2019-10-10
On October 1st and 2nd, the "International Seminar on Education, Internet and Human Rights", an initiative built within the scope of the EU-Brazil Sector Dialogues Support Facility, discussed research and case studies that reinforce that digital literacy is the main tool for promoting human rights on the Internet and fighting cybercrime and online bullying.
The civil attaché of the Delegation of the European Union to Brazil, Costanzo Fisogni, congratulated the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights (MMFDH) for the attention given to education within the project. "The topic of human rights and the Internet is very broad, but in order to obtain results, it is important to focus".
Fisogni recalled that "in the past, the industrial revolution brought to light several problems, such as slave labour, union rights, access to education, women's rights. The solutions to these issues were worked on later, creating the framework of human rights. Today, the situation is the opposite. There are consolidated national and international human rights agencies and legislation. The challenge is to include these achievements in the discussions around the Internet and Artificial Intelligence (AI)".
Sérgio Augusto de Queiroz, MMFDH National Secretary of Global Protection, believes that access to the Internet has to be seen as the right to access information. "Digital inclusion is one of the government's priorities," he said. According to him, the discussion around human rights and the Internet is complex because it does not only involve new technologies, but also a new language. That is why digital literacy is essential.
According to Brazilian expert Janara Sousa, professor of communication at the University of Brasilia, access is no longer the only problem when addressing the issue of the Internet and human rights. "The quality of access and the protection of vulnerable groups have also become key issues."
A study undertaken by Janara as part of the Online Violence against Women Dialogues project reveals that the Internet is not a safe place for women. Women and especially girls make up the group which is the most vulnerable to human rights violations on the Internet. Besides hate speech, women face cyberbullying, non-consensual distribution of intimate images, virtual rape, stalking and paedophilia. The consequences are harmful and extend into the real world, with developments that often lead to death, and an increased rate of suicide in this group. "This online violence reveals the ambiguity of the Internet, which, on the one hand, is a place of freedom of expression and the right to communication, culture and free association, and, on the other, is a space of conflicts and arguments, and the most vulnerable groups suffer the most," Janara explained.
The study used data from UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) Brazil that show that 85% of Brazilian girls never sought information on the topic of online violence and safe surfing, reinforcing that there is a need for education on the use of the Internet. Whenever non-consensual distribution of intimate images is involved, 80% of them feel guilty. "There is a lack of studies and research to discuss and typify online violence against women and produce more effective public policies," concluded the expert, who works on a project that aims precisely to fix the problem of digital disinformation, training students and teachers in public schools.
Journalist Vítor Tomé, professor at the Autonomous University of Lisbon and European expert hired by the Dialogues, presented the work he carried out for the project, selecting the entities that were visited during a technical mission of Brazilian specialists to Europe. He also spoke about four literacy models - UNESCO, OECD, European Commission and Council of Europe - all concerned with creating global citizens equipped with digital skills.
The specialist also shared the Portuguese model of educational policy, which, among other things, aims to educate students to become citizens with cultural, scientific and technological literacy, who value the respect for human dignity and who reject all forms of discrimination and social exclusion.
Tomé presented two projects implemented in schools in Portugal that promote digital and media learning. One of them involved communication professionals in the training of teachers to turn them into a kind of digital ambassador, becoming multipliers in the communities where they work. The second project developed activities in schools with students and teachers to promote access and inclusion, learning and creativity, media and information literacy, through playful activities and community newspapers.
Researcher Matheus Puppe, PhD student at Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Germany, spoke about the redefinition of educational needs in the face of new challenges, modern professions, business needs and the government's actions in education. He believes subjects such as coding, digital media, computing, AI and others are now necessary, but not exclusive. "In this new era, teaching about human rights is crucial to unite and prepare the citizens of the future, now citizens of the world - able and ready to understand their neighbours beyond the image on a screen. Only critical and reflective teaching will last and prepare new citizens for the interconnected world," Puppe argued.
During the seminar, several government actions were discussed, including educational and digital literacy actions intended for people with disabilities and the elderly. Other aspects of human rights and the Internet were also addressed, such as internet governance, legislation and regulation.
Photos: MMFDH
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