Resistance, Liberation Technology and Human Rights in the Digital Age

                This post is a summary of the book with the title above published in 2013 at   https://cryptome.org/2013/03/hacking-digital-dissidence.pdf

                 The possibility of using all types of tech available to mankind for contributing to political and social changes and of contrasting oppressive dictatorships, and even authority, has been since the very first activities of universities hackers in California during the 1960s, a fascinating and inspiring issue. The idea that computers might not only assist humans, but might also allow the expansion of cognitive capacities and most transparent diffusion of information useful for progress and democracy, first took root in the theories of the protest movements in the 1960s. It seems that there is a very clear common thread connecting those first ideas of the 1960s with events occurring now in different parts of the world, where various platforms are becoming support tools for individuals who not only need to seek knowledge beyond state filters, but also see in these tech, an opportunity to seek freedom in contexts that tend to limit it. The common thread, mentioned above, thus comes even more into focus: these activists are among the few who rightly deserve the name today. They outwit technological barriers imposed by authorities and corporations, attack global surveillance systems, fight for cultural liberties and for the free flow of ideas. The evolution from the ideas that are at the basis of these new activities to actual digital resistance. A strategy aimed at unlocking a corporation, a state or even an entire legal or political system for the purpose of benefitting humanity, is one of the most interesting aspects of communication tech in the modern world. Political systems which base their powers on barriers, are destined to cede and become increasingly transparent in their actions. The introduction of content considered to be improper will be increasingly difficult to avoid. This will result, as it nearly always has, in increased pluralism, democracy and innovation, but also, in some cases, in violent reactions and in systematic violations of human rights. These tech began to help people to gain access to restricted information and to form a political consciousness. People became more informed, more information brought greater security in expressing opinions or led people to expose themselves more. At the same time, this new consciousness increased the level of education and the level of understanding of events. Open governments projects and government data access portals are countless grassroots projects, developed to encourage the transparency and accountability of government activities, improving democracy, combating corruption and waste in the use of resources and protecting fundamental rights. There are often projects to overcome public sector limitations, with an aim to utilize collaborative monitoring as an instrument for improving both the delivery of public services and community well-being. Projects promoting both transparency as part of the political process and the accountability of government  through the simple mechanism of aggregation of public data are increasingly widespread. Collaborative monitoring has proved to be a powerful weapon in the defense of transparency and democracy for political and legislative activities as well. Electors now have at their disposition a vast array of tools that allow citizens to oversee democratic process. Common citizens today have in their hands, the most powerful instrument ever invented to protect free speech,  to guarantee the confidentiality of our personal data, to focus attention in the public sector projects, to guarantee the free circulation of information on a scale and with an effectiveness never before even imaginable. They have in their hands the tools to inspire the rethinking of concepts of censorship, secrecy, wiretaps, intellectual property, the free circulation of knowledge and culture. It is no coincidence that two of today's catchwords, both on the web and off, are "citizen journalism" and "personal democracy." A number of powers that have traditionally been reserved for political and social castes and unapproachable center of power are now coalescing into the hands of the people. There is a sort of "race for technology" on both sides. Adopting a general categorization, created in the U.S. incorporated by the Eletronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) into the structure of their website, and taken up by the majority of activists today, the five principals fields of action of digital resistance can be seen as: 1) The defense of free speech.  2) The protection of innovation and progress in the social fabric.  3) The reform of intellectual property laws.  4) The protection of privacy.  5) The pursuit of governmental transparency.  Internet has become, in the modern age, the most important platform for free speech and the free of thought, and must be, respected in the digital domain just as they are protected by countless constitutions throughout the world. Regarding privacy involves a number of issues that are compelling because they touch upon the most intimate aspects of our lives as human beings. It is clear that new tech are leading to further development of individual rights and liberties, but at the same time, also permit an invasion of the private sphere that is without precedent. From mobile phone which allow us to be tracked to the visibility of the terms we look up on search engines, privacy in the digital world must be respected, and balanced with other individual rights. Each year the Tech Review, MIT's famous journal, honors innovators who are changing the world of tech. The winner of 2010 was David Kobia, a 35 year-old Kenyan who had left his country to study computer science at the University of Alabama, and who is one of the creators of the open source project "Testimony". His project collects eyewitness reports, messages, blog entries, and citizen journalism pieces and places them on an interactive map not only to denounce electoral fraud, or episodes of violence, but also make such deeds known to the entire world. The software is as ingenious as it is easy to use. Based on the idea of the eyewitness, it provides visual testimonies to events occurring in those areas of the world stricken by critical social or political conditions. Today extremely powerful tech is truly available and within physical reach of us all. Anyone who desire to make their voices heard, who intend to take advantage of tech for the common good, for opposition, for activism, can now do so with no other investment than his or her own culture, skill, and imagination. The idea that all information should be free is a central tenet of the hacker ethic and is fundamental to activists way of thought. If there is no access to information, with a view to improving existing tech, the entire systems will collapse. The free exchange of information serves to augment the collective creativity and save energy. Hackers were convinced that the best way to achieve a world based on the free circulation of information was to guarantee an open system to advance their path toward knowledge. Bureaucracy was perceived as a hostile and damaging phenomenon, to be overcome, whether it be at a university, local or national government, or a multinational corporation. All of these factors: bureaucracy, the centralization of power in the hands of government, and dehumanization, are nothing more than defective and dangerous systems, given that they are incapable of facilitating the natural instinct to explore knowledge and culture. The fear that eletronic voting system based on the use of obscure code might reveal damaging flaws, is highly topical in a number of areas of the world and in the thoughts of many ordinary citizens who use these systems when they go to the polls. A distrust towards the efficiency of eletronic voting system is evident in a 2006 documentary, "Hacking Democracy", which garnered an Emmy prize for investigative journalism. This documentary represents a forceful critique of eletronic electoral system. The protagonists are a number of citizens investigating anomalies in the e-voting system during the 2004 election, especially in Florida. Bruce Schneier, security expert, identifies the eletronic devices as a threat to a clear referendum process. Being computer-based, voluntary or accidental actions of a few could affect the entire system. The solution, in Schneier's opinion resides in providing printed voting receipts to every voter at any time, which may subsequently be verified and even counted again if necessary. In short, the ideal would be to use these machines only as systems capable of generating a voting track. The recording of voting should be as simple as possible, the systems should be standards, the votes should be verifiable, and copies should be available on paper, and all computer code used in voting machines should be made public and examined to detect any errors. A fully independent security study of a voting machine, including its hardware and software, shows that the machine is vulnerable. For example, the the authors of the study note, anyone who obtains access to a machine, or its removable memory card, for as little as one minute, could install malicious code on a machine could steal votes undetectably, modifying all records, logs and counters to be consistent with the fraudulent vote. Anybody with access to these machines could also create malicious code that spread automatically from machine to machine, a sort of virus. The authors have constructed working demonstrations of these frauds in their laboratories. 

