Join us for a virtual conference to engage in dialogue and sharing about this year's theme: social justice and pandemic in a digital age.

The Build Peace 2020 conference will focus on social justice and the coronavirus pandemic in the digital age as this plays out across three relevant sub-themes: identity polarization, urban space, and surveillance capitalism. Check back regularly for updates to the agenda: we will be adding speakers and sessions on a rolling basis.

How the virtual conference works 

Build Peace 2020 will take place on this virtual platform on November 6 - 8, 2020. You can view the conference program without registering. However, in order to participate in the conference, you will need to get a conference ticket by clicking on the “register” button. Once you have registered, you will receive login credentials for the platform. On the conference days, there will be five types of session available on the platform:

• Plenary sessions will be livestreamed on the conference Main Stage. This will include keynotes, panels, short talks and evening performances. 
• Workshops will be interactive video conference sessions, each one has a different format explained in their description. You must register to attend these (up to 30 participants are allowed per workshop). 
• Networking events are online meet-ups where you will be paired with one other participant for a few minutes, then move on to someone else -- kind of like speed-dating. You must register to attend these. 
• Expo booths will be available for viewing throughout the conference, showcasing products, projects and art related to the conference theme. You can pop in at any time to view the content, and there will be pre-designated times to chat with exhibitors. 
• The Unconference will be a space where any participant can offer to lead a session (guidelines on how to propose and run sessions are on the platform).

Build Peace 2020 Program Themes

Digital technologies are already having an effect on how identities are lived, on the shape of the urban realm, and on the use of surveillance to express and sustain socio-economic inequality. The pandemic is now amplifying these inequities. The externalities associated with the pandemic (such as misinformation) and the associated response (such as increased surveillance) are likely to be long lasting. The pandemic happening in a digital age is raising a set of particular social justice issues. 

We will explore the effects of digital technologies on social landscapes that have been affected by the pandemic and a variety of social justice issues. We will also share initiatives that use digital technologies, creative solutions and social innovations to address these same social justice dynamics. We will organize our inquiry across three sub-themes

Identity Polarization

How are digital technologies influencing the formation and deconstruction of identities and identity-based conflict? How has the pandemic interacted with identity polarisation? How does this affect power dynamics related to identity? What are the initiatives that are utilizing technologies and other social innovations to challenge polarization in online spaces and offline?

Urban Space

How are digital technologies influencing the organisation of and conflict around urban space, and how does the digital divide affect power dynamics in urban space? How has the pandemic interacted with these conflicts around urban space? What are the initiatives that are utilizing technologies and other social innovations to address conflicts around urban space?

Surveillance Capitalism

How is the rise of surveillance capitalism affecting other conflict dynamics? How has the pandemic interacted with surveillance capitalism? How does this affect power dynamics related to socio-economic justice? What are the initiatives that are utilizing technologies and other social innovations to challenge securitization and defend privacy?