Language: English (mozilla)
If we lay down the burden of a future-only presumption of what technology is and can be, are we more likely to center people and the environment and develop technologies through which we can survive and thrive? How do we develop strategies for the futures we desire and/or will likely face? In this panel we invite artists, activists, movement strategists, and scientists who are deeply rooted in cultural traditions and ancestral technologies while creating robust present and future tenses.
This session is being livestreamed and can be viewed from the main page of the MozFest Plaza.
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Why did you choose that space? How does your session align with the space description?:N/A
How will you deal with varying numbers of participants in your session? What if 30 participants attend? What if there are 3?:N/A
What happens after MozFest? We're hoping that many efforts and discussions will continue after MozFest. Share any ideas you already have for how to continue the work from your session.:N/A
What language would you like to host your session in?: English
J. Bob Alotta is a veteran movement builder and nonprofit executive working at the intersection of technology and communities.
Prior to joining Mozilla, Bob led the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, a global foundation based in New York City that provides critical resources to LGBTQI+ organizations and individuals around the world. Over eight years, Bob quintupled the global footprint of the organization which makes more grants in the global south and east than any other funder in their sector. She built a funding program aimed specifically at strengthening movements by adding extra support for digital security, data use, and internet freedom to otherwise “non-tech” grants. Bob worked with major funders to bring money into Astraea -- and to influence what else these funders invested in worldwide. And, Bob built bridges between the LGBTQI+ and digital rights worlds.
It was through this last bit of work that Bob met Mozilla: At MozFest and as a Mozilla fellowship host organization. Now serving as Vice President, Global Programs at Mozilla Foundation, Bob brings their experience both building movements, and building bridges across movements. Bob works with allies across the movement to develop clear goals and real momentum on issues like trustworthy AI; helps Mozilla fellows and awardees become stronger community organizers and leaders; and grows the diversity and geographical scope across our programs, with an emphasis on expanding our work outside North America.
TOSHI REAGON(Singer, Composer, Musician, Curator, Producer) is a multi-talented and versatile singer, composer, musician, with a profound ear for sonic Americana—from folk to funk, from blues to rock.
While her expansive career has landed her at Carnegie Hall, the Paris Opera House and Madison Square Garden, you’ll just as easily find Toshi turning up at a music festival, an intimate venue, or at your local club.
L.Franklin Gilliam (they/she) believes that, in a broken world, the vision and creativity of artists are critical to transformative systems change. Gilliam’s combined experiences as an artist, educator, thought leader, and strategist have led to a unique career prototyping the future of art, design, and learning. In addition to their studio practice, Gilliam is the senior design and strategy officer at Lambent Foundation and the board chair at Out in Tech, a global nonprofit supporting LGBTQ+ tech leaders.
Amelia Winger-Bearskin is an artist who innovates with artificial intelligence in ways that make a positive impact on our community and the environment. She is a Banks Family Preeminence Endowed Chair and Associate Professor of Artificial Intelligence and the Arts, at the Digital Worlds Institute at the University of Florida. She is the inventor of Honor Native Sky, a project for the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture: Honor Native Land Initiative. She founded Wampum.Codes which is both an award-winning podcast and an ethical framework for software development based on indigenous values of co-creation. Wampum.codes was awarded a Mozilla Fellowship embedded at the MIT Co-Creation Studio from 2019-2020 and was featured at the 2021 imagineNative festival. She continued her research in 2021 at Stanford University as their artist and technologist in residence made possible by the Stanford Visiting Artist Fund in Honor of Roberta Bowman Denning (VAF) .
Céline Semaan-Vernon is a Lebanese-Canadian designer, writer, advocate and public speaker. She is the founder of Slow Factory, a 501c3 public service organization working at the intersection of environmental and social justice, which produces a conference series promoting sustainability literacy called Study Hall, and the first science-driven incubator in fashion called One X One. She is on the Council of Progressive International, has been a Director's Fellow of MIT Media Lab, and served on the Board of Directors of AIGA NY, a nonprofit membership organization that helps cultivate the future of design in New York City.