The International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims - 2021

                             Last Wednesday, precisely on 24th March, the world celebrated the day to remember the victims of human rights violations and their fight for truth, justice and dignity. So, this post is a tribute to all victims that suffered injustice and died without have it, to all human rights defenders who helps to bring justice and truth for anyone looking for them, and to all victims that are fighting now for truth, justice and dignity. We all should participate in this fight because as I said before, it is very important to fight against injustice. Without justice the violations could spread and reach you and we all would become slaves in the nightmare called dystopia that would become a new system increasingly difficult to combat. Therefore, help fight human rights violations and injustice, when many abuses have systematically been done for so long time the justice is even more important.  Do not think you are unreachabel and the evil will never reach you and your family. Even if the suffering of other do not annoy you, think in yourself and protect you helping to do justice with the violations happening now. The systematic violations, the impunity, the daily bullying in the mainstream media, the threats online and offline exist to do the victims give up to fight for justice and reparations. Besides, the violations, the systematic abuses, the daily humiliation and the impunity can have a dehumanizing effect in the population, trying us accept what can not be accepted, do not let this happen to you, the solidarity and the emphaty are the essence of the human being. We need them to a better world. This post is a summary of four articles. The first was published at   https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/secretary-generals-message-the-international-day-for-the-right-the-truth-concerning-gross-human-rights-violations-and-for-the-dignity-of-victims-scroll-down-for-french-version. The second was published at  https://kubatana.net/2021/03/24/commemoration-of-the-international-day-for-the-right-to-the-truth-concerning-gross-human-rights-violations-and-for-the-dignity-of-victims/. The third was published at   https://www.carpeglobal.com/event/international-day-for-the-right-to-the-truth-concerning-gross-human-rights-violations-and-for-the-dignity-of-victims/2022-03-24/. The fourth was published at  https://www.rycowb.org/?p=9897

