The 2014 Information Without Borders conference, organized by Master of Library and Information Studies students, features an exceptional lineup of speakers on Privacy, Security, & Surveillance: Developments and Challenges in the Information Age. The conference will be held in the McInnes Room of the Student Union Building on Thursday of this week.
Dr. Carolyn Watters, Dalhousie Vice President (Academic and Provost), will open the conference, followed by a keynote address by Dr. Ron Deibert, speaking on The Internet after Snowden. An international expert on surveillance, Dr. Deibert began documenting and warning Canadians and citizens everywhere about invasive surveillance activities before the extraordinary revelations of whistleblower, Edward Snowden. Professor of Political Science and Director of the Canada Centre for Global Security Studies and the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University Toronto, Ron Deibert is a frequent commentator in media reports on privacy and surveillance issues.
Break-out sessions will feature: Prof. Wayne MacKay, Schulich School of Law, Is Privacy Dead in the Age of Social Media and Technology, and Dr. Mike Smit, School of Information Management, Privacy, New Technology, and the Ongoing Conflict.
A panel on Multidisciplinary Issues in Privacy will include Creighton Barrett (Digital Archivist, Dalhousie University), Charmain Borg (NDP Digital Issues Critic and MP for Terreboone-Blainville, Quebec), David Fraser (Internet, Technology and Privacy Lawyer, Halifax), and Alison Shea (Privacy Officer/FOIPOP Administrator, Capital Health District Authority)
Three MLIS students will present papers on privacy themes: Marc Harper – How 1984 is Happening in the 21st Century: North Korea’s Kim Dynasty is Watching; Hilary Lynd – Eyes in The Shadows: Investigating Blanket Surveillance and the Case for Privacy; and Lee Wilson – Much Ado About Data: Privacy and Information Control in the Age of Social Media.
The conference will conclude with an address by Dr. Jacquelyn Burkell (Western University) on I’m Worried about my Mom, not the Government: Managing Personal Privacy in an Age of the Internet.
Further details about the conference are available at this link.