The Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit Regional office South Asia organized a regional seminar on "Promoting Liberty Digitally" in Sri Lanka from 15th to 17th October 2016. I was asked to speak on "Digital transformation and the role of Civil Society in Sri Lanka" and to be present at a group discussion on "Civil rights and the Internet".

1. Digital transformation and the
role of civil society in Sri Lanka
Sanjana Hattotuwa
Centre for Policy Alternatives
TED Fellow Alumn

2. media landscape what’s out there today

3. 1.13 billion daily active users on average for June
2016
350 million photos uploaded every day
Approximately 84.5% of daily active users are
outside the US and Canada

7. • Not everyone needs to be connected to web to be
influenced by it
• The influence of content on social media in
particular, and online content in general, extends to
groups well beyond those who are directly
connected to, and participating in these online
networks.
• This also puts to rest the often quoted myth that
since Internet penetration is relatively low in the
country, content shared online has little to no
footprint in the larger public consciousness.

8. mobile first design and develop for mobile

9. CSO & digital activism three key drivers

10. unlimited storage bounded only by imagination

11. broadband faster and cheaper web access

12. smartphones ubiquitous production

13. what’s new?
• Ubiquity of two way communications
• Addressable peoples, even those who IDPs or refugees
• Disintermediated models vs. traditional media model
• People as producers
• Low resolution, hyperlocal helps focus and granularity
• Aggregation of low resolution helps macro analysis and
strategy

14. instagram mobile photography

15. everydaysrilanka rotation curation, multiple
perspectives

16. abdul halik-azziz research, insight, perspective
and photography

17. abdul halik-azziz research, insight, perspective
and photography

18. right to the city instagram for activism

19. whatsapp instant messaging for
advocacy

21. remembering the politics of memory online

26. visualising hidden narratives

27. The end of war
Zero civilian casualties vs. ground realities

28. Mass graves
From 2009 to end of 2011

30. storytelling new ways of voicing the
inconvenient

38. identity using video for activism

48. elections monitoring, voter education,
mobilisation, alerts

53. online video using video for activism

54. drone video using drones for situation
awareness, perspective

55. 360 video immersive content

56. facebook live live feed from anywhere

57. facebook live global phenomenon

58. facebook video going viral over mobile

59. facebook video long-tail, high engagement

61. critical questions who controls the content?

62. constant partial attention a tsunami of information

63. the dopamine effect less is more?

64. activism vs. surveillance the tension between privacy
and advocacy

65. identity online
the tension between anonymity
leading to trolling, and need for
anonymity

66. crisis of the imagination
inability to envision creative
ways of engaging, without
funding

67. slacktivism how do you move from clicks
to meaningful engagement?

69. Their stories matter
Tech secondary

70. thank you
sanjanah@gmail.com