              Today we commemorate the life of Monsignor Oscar Romero, who was murdered for his vocal opposition to inequality, marginalization and injustice in El Salvador. We honour all victims and survivors of human rights violations around the world. We reaffirm and celebrate their dignity by acknowledging their experiences, by renewing our commitment to justice and remedy for them, and by pledging to do everything in our power to prevent any recurrence of such crimes. Acknowledgment, justice, and prevention can only begin with uncovering and acknowledging the facts. Without truth, there can be no justice or reparation. A public accounting of the truth surrounding the perpetration of human rights abuses enables societies to address their underlying causes. Today, as we honour those who experienced such abuses, let us reflect on what each of us can do to prevent serious human rights violations in our own societies. Let us reach out to others, listen to them, find common ground and overcome divisions. The truth is an empowering and healing force. We embrace it for the past, the present and the future.                                                                                                  Today, the National Transitional Justice Working Group (NTJWG) joins the rest of the world in commemorating the International day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims. Today the NTJWG stands with survivors and victims of past conflict acknowledging their right to know the truth about what.  transpired during the various periods of human rights violations. The commemoration of this day signifies a global recognition that survivors, victims, their families, and society have the right to know regarding gross human rights violations.  This year's commemoration of this important day come at a time when there is increase in discourse about the past and the need for exhumations and reburials of the remains of victims of past conflict in Zimbabwe. An exhumations policy would have to take cognisance of the right to truth and facilitate for exhumations and reburial processes to be carried out in a manner that will enable the families of victims of past conflict and society to finally know the truth about what happened in the past. The NTJWG implores to ensure that processes dealing with the past are driven by the desire to promote truth-telling and truth-seeking as these are key to national healing. Furthermore, the NTJWG calls upon the government of Zimbabwe to demonstrate its sincerity to deal with the past by providing the support it needs to uncover the truth about the past and help victims, survivors and their families, and the nation find closure and healing.                                                                       This day pays tribute to the memory of Monsignor Oscar Romero, who was murdered on march 24th, 1980. Monsignor romero was actively engaged in denouncing violations of the human rights of the most vulnerable individuals in El Salvador. The purpose of this day is to remember those victims of systematic human rights abuses and recognize those who dedicate their lives to fighting injustice.                                                                                                                                                                                              This commemorative day was established by the U.N. General Assembly on December 21, 2010, to honor the memory of victims of gross and systematic human rights violations, as well as to promote the importance of the right to truth and justice. Furthermore, this day pays tribute to those who have devoted their lives to, and lost their lives in the struggle to promote and protect human rights for all. On this  day, Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) draws attention to the fact that reconciliation results from a comprehensive and constructive approach to dealing with the past through truth. By opening the path to justice, acceptance and healing, truth helps to overcome divisive narratives, address the causes of conflicts and prevent their recurrence. Moreover, truth, justice and reconciliation are not only a matter of democratic governance and state policy. They are, above all, the responsibility of each citizen, which strives to live in a region that is safe, democratic, peaceful and respecful of human rights.

Who Will Be Accountable?

                This post is a summary of the book with the title above, published at    https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/WhoWillBeAccountable_summary_en.pdf

