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What is
DataFest Online?
DataFest Online is a special digital edition of DataFest Tbilisi - an annual international conference about data, technology, and communications, bringing together the data community from Eastern Europe and Central Asia, to inspire and encourage, and create meaningful connections.
Talks, workshops and datathons about data, communications and technology go for 3 days.
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Why is DataFest Online 2022 dedicated to data & technologies in wartime?
From visual recognition and robotics to open source data analysis and cyber attacks, technology has been shaping 21-century warfare. Yet Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine has no analogue - it is the war that the whole world is watching live.
To strengthen digital resilience in the society during the hardship, DataFest Online 2022 will equip participants with the analytical skill-set in three main directions:
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Open Source Reporting
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Cybersecurity
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AI Technologies
Preliminary Agenda
Speakers
Aleks Lokhmutov | Legal analyst @ OVD-Info
Aleks is a legal analyst at OVD-Info, a Russian human rights media project defending those facing politically motivated persecution. Since 2020, Aleks has taken the lead in data-driven advocacy and strategic litigation.
Dada Lyndell | Data Person @ Teplitsa. Technologies for Social Good / The Insider
Dada is a data scientist, OSINT researcher and data journalist. As a journalist and a trainer, Dada worked with The Insider, The OCCRP, MBKH Media, RBC, School of Data Kyrgyzstan, Transparency International Russia. Dada is also a researcher of civil society communications at "Teplitsa. Technologies for Social Good". Dada’s major area of interest is applying data science methods to the civil society needs, journalism and activism, with the scope on anti-corruption, ecology, public health, government procurement, cyber security, infographics, story-telling.
Karina Shedrofsky | Head of Research @ OCCRP
Karina joined OCCRP in 2017 as a daily news reporter and became head of the research team in 2019. She leads a team of researchers in seven countries, which helps journalists in OCCRP’s network track down people, companies and assets across the globe.
She has contributed research to a number of OCCRP projects, including the Paradise Papers and the Daphne Project, where she helped uncover the secret property holdings of Azerbaijan’s ruling family. In 2018 she led OCCRP’s Dubai’s Golden Sands project, a cross-border investigation into a leaked property database that revealed how wealthy people from around the world take advantage of the Emirate’s secrecy.
Prior to joining OCCRP, Karina worked for USA Today, where she covered health and issues impacting the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Karina is a graduate of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.
She has contributed research to a number of OCCRP projects, including the Paradise Papers and the Daphne Project, where she helped uncover the secret property holdings of Azerbaijan’s ruling family. In 2018 she led OCCRP’s Dubai’s Golden Sands project, a cross-border investigation into a leaked property database that revealed how wealthy people from around the world take advantage of the Emirate’s secrecy.
Prior to joining OCCRP, Karina worked for USA Today, where she covered health and issues impacting the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Karina is a graduate of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.
Gregory M. Reichberg | Research Professor @ Peace Research Institute Oslo
Gregory M. Reichberg is Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), where his work concentrates on military ethics in contemporary and historical perspective. At PRIO he leads a multiyear project funded by the Research Council of Norway – “Warring with Machines: Military Applications of Artificial Intelligence and the Relevance of Virtue Ethics.” Reichberg co-edited the volume Robotics, AI, and Humanity: Science, Ethics, and Policy (Springer, 2021) and was co-author of the volume’s chapter on “Applying AI on the Battlefield: Mapping the Ethical Debates.
Lennart Landman | Senior Methodology Manager @ Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project
Lennart Landman is the Senior Methodology Manager at ACLED. He oversees methodology, quality assurance, and training across all regions. Lennart has a background in European security and defence and formerly worked for the Clingendael Institute and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
Eric Barrett | Data Desk Manager @ OCCRP
Eric joined OCCRP in 2019 and is the data desk manager. He works with OCCRP journalists and member centers leveraging data to support investigations that shine a light on corruption.
Previously, he directed Georgia’s first data non-profit, JumpStart Georgia, and later managed technology and security at Azerbaijan’s leading independent media outlet in exile, MeydanTV.
Previously, he directed Georgia’s first data non-profit, JumpStart Georgia, and later managed technology and security at Azerbaijan’s leading independent media outlet in exile, MeydanTV.
