Girmit - Be Careful What You Sign Up For?
Girmit, a corruption of the word agreement, is a global story of progress and change, with its routes in London. We exist in an age of agreements, with consent boxes on every portal and screen imaginable, our data being harvested like sugarcane. Over 150 years ago a sophisticated system of agreements followed the abolition of slavery. 2021 marks the centenary of the abolition of Girmit, also known as indentured labour. In an age of isolation, when oral histories become our heirlooms, Girmit approaches a complex history with empathy and sensitivity.
This session will bring together a range of international voices; artists, academics, educators and technologists to talk broadly about the way in which agreements govern our lives. Followed by the world premiere of the Girmit 360 Immersive Experience on youtube.
We are developing a Girmit portal which will contain the project assets and become a free global resource to be used for many generations to come. It will also include an Education toolkit which will be free to download and will help support understanding of this difficult period of our history. This toolkit will also be available to schools and communities interested in further exploring this period of history.
How will you deal with varying numbers of participants in your session? –Used to handling all scale of events, last year provided experiences for the official MozFest afterparty.
'It was fab working with you & trading ideas.." Ria Penido, Mozilla Festival 2019 After Party Producer