               The Millennium Development Goals embodies on unprecedented international consensus on poverty reduction as a shared global enterprise, framed around a limited set of commitments to which countries would be held accountable. By setting quantifiable, time-bound targets around a range of indicators, they instilled a shared sense of urgency and provide a statistical basis for reliably  tracking progress across countries. The goals, thereby, held promise as an instrument of accountability and an incentive to action. However, the experience of the past 12 years indicates that their pledge of accountability has been more rhetorical than real. Accountability has been undermined by a lack of clarity about who should be responsible to whom and for what. The weakness of the goals' monitoring and reporting mechanisms has rendered these declaratory political commitments difficult to enforce. The world is weary of broken promises. Future commitments will have litle credibility, and are unlikely to be implemented, unless they are backed by effective accountability mechanisms at every level and translated into tangible results in people's lives. Aligning goals more explicity with the binding obligations States already have under international human rights treaties is not only a legal imperative. It can also strengthen incentives to improve policymaking and implementation. In line with these recommendations, the post-2015 agenda must include a strong accountability framework anchored in human rights standards and reinforce by human rights mechanisms. It will mean ensuring mechanisms are in place to ensure that relevant institutions are answerable for their commitments and subject to enforceability where delivery is falling. And it will mean linking accountability assessments to existing international human rights mechanisms, like the United Nations treaty bodies. Accountability is a cornerstone of the human rights framework, itself a system of norms that govern the relationship between "duty bearers" in authority and "rights holders" affected by their actions. Effort to increase accountability in the post-2015 agenda can draw on human rights norms and mechanisms to strengthen the three dimensions of accountability. Accountability has a corrective function, making it possible to address individual or collective grievances, and sanction wrongdoing by the institutions responsible. However, accountability also has a preventive function, helping to determine which aspects of policy or service delivery are working, so they can be built on, and which aspects need to be adjusted. Accountability mechanisms can help identify systemic failures that need to be overcome in order to make policymaking more effective and responsive. The bond of accountability between state and citizen lies at the centre of an elaborate web of interrelated responsibilities. A vast number of national institutions with distinct responsibilities defined in domestic statutes and administrative law, are responsible and accountable for the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and their impact on human rights. Accountability is primarily ensured at the national level. A range of institutions and machanisms exist that can and have been used to hold decision makers answerable for their commitments. These include political accountability mechanisms, such as parliamentary committees, independent oversight bodies, including human rights commissions and ombuds offices. When individuals are adversely affected, mechanisms should enable them to enforce their claim against those in authority and seek appropriate redress if their rights have been violated. Judicial mechanisms are key in this regard. Despite the obstacle that people can face in accessing justice through the courts, litigation can be an important avenue of accountability, whose function is preventive as well as corrective. Beyond the courts, other administrative mechanisms may perform quasi-judicial functions, providing alternative dispute resolution procedures for human rights violations. International accountability mechanisms generally have a supervisory or oversight role, rather than an enforcement function. Yet they can play an important role in fostering responsibility, for example by agreeing targets and benchmarks that can be applied domestically. They can also strengthen answerability, for example, by scrutinizing whether adequate national mechanisms of redress exist. They offer additional forums for raising and negotiating grievances, and are particularly helpful to individuals whose opinions are disregarded by their own governments. International human rights mechanisms such as the universal periodic review of the United Nations Human Rights Council, should be enabled to take more consistent account of monitoring and reporting processes. As well as focusing on the conduct of national actors in their own countries, international accountability mechanisms also have a role to play in ensuring the accountability of those operating at the global level, including non-state actors, which are playing an increasingly influential role. Human rights should be the baseline and metric for assessment of domestic and international policy coherence. There is much to be done. A new global deal is needed. Its ultimate objective should be to realize the full range of rights that all human beings should enjoy in order to live a life with dignity.

Unfulfilled Promises: Latin America Today

                This post is a summary of the book with the title above, published in 2019 at   https://www.thedialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/unfulfilled-promises-english-new.pdf