Narine Khachatryan | Researcher @ Bellingcat
Narine Khachatryan is a researcher and trainer with Bellingcat. Her focus lies on researching far-right extremism, as well as environmental and military issues.
Paul Imre | Founder @ IMRE
Paul’s passion and interests lie in educating and helping people with Data, AI, tech and business. He is a keen futurist and regularly puts on events at conferences. We last saw Paul at DataFest Tbilisi 2019. He now returns for his DataFest Online talk.
As the world marches towards a decentralised web and blockchain technologies, it becomes ever more essential to think about our privacy and who we are. Therefore we need to slow down and ask the hard questions before acting. Paul, through his talks, seeks to create a space for critical thinking and reflection before taking the plunge into irreversible outcomes. Attend his talk on 6th May 2022 and challenge yourself with the question. Should Ukraine accept Clearview AI’s offer to use Facial Recognition technology during the time of this war?
As the world marches towards a decentralised web and blockchain technologies, it becomes ever more essential to think about our privacy and who we are. Therefore we need to slow down and ask the hard questions before acting. Paul, through his talks, seeks to create a space for critical thinking and reflection before taking the plunge into irreversible outcomes. Attend his talk on 6th May 2022 and challenge yourself with the question. Should Ukraine accept Clearview AI’s offer to use Facial Recognition technology during the time of this war?
Mediazona
Mediazona is an independent Russian online media focused on human rights violations in Russia, police brutality, jail conditions, privacy and censorship. Mediazona was blocked in Russia in March 2022 for covering war with Ukraine. Mediazona's data team received European Press Prize in 2021 for data rich story "Brutalised Minsk: how Belarusian police beat protesters".
Artur Papyan | Director @ Media Diversity Institute
Artur is the director of Media Diversity Institute – Armenia (MDI Armenia), the country representative for Techsoup and a co-founder of the CyberHUB-AM team, which provides digital security support to Armenian journalists, human rights defenders and activists.
Artur has worked as a senior multimedia editor and internet journalist with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, he has co-founded and worked as the CEO of “Azatutyun TV” LLC. In recent years he has taught online media, internet journalism, and professional ethics at a number of Armenian universities.
Artur has worked as a senior multimedia editor and internet journalist with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, he has co-founded and worked as the CEO of “Azatutyun TV” LLC. In recent years he has taught online media, internet journalism, and professional ethics at a number of Armenian universities.
Illia Samoilych | Data Analyst @ Texty Ukraine
Illia works at Texty.org.ua as a data analyst. He is a software engineer who has used his satellite image processing skills for many projects. Previosuly, he worked for EOS Data Analytics, where he processed satellite images to find natural disasters.
Eto Buziashvili | Research Associate @ DFR Lab
Eto Buziashvili is a Research Associate at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab). In this role, Eto researches the information space, focusing on Russia, Ukraine, and the Caucasus region. Prior to the DFRLab, Eto advised the National Security Council of Georgia and was involved in developing strategic documents.
Michał "Czesiek" Czyżewski | Activist
Michał is a public interest technologist and journalistic cybersecurity expert. He is cofounder of the Warsaw Hackerspace. In the past, he has worked with Bellingcat collective, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and Panoptykon Foundation.
Kasia Gąsiewska-Holc | Tableau Public Ambassador & Data Visualization Consultant @ SageData
Kasia has been a Tableau Public enthusiast since 2018, when she was first introduced to the Tableau #datafam community. Ever since then, she’s been using Tableau Public as a creative outlet for data viz ideas exploring topics that are close to her heart. She’s particularly interested in creating projects around sustainability, as she aims to raise awareness about these issues.
She’s also keen on exploring new and exciting ways of visualizing data and pushing the limit of Tableau capabilities.
Kasia believes that anyone can build beautiful and unique data visualizations, and that’s why she’s eager to help others get started with their own data viz and Tableau journey.
She’s also keen on exploring new and exciting ways of visualizing data and pushing the limit of Tableau capabilities.
Kasia believes that anyone can build beautiful and unique data visualizations, and that’s why she’s eager to help others get started with their own data viz and Tableau journey.
