Colour of Surveillance Europe Conference

Racialised people in Europe are systematically discriminated against, over-surveilled, and underprotected in all areas of public life. Increasing resort to security, surveillance and digital ‘solutions’ are likely to worsen these trends, further monitoring, judging and harming racialised and marginalised groups. What will increased digital surveillance mean for our resistance against oppressive systems in Europe?

European Digital Rights, in partnership with Bits of Freedom , Controle Alt Delete and Digital Freedom Fund are now organising a European Colour of Surveillance Conference.  The conference will explore the intersections between racism and surveillance and is aimed at making new connections between racial justice and digital rights groups to join efforts in resisting racism and surveillance. The Colour of Surveillance conference was initially developed by the Center of Privacy and Technology at the University of Georgetown (US). 1

Objectives of the conference

• Raising awareness of the issue of racialised surveillance and criminalisation in Europe.
• Building connections and facilitating collaborative efforts between those organising on these issues.

Dates and location

The conference will take place on 15 and 16 of September 2022, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. There will be a livestream on EDRi’s website for you to follow the discussion during Day 1 live on EDRi’s website.

Structure

Day 1: Panels

The day will bring together a broader audience, including activists, researchers, funders, journalists and others engaged in the fields of racial justice, digital rights and anti-surveillance. This day will set the context with various panels, screenings and discussions. These will explore key themes, issues, tensions and current organising linking these topics.

Day 2: Workshops

A closed space for organisers impacted by surveillance and racism. Participants will meet in self-led workshops, discussions, and planning sessions to build relationships with each other, share analysis and lived experience, explore intersections between their work, and also encourage concrete reflection on ‘what’s next’. All participants in day 2 of the convening will also be supported to attend the first day of the convening. 

Themes

The aim of the conference is to go beyond critique alone, and center ongoing resistance to surveillance and racism as well as concrete proposals and alternatives.

The first Colour of Surveillance Europe conference will focus on the topic of criminalisation, and will bring together three key themes under this umbrella:

   1. Migration and border technologies

   2. Data driven policing (offline and online)

   3. AI as a tool of austerity (labour, social services)

Illustrations credit: Vidushi Yadav

1This conference was inspired by the work of the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown University (US) but is not affiliated or organised in conjunction with them. To find out more about this conference see: https://www.law.georgetown.edu/privacy-technology-center/events/color-of-surveillance-2019/

Content Committee

We are grateful to the support and guidance of our content committee members who engaged in reviewing and selecting sessions for the Colour of Surveillance Europe conference.