                 In 1992, in commemoration of the 500-year anniversary of Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the Americas, Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes penned one of the most notable essays ever written on Ibero-American history entitled "The Buried Mirror". Yet it is fair to say that the image of that unfinished building continues to be the most accurate depiction of Latin America reality. Our inability to carry out plans and objectives, our difficulty in finishing tasks, our propensity to improvise continue to be the signs of our predicament. These problems are not exclusive to Latin America, but we can think of few other places where there is such s strong sense of wasted opportunities. Latin America is a region identified with unfulfilled promise, untapped potential, and unfinished business. Throughout history, some Latin America countries have stood at the threshold of success. Argentina by the first two decades of the 20th century ranked among the 10 richest nations in the world. But the most visible and tragic example of economic and social decline is Venezuela. By 1970, this country had become the richest in Latin America and it was among the 20 richest in the world. In contrast, today, with a inflation of one million percent and a GDP growth rate of -15% for 2018, Venezuela is suffering a humanitarian crisis of severe shortages of food, medicine, medical supplies, and thousands of Venezuelans flee the country daily. This erratic trajectory of some countries in the region is evident not only in our economic performance but also in our political development. Periods of stability and institutional consolidation have been interrupted by episodes of authoritarian rule, repression and human rights violations. Regarding the economy, we must admit that something positive that has happened is the consolidation of macroeconomic and fiscal responsibility in most L.A. countries. Economic growth was also impressive by the beginning of the current century. Between 2003 and 2011, overall per capita income rose by 3% and our share in the world economy rose from 5% to 8%. However, since 2013 the tide has turned. Ever since L.A. boom came to a end, some countries have struggled to avoid negative GDP while others have faced minimal growth. The most visible reasons behind this downturn were external: prices for primary goods and commodities dropped and demand went down and external financing conditions became scarce and expensive. However, there were certainly more reasons behind the downturn such as low productivity and lack of competitiveness of our economies. Analyzing the response to corruption helps determine the health and maturity of the rule of law. In December 2016, following the remarkable progress made by Brazilian prosecutors, the U.S. department of Justice revealed that from 2001 to 2016 Odebrecht paid some US$788 million in bribes across 10 Latin American countries. Brazil and Peru have prosecuted and convicted prominent politicians and businesspeople. But in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Venezuela, impunity has been the rule. The checked progress made in the anti-corruption fight shows how much remains to be done to fully guarantee court independence and transform the political culture. Moreover, some politicians under investigations are using their clout to escalate polarization and question the justice system. Latin America's violence problem is the subject of considerable global debate. Latin American states and cities routinely rank among the world's most murderous. The regional homicide rate is at least three times the global average, and citizens routinely list insecurity among their top concerns. 43 of the 50 cities with the highest homicide rates on the planet are found in Latin America. Criminal violence is multifactoral: several variables influence the scale and dynamics of lethal and nonlethal violence in Latin America. Among these are poverty and inequality, unemployment, low-quality education, high impunity rates, and social norms condoning violence against women and girls. Other homicide triggers include rapid unregulated urbanization, the penetration of gangs, drug trade, and access to alcohol and illicit firearms. In Brazil, the rate of convictions to homicides is 8 in 100. The abundance of unlicensed firearms are also associated with the region's disproportionately high burden of gun violence. Transparent civilian oversight of the region's law enforcement and justice institutions is a precondition for restoring their credibility and legitimacy. Positive outcomes will require enlightened leadership and robust citizen engagement. The successes have arisen when policies are sustained across multiple electoral terms and are genuinely owned by local populations. What is driving the sustained increase in labor income in Latin America? Recent trends show that the wage gap between low- and high-skilled workers is becoming smaller. The average gap between college-educated workers and workers with only primary schooling declined from about 330% to 240% since 2003. First, and foremost, is the expansion in educational achievement. Second, during the period 2005-2015, there were significant widespread improvements in real minimum wages, which rose an average of 42%. The Andean countries experienced the highest increases, followed by those of the Southern Cone. Third, many countries also implemented labor policies designed to improve youth's skills and foster women's labor participation. At the same time, itt has a wide gap between the pool of available skills and those skills that economies and businesses require. In Latin America, around 50% of formal firms do not find employees with the skills they need. This is a particularly pressing issue in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. Another big issue concerns the behavioral and political changes needed to dismantle exclusions. Citizens security and violence challenges have not abated with the booming economic growth. While there is much work to be done on changes in social and cultural norms will need to match the magnitude of the challenge. A common theme of the past 15 years has been pushing the frontiers of social policy beyond social transfers. Labor, productive and industrial policy are part of the ecosystem of policies that create incentives for human capital. The socioeconomic landscape of Latin America is evolving, but so are the policies that affect the shape of its landmarks. The first decade of the 21st century brought new hope with an economic boom in South America, fueled by China's appetite for commodities. This expansion allowed governments to increase public spending, create social programs, and preside over a reduction in poverty and even inequality in some countries. At the time of publishing this book, however, most of Latin America is once again grappling with frustations and a sense of lost opportunities. Between 2003 and 2013, governments were focused on responding to pressing social demands and, blinded by their own electoral success, acted as if the boom were going to last forever, rather than being a temporal and unique opening. Most Latin America countries did not implement reforms to improve productivity, diversify exports away from raw materials, or increase the efficiency of the state apparatus. Again Latin America sacrificed its future on the altar of the present. On the rule of law, Catalina Botero reminds us of the progress Latin America has made in leaving behind a tragic cycle of military dictatorships, internal conflicts, and human rights violations. Today, most countries in the region are democracies, and two of them, Costa Rica and Uruguay, are among the most robust democracies in the world. Anti-corruption movements in many countries have had mixed effects on Latin America democracies. On the one hand, judicial work against corruption, in part connected to the lava jato case in Brazil, has proven the strength of rule-of-law institutions. On the other, the endless succession of scandals has eroded the legitimacy of democratic rule in the eyes of their citizens. In Latin America countries, state institutions are concentrated in main cities, virtually ignoring the millions who live outside these "islands." Moreover, the concentration of power in the executive branch limits the ability of governments to reach meaningful consensus with civil society. Only by building efficient, decentralized, legitimate, and inclusive institutions will Latin American countries to be able to strengthen the rule of law and restore their citizens' trust in democracy, contain violence and crime, reduce socioeconomic inequalities, implement forward-looking policies, and design mechanisms to deepen regional and global integration.