Gregory Asmolov | Researcher @ King's College London
Gregory is a Lecturer in Digital Entrepreneurship at the Department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London. His research interests include crisis-related digital innovation, digital disconnection, digital sovereignty and participatory warfare. Gregory’s research seeks to contribute to understanding the role of digital mediation in the relationship between users and conflicts, and to build a detailed picture of the forms of civic engagement in modern warfare.
Gregory holds a PhD from the Media and Communications Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), MA in Global Communication from George Washington University and BA in Communication and International Affairs from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Gregory holds a PhD from the Media and Communications Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), MA in Global Communication from George Washington University and BA in Communication and International Affairs from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Jan Strozyk | Data Editor @ OCCRP
Jan joined OCCRP in 2021 as data editor. He works with the editorial and the data teams, coordinating data analysis and working on data-driven investigations. Prior to joining OCCRP, Jan was a reporter with the German public news broadcaster NDR, where he worked on the Luxembourg Leaks, the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers, FinCEN Files, and other cross-border investigations.
Jan’s work was honored with the Deutscher Fernsehpreis, the most renowned German prize for television journalists. He was also named one of Germany’s “Top 30 under 30” journalists and a member of the “Newsroom of the Year.”
Jan’s work was honored with the Deutscher Fernsehpreis, the most renowned German prize for television journalists. He was also named one of Germany’s “Top 30 under 30” journalists and a member of the “Newsroom of the Year.”
Jonathan D. Teubner | Founder and CEO @ FilterLabs.AI
Jonathan Teubner is Founder and CEO of FilterLabs.AI, a data analytics company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Visiting Faculty at Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University. In these roles, he is developing tools that leverage open source data to better understand local populations. Previously, Teubner was Associate Director of the Initiative on Religion, Politics and Conflict at the University of Virginia, where he led a collaborative team of data scientists and scholars across the social sciences to create NLP tools.
Ousman Noor | Government Outreach Manager @ The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots
Ousman is the Government Relations Manager for Stop Killer Robots and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. In his role, he liaises with diplomats, UN officials, representatives from international institutions, and civil society activists to build greater policy coherence for an international treaty on autonomous weapons. Previously, Ousman worked as a human rights lawyer in London, UK.
Aleksandra Shalibashvili | Data Analyst and Trainer @ ForSet
Aleksandra is a Data Analyst and Trainer at ForSet, and a Teaching Assistant at the International School of Economics at TSU (ISET), where she is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Economics and Modern Data Analysis. She specializes in data analysis and visualization, and is passionate about mixing analytical and creative tools to create insightful visualizations. Aleksandra is an experienced trainer of statistics, econometrics, and various analytical tools.
Zak Kallenborn | Policy Fellow @ The Schar School of Policy and Government
Zachary analyzes horrible ways people kill one another: drone swarms, weapons of mass destruction, and apocalyptic terrorism. His work has been shared in a wide range of international media.
Officially, Zachary is a Policy Fellow at the Schar School of Policy and Government, a Research Affiliate with the Unconventional Weapons and Technology Division of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), an officially proclaimed U.S. Army "Mad Scientist," and a Senior Consultant at ABS Group. He has approximately 4.5 years in federal government consulting, conducting risk assessment, futures analysis, doctrine analysis, organizational strategy assessments, systems thinking analysis, literature review, and open source research for numerous offices within the Departments of State, Defense, Commerce, and Homeland Security.
Officially, Zachary is a Policy Fellow at the Schar School of Policy and Government, a Research Affiliate with the Unconventional Weapons and Technology Division of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), an officially proclaimed U.S. Army "Mad Scientist," and a Senior Consultant at ABS Group. He has approximately 4.5 years in federal government consulting, conducting risk assessment, futures analysis, doctrine analysis, organizational strategy assessments, systems thinking analysis, literature review, and open source research for numerous offices within the Departments of State, Defense, Commerce, and Homeland Security.
Speakrs
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Thanks to our partners, we offer participants to attend the event for free, however, we kindly ask you to donate to one of the following trusted verified fundraiser for Ukraine on behalf of our event:
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