgment for the acts of only a few people. It takes the heart, soul, and action of every individual to build and form a nation. It is only after we educate and boost the well-being of all countries that we will be able to come together to form a better world.

At EthicsinTech.com, we believe that technology has the power to do amazing things. Technology gives us more power to do, act, and promote social justice and change. We believe that with this immense power of Big Tech comes immense responsibility – to use this new instrument ethically, humanely, and responsibly to improve the lives of ALL human beings versus just an elite few.

One of the most severe, widespread human rights violations that still exist today is digital censorship, digital rights, women’s rights, and the right of the disabled. Whether we are reviewing cases of imprisonment, violence, or social inequity in the workplace, multiple studies have shown us that our society still has a long way to go to support, raise awareness and promote digital rights, women’s rights, and human rights.

On December 10th, EthicsInTech.com will host a special event to present the inhumanity faced by digital rights and civil liberty activists from around the world. We will host a panel of speakers, activists, and technology leaders to hear their journeys, perspectives, and wisdom on how to do better to promote equal digital rights with dignity and respect for all.

Host:

Vahid Razavi -A technology Veteran of Silicon Valley. Vahid has founded, advised, and worked in senior management roles in Silicon Valley. He has published two books, The Age of Nepotism and Ethics In Tech and Lack Thereof. As a lifelong activist and humanitarian, he has published hundreds of articles and videos on various social issues, including the tech industry and social injustice. He has previously worked for companies such as Amazon Web Services, Fast Search, Exodus Communications, Qwest Communications and was the founder of the Cloud Computing Company BizCloud and Ethics In Technology.

Speakers:

Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and the executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. He is the author of a dozen books, including “War Made Easy.” His next book, “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine,” will be published in Spring 2023 by The New Press.

Peter B. Kaufman is Senior Program Officer at MIT Open Learning. He is the author of The New Enlightenment and the Fight to Free Knowledge and a forthcoming book called The Fifth Estate. He also has served as president and executive producer of Intelligent Television; Associate Director of Columbia University’s Center for Teaching and Learning; a member of the Audiovisual Research Alliance at Netherlands Sound and Vision; co-chair of the JISC Film & Sound Think Tank in the United Kingdom; co-chair of the Copyright Committee of the Association of Moving Image Archivists; a member of the Scholar Advisory Committee of WGBH’s American Archive of Public Broadcasting; a member of the American Council of Learned Societies Commission on Cyberinfrastructure in the Humanities and Social Sciences; and a consultant to the Library of Congress’s National Audiovisual Conservation Center, the largest archive of moving images and recorded sound in the world. He also speaks Russian, and nobody knows why.

Tracy Rosenberg has worked as Media Alliance’s Executive Director since 2007. She has organized and advocated for a free, accountable, and accessible media system, focusing on the protection and sustainability of alternative media outlets, monitored the mainstream media for accuracy and fair representation, and facilitated the training of numerous nonprofit organizations and citizen’s groups in effective communications. She blogs on media policy and is published frequently around the country. Tracy currently sits on the board of the Alliance for Community Media Western Region, serves on the anchor committee of the MediaJusticecoalition, and co-coordinates Oakland Privacy, the Bay Area surveillance coalitionthat works regionally to defend the right to privacy and enhance public transparency and oversight regarding the use of surveillance techniques and equipment. Oakland Privacy won an EFF Pioneer Award on September 12, 2019, and two James Madison Freedom of Information Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2021 and 2022.

Brett Wilkins is a staff writer at Common Dreams and a communications coordinator for San Francisco Bernicrats. He has published articles at Salon.com, Truthout, the Asia Times, teleSur, the Jakarta Post, and Yahoo News, among other outlets. He was also a member of Collective 20, whose members included Michael Albert, Medea Benjamin, Noam Chomsky, Bill Fletcher Jr., and other leftist writers and activists.

Rev. Dr. Dorsey Odell Blake, Faculty Associate, Leadership and Social Transformation, was officially installed as Presiding Minister of The Church for The Fellowship of All Peoples in October 1994. Dr. Blake served as Dean of Faculty and Visiting Professor of Spirituality and Prophetic Justice at Starr King School for the Ministry for six years. He continued to serve on the Core Faculty until his resignation in January 2015. He currently serves as a Faculty Associate, Leadership and Social Transformation at the Pacific School of Religion.

Dr. Karen Melander-Magoon discovered Unitarian Universalism in 2004. In her studies, writings, and songs, she draws on all spiritual traditions—the multi-layered Sufi stories, the Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist traditions, and the complexity of secular and spiritual values that allow us to reach out and connect with each other. Dr. Melander-Magoon holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Indiana University, sang major roles in opera for two decades in Europe, and has composed four one-woman musical portraits of historical figures, including Clara Barton, Georgia O’Keeffe, Lillie Langtry, and the French poet, Colette. She is listed in the European Publishers VIP Who is Who. Karen has a Master in Education and Counseling from Boston University, a Master of Divinity equivalency through the G.T.U., and her Doctor of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary.

Sonya Nahid, from Oklahoma City, OK. Sonya has a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma and has recently left medical school to pursue her passion for flying. Her father was the youngest helicopter instructor pilot for the Shah of Iran. He refused to salute the new revolutionary flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran and was then offered to be court marshaled or leave the country. He left and thus endured extensive hardship, as many immigrants do. She is inspired by her country’s brave people and continues fighting for them even though she is far away.