Data Privacy Day 2021 - Part II

                          This post is a summary of two articles. The first was published at https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/94458-what-to-prioritize-this-data-privacy-day. The second was published at https://is.richmond.edu/infosec/dataprivacyday/index.html

                  Isabelle Dumont, Vice President of Market Engagement at Cowbell Cyber said, "the digital footprint of people and business has expanded exponentially over the past year because of the pandemic and remote work. We spend more time online, connecting through video conferences, shopping on e-commerce sites, or sharing stories in online communities. Data privacy Day in 2021 is a great reminder and an opportunity for all to assess and fine-tune how they engage online so that both personal and professional information remain safe." Brendan O'Connor, CEO and Co-Founder at AppOmni said, "The way organizations store data has shifted rapidly to the cloud. At the same time, sensitive data has grown in scope and complexity. They have evolved into complex platforms that provide access not only to internal users, but also to external users, 3rd party apps, contractors, and managed service providers. In short, there are now more access points to data housed in the cloud. Unfortunately, these access points are often unknown, or simply overlooked, by enterprise security teams. This has created a massive opportunity for attackers to exploit these applications, which is why we have seen so many successful hacks in recent months. Howard Taylor, CISO said, "the growth of the digital economy, accelerated by the pandemic, has forced the world to provide more and more personal information online. Customers, business and governments must adjust to effectively manage personal relationships in the digital world. These three bodies must work together to develop a balanced, practical approach, menabling the beneficial flow of personal information, while stemming problematic activities. Adrian Moir, Engineer at Quest Software said, "with a change in working practices comes an opportunity to look closer at the impact of data privacy. With a distributed workforce, there are issues surrounding differing threat vectors and data usage that may compromise data privacy. Consider now that you may have hundreds or thousands of workers at home sharing their network with devices that do not meet corporate standards.  Human involvement has a lot to do with a level of data privacy breach. It is important to educate your workers and reinforce your data protection and privacy policies and provide solution deemed suitable to sustaining the new working culture. Saket Modi, CEO at Lucideus said, "we are stepping into an era that is more digital-dependent than ever before. The ethical and moral responsabilities that come with its abundance have rested with governments and the corporate world, the user (consumer) has to start sharing the onus. They need to take control of their digital footprint and privacy. They must know, objectively and in real time, what they expose online, devices they own, along with staying updated with modern leveraged by cybercriminals to misuse data. To that end they can start safeguarding some of the most recurring pain points. Andrew Sellers, Chief Technology Office and Co-founder at QOMPLX, said, "this year's Data Privacy Day will allow us a collective moment to reflect on how COVID-19 has impact the privacy landscape. Companies have quickly responded to a new working culture as they faced economic uncertainty and social movements. For many of us, working from home and contact tracing have become part of our new normal during this pandemic. In the age of surveillance capitalism, as Shoshana Zuboff has termed our times, many uses of these technologies are not anonymized and are far less benevolent. Consumers are becoming more aware of these issues and are becoming to hold companies accountable with their purchasing patterns by demanding products that include end-to-end encryption that users can manage. As wonderful and enabling as new tech has the potential to be, Data Privacy Day is yet a good reminder that we must also be aware of what is at stake as we collectively work toward a better future." David Blonder, Data protection Officer at Blackberry said, "the pandemic has forced organizations to implement a long-term remote work strategy to meet the ongoing needs of their customers, partners and employees. To address the unprecedented challenges of home-office, many organizations have looked to tech solutions to support their digital transformation. As we celebrate Data Privacy Day , it is important for organizations to understand that we all play a vital role in protecting privacy and personal data. To have a connected future, organizations must secure, protect and respect the personal data of customers, partners and employees, not only to differentiate themselves, but to create a relationship of trust, confidence and loyalty. Adam Mayer, Senior Manager at Qlik said, "real-time data is one of the most valuable resources for modern businesses; it enables organizations to make the right decision in the business moment. A holistic approach to data governance is needed to ensure that organizations are able to harness real-time data insights without privacy issues arising. Understanding the data lineage, managing user aceess through a data catalogue, as well as providing data education so that people understand how to responsibly draw from and use different data sources, are key to ensuring that operating at the speed of business won't contribute towards creating new compliance concerns.                                                                           Data privacy Day brings together businesses and private citizens to share the best strategies for protecting private information. The 2021 Data Privacy Day theme is "Own Your Privacy." Each year, data breaches continue to grow in size and scope, exposing consumer's private data and valuable business information assets. Against this backdrop, Data Privacy Day helps spread awareness about privacy and educates citizens on how to secure their personal information. It also works to encourage businesses to be more transparent about how they collect and use data. University of Richmond is a Data Privacy Day Champion. And as a champion, recognizes and support the principle that all organizations share the responsibility of being conscientious stewards of personal information. UR joins the growing global effort among nonrpofits, academic institutions, corporations, government entities and individuals to raise awareness at home, at work and school and in their communities. All Data Privacy Day Champions are working toward the common goal of improving individual and business consciousness toward respecting privacy, safeguarding data and enabling trust.

