The citizen lab has announced a fellowship program on issues related to surveillance, digital security, and race.
Recent protests on racial justice and police brutality have put a spotlight on systemic racism and inequality in the United States, Canada, and beyond. Just as anti-Black racism has shaped legal and political structures leading to continued discrimination, so too has it impacted the design, creation, and application of technologies. Specifically, surveillance technologies have become central tools for policing. When these tools are deployed in the criminal justice system, their use can further institutionalize discrimination and oppression.
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The Citizen Lab is also aware that the information security community has long-standing problems with diversity. These problems cannot be allowed to continue unchallenged and they stand firmly in solidarity with calls for structural changes to correct this course. In the absence of deeply integrated and meaningful representation across a spectrum of communities and experiences, they risk perpetuating systemic racism in their own work. They also miss out on creativity, talent, and opportunities to make progress on some of our world’s most pressing problems.
As an academic institution focused on the advancement of human rights within the technological sphere, they are committed to addressing systemic racism and inequality while also making our own space more representative of the communities they serve.
Project Scope:
The scope of the project is up to you and the program duration you choose.
- 3 months is well suited for existing projects or developing an idea. You can get a boost needed to complete or amplify an existing project or turn a new idea into a pilot study, proof of concept, beta software release, etc.
- 6 months is for more involved projects that the 3-month duration would not be enough to realize.
Project Topic Areas:
Projects can have a technical and/or legal and policy focus. Potential topics could include but are not limited to:
- Technical, legal, and/or policy Investigations of surveillance technologies (e.g., IMSI catchers, drones, facial recognition, CCTV, bodycams, etc.) in communities of color and/or deployed during protests
- Developing privacy-enhancing technologies and tactics (e.g., encryption and anonymity tools, contextualizing these tools for racialized communities).
The fellowship could result in a variety of outputs from research reports, software, data visualizations, etc.
Location:
CanadaBenefits
- Support of $4,000 CAD distributed in monthly payments
- 3 month total: $12,000 CAD
- 6 month total: $24,000 CAD
- You will work remotely and will collaborate with a team of researchers at the Citizen Lab, University of Toronto
Eligibilities
In order to be eligible for Citizen Lab Fellowship, candidates must have the following qualifications:
- Applicants must identify as Black to be eligible for the fellowship.
- Applications are open to people from a variety of professional backgrounds and disciplines and can include students and junior to mid-career practitioners.
- While individuals with unique career paths are encouraged to apply, likely candidates have experience as software developers, systems administrators, information security researchers, computer science and engineering students and researchers, social science students and researchers (e.g., political science, sociology, etc), lawyers and law students, community organizers, and others.
Application Process
Apply through the given link.
Looking for fully-funded opportunities, install the Youth Opportunities Android or iOS App here.
Application Deadline: July 28, 2020
Application ClosedOfficial link
