This is the first report of the Media Ethics Lab Charrette series, aiming to serve as the springboard for a larger media ethics dialogue. Published by the Media Ethics Lab in partnership with George Brown College’s Institute without Boundaries, this is equally a summary of the charrette findings as it is a blueprint for future discussion and innovation in the field.
Summary of Key Findings
In the MEDIA ETHICS: FUTURE WAYS OF LIVING charrette sessions (27-28-29 June 2019), academics, researchers, policy analysts, media practitioners, and activists were able to highlight key problems within the realms of Digital Equity, Digital Cities, and Digital Literacy, and establish several concrete solutions.
The following is a summary of key findings from the charrette sessions.
Discussion of DIGITAL EQUITY led to the identification of 3 target groups: refugees and involuntary migrants, groups with geographic limitations and incarcerated communities.
- First, a policy program for migrants and refugees must be created to fight stereotypes through access to digital services, involving solutions for language barriers and discrimination.
- Next, to fight the isolation-driven digital disconnect in indigenous and rural communities, a first nation owned telecommunication infrastructure is proposed. The First Nations and rural Telecommunication (FNrT) system would be a community partnership, allowing access and ownership of digital services to those outside of current digital networks.
- A final group to be addressed is incarcerated communities, whose reform must be based around tech education during prison sentences, paired with de-stigmatization and a law shift beyond the current system.
In the realm of DIGITAL CITIES, 3 focus areas were identified: inclusive city systems, designing digital curriculum, and community legislation.
- First, a framework was established for the collaborative design of inclusive systems, encouraging engagement in both physical and digital spaces.
- Next, to design an effective digital curriculum, a process is proposed involving all citizens in the curriculum plan; students, parents, teachers, and educators.
- Finally, community legislation suggests the establishment of a citizen assembly body to discuss issues that arise before the technology is introduced to aid the solution.
Working towards improved DIGITAL LITERACY, a child and youth-focused digital literacy curriculum is proposed. The following are 3 recommended components of curriculum implementation.
- First, mindfulness-focused curriculum materials must be developed to prompt questioning and understanding of our increasingly technological surroundings.
- Next, a multi-disciplinary committee must be formed to advise on policy matters, who will be trained in design and critical thinking and able to analyze and critique policy.
- Finally, social enterprise will be effectively utilized, with entrepreneurs undertaking projects beyond the government’s wheelhouse.