Data Privacy Day 2021

                          Almost one month ago, precisely on 28th January, in North America and Europe was celebrated one of the most basic and important human right, the right to privacy.  All over the world they understand the importance of privacy to a dignified life, to autonomy, to security, to a life without harm, bullying, huge stress, unjustified annoying, drag and intrusive situation.   We must all fight for this right, because with its violation many others rights are also violated. If you want to have an idea about its importance, imagine your life without your privacy. All dimensions of a person's life is harmed, his relationships, his employability, his socialization, his entrepreneurship, his health, his anonymity,  there is not one aspect of the person that is not affected. And it is not only the individual that suffers, the democracy, the rule of law, and the trust in the institutions are also damaged.  One more reason we need combat the human rights violations, the violators could think that they are able to do more and more. This is why can not have impunity in so serious violations, like privacy`s violations. Everybody should understand why we all need to fight against violations of human rights. And when they happened, we all must fight for reparation to the victims. If you saw a privacy's violation, record it, and be a witness. The justice needs all of us. This post is a summary of two articles, the first was published at   https://informationsecurity.princeton.edu/DPD. The second was published at https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/94458-what-to-prioritize-this-data-privacy-day

                                In celebration of International Data Privacy Day and collaboration with the Center for Digital Humanities' Privacy Initiative, Princeton University's Information Security Office will discuss several software applications that were developed with privacy in mind. In 2020, the world's citizens experienced a broad spectrum of events that disrupted people's lives, from economic turbulence, to the pandemic, to social movements, environmental disasters, and much more. While technology has raced to lead and respond to these times of change, data privacy practices are often left behind, leaving individuals to wonder just how private their data is. Data Privacy Day 2021 will look at privacy through the lens of the various changes we have faced in the past year, and will not only provide a survey of the current privacy landscape, but expert insights on where we as individuals and organizations can improve.                                                       Data Privacy Day is a global effort, taking place annually on January 28th, that generates awareness about the importance of privacy, highlight easy ways to protect personal information and reminds organizations that privacy is good for business. Data Privacy Day began in North America in January 2008 as an extension of the Data Protection Day in Europe. Individuals today feel an increasing lack of control over their personal data. In fact, according to a recent research, 79% of U.S. adults report being concerned about the way their data is being used by companies. Tim Wade, Technical Director at Vectra said, "it is not by accident that social considerations of privacy have been at the center of the pursuit of justice, equity, and freedom as it relates to civil liberties and rights. And as organic and digital existence converge, this continued frontier increasingly becomes anchored to how the data and digital footprint created by individuals are respected and protected and the awareness they bring to the importance of this matter, and by the organizations and institutions that come to steward what ultimately must still belong to its creator. Too often, discussions of personal privacy tend to inject tension between the protection of an individual against the protections of society at large. In reality, the erosion of personal privacy are also erosions against the protections of society at large; undermining the safety of individual privacy degrades the cultural and social fabrics of trust, liberty and fairness to the detriment of that society. If there is a call to action on this topic, it is that we must be open eyed about the importance of privacy and that the choices we make will directly affect our lives and our livelihood, and the social fabrics we pass to the next generation".  Dirk Schrader, Global Vice President at New Net Technologies, said, "users, consumers have far too often that notion of 'I have nothing to hide' or 'how much can they do with my data?' The inconvenient answer is 'a lot' as there are many ways of using the gender, the age, the location can influence what kind of services are marketed, how often a user sees an ad just to name some less nefarious examples. This kind of profiling might seem harmless but overall it enables businesses to select which products, which services they offer and a what price levels. That is why the call to action for individuals 'own your privacy' deserves a lot of Kudos. Mohit Tiwari, Co-Founder and CEO at Symmetry Systems, said, "You need not give up data privacy so that organizations can thrive off of personalized ad or by hosting customer data in a software app. Road safety is a great example where protocols and training sets appropriate expectations among drivers, bikes, pedestrians, etc. Similarly there is considerable research and new commercial tools for organizations to measure how costumer data is used internally and safeguard it. Joseph Carson, Chief security scientist and Advisory at Thycotic said, "data privacy will, and already is, evolving into a data rights management issue. Citizens' privacy will continue to be under the spotlight in 2021. Regulations will continue to put pressure on companies to provide adequate cyber security measures and follow the principle of least privilege to protect the data they have been entitled to process. I believe the big question, when it comes to data privacy is, 'how is citizens' data being used, collected and processed? Ultimately data rights management means rather than giving up personal data, citizens should and can get paid for allowing their personal data will be used for marketing purposes. It will become more about how the personal data will be used, and what monetization is resulting from the data. Tom Pendergast, Chief Learning Officer at MediaPRO said, "The essence of Privacy Day to me is the realization that privacy is everyone's responsibility. From the boardroom to the loading dock, everyone has a role to play. From a awareness perspective, one of the best ways to do this is to provide education that employees can use both at work and at home".

