Digital technologies are rapidly transforming our societies. They shape how we work, communicate, and participate in public debate. But these technologies are not neutral. Their design, deployment, and regulation are the result of political choices, with far-reaching consequences for power, rights, and inequality.
Debates on digitalization often focus on a transatlantic perspective: the impact of U.S. Big Tech on Europe. In this session, we deliberately broaden the lens. We approach digital technology from a global perspective, with particular attention to international solidarity.
What are the consequences of recent digital developments for citizenship and digital rights worldwide? What new power relations and dependencies are emerging, and who ultimately pays the price? At the same time, we explore alternatives and forms of counter-power. What initiatives for digital justice exist today—both within and beyond the traditional digital rights field? And what role can civil society organizations and citizens play in building a just digital future for all?
When: 10h45
Where: Studio 4
Language: English
Paola Verhaert is a digital rights expert, researcher, and writer. For more than ten years, she has worked at the intersection of technology and social justice, with a focus on digital equality and power dynamics within the tech sector. She collaborates with (inter)national non-profit organizations and public institutions, and writes on technology, politics, and culture. In 2025, her book Technology Is Political: The Struggle for Digital Justice was published.
Daniel Leufer is a Senior Policy Analyst at Access Now’s Brussels office and Emerging Technologies Policy Lead. His work focuses on the impact of emerging technologies on digital rights, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence (AI), facial recognition, and biometrics. While he was a Mozilla Fellow, he developed aimyths.org, a website that gathers resources to tackle myths and misconceptions about AI. He has a PhD in Philosophy from KU Leuven in Belgium and is a member of the OECD Expert Group on AI Futures.
Andreea Belu is a digital rights activist, building digital rights narratives and networks of human infrastructures of communication. She is a strategic advisor to a philanthropy field-building project, working on exploring the intersection between environment, defense and technology, and sits on the board of one of Europe’s largest digital-first campaigning platforms. Andreea also leads the Campaigns & Comms team at EDRi - Europe’s largest network of digital rights organisations. In the past, Andreea researched the impact of social media platforms on democratic discourse and identities between 2012 and 2015, as well as the militarisation of EU's "twin transition" between 2018 and 2024.
Oyidiya Oji is the Policy and Advocacy Advisor for Digital Rights at the European Network Against Racism (ENAR). She focuses on advocacy in regards to AI and related digital rights portfolios. She defends a transversal and sustainable relationship with EU institutions with a racial equality lens. Previously, she researched and mapped projects of resistance and reappropriation of technology, with a special focus on AI.
This session is organized in collaboration with the Hannah Arendt Institute and Paola Verhaert.
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Forward Fest 2024 invites you to join the conversation, share your perspective, and collaborate with others to build a future that is fair, inclusive, and interconnected. Explore, learn, and contribute to the change our world needs.
LEARN, SHARE, INSPIRE
Prepare for a day filled with inspiring lectures, surprising workshops, and professional connections that will not only stimulate your thinking but also touch your heart. This is your chance to learn from leading thinkers, network with like-minded individuals, and actively contribute to a more just world.
You will soon be able to register for Forward Fest 2026 here.
Forward Fest is organized by 11.11.11, ngo-federation and VLIRUOS in collaboration with MO* with the support of Belgian development cooperation.
11.11.11
THE COALITION FOR INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY.
11.11.11 aims to eradicate exploitation from the world. Everyone – anywhere in the world – has the right to a dignified existence. To truly make a change, power and resources must be distributed more fairly, and the current system must be questioned.
More info on 11.be
NGO-FEDERATIE
FLEMISH FEDERATION OF NGOS FOR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION.
The ngo-federation represents its members to the federal and other governments, supports the members in their discussions with those governments, promotes cooperation within the sector, and strengthens the quality of NGOs’ operations.
More info on ngo-federatie.be
VLIRUOS
INNOVATIVE RESPONSES TO GLOBAL AND LOCAL CHALLENGES
VLIRUOS supports partnerships and scholarships between universities and colleges in both Flanders and the Global South, seeking innovative solutions for global as well as local challenges.
More info on vliruos.be