International Day of Education

          There is a world consensus that governments, politicians, education systems` employees, parents and students must make an effort to upgrade the quality of education. The fourth industrial revolution is about to begin and we all should be prepared for the technological challenge. The law for the implementation of high school reform in Brazil of 2017 was a good step toward the right direction. Now depend on education system of every state for its effective implementation. We all know that integral high school is difficult to implement in the short-term in all states' schools, because most of high school buildings have classes of middle school in the afternoon, but at least the flexibilization of subjects and the sixth class are perfectly possible to implement next year in all schools in every state. So, next year there will be elections, we must not forget to demand the correct  implementation of the high school reform from our candidates for governors` office. We should not wait more, we are wasting precious time. Three weeks ago, precisely on 24 January, the world celebrated the importance of education to our lives, to our future, to our better understanding about everything around us. This post is a summary of three articles. The first was published in 2020 at  https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/education-day-2020-concept-note-en.pdf. The second was published at https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/educationday. The third was published at  https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/international-day-education-2021-harnessing-promise-innovation-education

              The world celebrated the International Day of Education on 24th January 2020, a day proclaimed by the U.N. to honour education and its centrality to human well-being and sustainable development. The 2020 celebration will position education and learning it enables as humanity's greatest renewable resources and reaffirm the role of education as a fundamental right, a public good and an enabler of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UNESCO will draw on its convening power and engage with education to celebrate the Day around the world by focusing on the many learning can empower people, preserve the planet, build shared prosperity and foster peace. The 2020 theme "Learning for people, planet, prosperity and peace", highlights the integrated nature of education, its humanistic aims, as well as its centrality to our collective development ambitions. It also gives stakeholders and partners flexibility to tailor the celebration for diverse audiences, a variety of contexts and for priority themes. Education, including vocational skills development, is essential for inclusive growth that does not leave anyone behind. Education can enhance job opportunities, increase the incomes of the poorest and, if equitably provided reduce inequality. Education is clearly linked with increased earnings for individuals.                                                                                                                                                                                      "At the peak of the pandemic, schools were actually closed for 91% of learners. It then became apparent to everyone that education was a public good and school was more than just a place of learning that provided protection, well-being, food and freedom. On this International Day of Education, UNESCO invites you to promote education as a fundamental right and the most powerful aid to development that we have". Said Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director General. The third International Day of Education 2021 will be marked under the theme: "Recover and Revitalize Education for the COVID-19 Generation". Now is the time to power education by stepping up collaboration and international solidarity to place education and lifelong learning at the centre of the recovery.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Nearly a year after the WHO first declared a global health emergingy, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impose a devastating toll on the education of millions of children and young people. School closure are undermining learning opportunities for students at all levels. As the world marks the International Day of Education, it remains as urgent as ever to tackle the silent global education crisis, which was already festering before the global health crisis and now further aggravated by the pandemic. Countries must mobilize, invest effectively and creatively to make the most of limited resources, and embrace a new vision of education for the future. An estimated 53% of children in low- and middle-income countries are unable to read and understand a simple text at the age of 10. Early evidence from high-income countries has already revealed learning losses and increase in inequality. The financial strain on families caused by the pandemic recession has also increased the droout rate. While addressing the COVID-19 emergency, countries are laying the foundations for greater resilience in education. What comes next is managing continuity, with the immediate priority to ensure that schools reopen safely and minimize student dropouts. Looking for the future, we need to recover losses and build the foundations for accelerated learning  that  provides the opportunity to build resilient, equitable and personalized education systems that are not confined to the four walls of the classroom.