Thomas Rid

Friday, 16:00
Johns Hopkins SAIS. Author of ACTIVE MEASURES
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Thomas Rid is a political scientist best known for his work on the history and risks of information technology in conflict. He is Professor of Strategic Studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Previously he was a professor of security studies in the Department of War Studies, Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy King’s College in London.

2-Day Event to Change the Future of Internet Freedom

September 17-18, 2021

HubHub Palac ARA in Prague

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Prague

September 17 - 19, 2021

HubHub Palac ARA - Praha

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About

The RFE/RL Prague Hackathon is a 48-hour event bringing together journalists, coders, and designers to innovate and build digital prototypes in support of media freedom. The Hackathon will be held on September 17th and 18th at HubHub Palac ARA in Prague.

RFE/RL journalists report the news in 27 languages and 23 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. We provide what many people cannot get locally: uncensored news, responsible discussion, and open debate.

Hack Theme

Internet Freedom

Authoritarian governments increasingly seek to suppress the free flow of information by limiting access to the Internet by blocking information, filtering content, enhancing surveillance tactics, and other forms of censorship.

The RFE/RL Hackathon will help to increase resilience to censorship and surveillance by developing technology to empower individuals in the digital sphere, to enhance freedom of information, and to bolster abilities to freely access the Internet.


Judges - Speakers - Mentors

Thomas Rid
Johns Hopkins SAIS. Author of ACTIVE MEASURES
Samya Ayish
News Lab Teaching Fellow at Google
Tara Kelly
Data Editor at European Journalism Centre
Michael Brenner
Head of Design at Data4Change
Patrick Boehler
Head of Digital Strategy at RFE/RL
Jan Eißfeldt
Global Head of Trust & Safety at Wikimedia Foundation
Aric Toler
Director of Research & Training at Bellingcat
Josh Rayman
Data Viz at New Statesman Media Group
Andy Secker
Lead Data Scientist at the BBC
Jan Cibulka
Data Journalist at iROZHLAS.cz
Pete Baumgartner
Senior Editor at RFE/RL
Tolkun Umaraliev
Managing Editor for Digital at Current Time TV
Troy Norcross
Enterprise Strategist
Olga Abramchik
Multimedia Producer/TV at Current Time TV
Kimberly Conger
Director, Pangea Digital at RFE/RL
Arkady Pildes
Lead Product & Solutions Manager at Pangea Digital
Nat Kretchun
Vice President for Programs, OTF
Tomáš Fidler
Principal Software Engineer at Microsoft
Arzu Geybullayeva Kurtulus
Founder at Azerbaijan Internet Watch
Miro Masat
Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services
Zdenek Bulan
Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services
Aleksandar Vladimirov
Technical Project Manager at Thales
Anton Merkurov
NewNode
Konstantin Ignatov
Staff Engineer at Kiwi.com
Martin Felcman
Director of Product management at Productboard
Jirka Hana
Co-founder of Geneea, NLP researcher at Charles University.
Petr Hamerník
Co-founder of Geneea
Jakub Sanojca
AI Product Manager at Avast
Adil Gherib
Senior Product Manager at RFE/RL
Evgenia Konovalova
Outreach Coordinator at RFE/RL, Media and Public Affairs
Lazizkhon Omilov
Social Media ProducerUzbek Service at RFE/RL

Schedule

Sept. 17⁠ – 18,  2021
  • 10:00 — Registration
  • 11:00 — Opening RemarkDaisy Sindelar, Kimberly Conger, Adil Gherib
  • 11:40 — RFE/RL HackX incubator | Presentation of the Latest Products
    Adil Gherib
  • 12:00 — Fireside chat | Methodology and Open Source Technology in Geo-verification
    Samya Ayish
  • 12:30 — Panel | Humanizing Election Data: A Look at Regional Case Studies, Past and Present
    Tara Kelly, Josh Rayman, Jan Cibulka
  • 13:00 — Lightning talk | Data4Change: Data, Stories and Visuals
    Michael Brenner
  • 13:15 — Fireside chat | Prototyping Machine Translation Tools for a Multilingual Newsroom
    Andy Secker
  • 13:45 — Break Lunch
  • 14:15 — Fireside chat | Croatian Wikipedia Disinformation Assessment
    Jan Eißfeldt
  • 14:45 — Fireside chat | Bellingcat - Russian Gray/Black Data Market
    Aric Toler
  • 15:15 — Fireside chat | RFE/RL Internet Censorship Circumvention Products
    Arkady Pildes
  • 15:45 — Break
  • 16:00 — Interview | Thomas Rid - Active Measures
    Pete Baumgartner, Thomas Rid
  • 16:30 — Fireside chat | The Battle for Internet Freedom: What Tools Do We Have to Defend Ourselves?
    Nat Kretchun
  • 17:00 — Fireside chat | Censorship - Can Blockchain Help?
    Troy Norcross
  • 17:30 — Panel | Banned From In-Country Reporting? Bring the Audience Into the Newsroom
    Patrick Boehler, Olga Abramchik, Tolkun Umaraliev
  • 18:00 — Lightning talk | Trends of Circumvention Tools
    Anton Merkurov
  • 18:15 — Dinner and networking
  • 19:00 — Putting the teams together
  • 19:15 — Workshop | Amazon Web Services
    Miro Masat, Zdenek Bulan
  • 19:45 — Begin hacking
  • 23:00 — Group check-in
  • 9:00 — Breakfast
  • 09:30 — Group check in
  • 10:00 — Workshop | Microsoft DevOps
    Tomáš Fidler
  • 10:00 — Workshop | Sketching for Change: Internet Shutdowns
    Michael Brenner
  • 13:00 — Lunch
  • 16:30 — Hacking ends
  • 17:00 — Prepare presentations
  • 17:30 — Presentations
    Judging panel: Kimberly Conger, Arzu Kurtulus, Andy Secker, Josh Rayman, Lazizkhon Omilov
  • 18:45 — Winners
  • 19:00 — Closing, party and networking
    Glass Bar, Dancing House, Prague

Gold Partner

Avast Foundation


Prize Partners

Webexpo
AWS
Kiwi.comWebexpo


Event Partners

HubHub
Microsoft
Advocacy Assembly
Bellingcat
Prague Startup Weekend
DataJournalism
StartupJobs
Prague Media Point
Advocacy Assembly
Transitions

FAQ

Who can attend?

Journalists (students or professionals), designers, and coders.

When and where is it?

September 17th and 18th, 2021. HubHub Coworking, Perlová 5, 110 00 Staré Město, Prague, Czech Republic.

Is this a free event?

Yes! Attendance, food, and swag is all completely free! 💸

What are the Covid regulations?

All participants must comply with the Covid-19 rules valid in the Czech Republic during the period of RFE/RL Hackathon (thus 17-18 September 2021). The current rules, valid as of July 9, 2021, can be found here https://koronavirus.mzcr.cz/en/

Do you offer travel reimbursement?

Unfortunately, we cannot provide travel reimbursements.

What if there is a change of plans or an emergency?

In the event of a change of plans or an emergency, we will contact you via email. You can also follow us on Twitter for updates.

Can I work on my hack before the event?

No. To maintain competition integrity and fairness, all work on your hack must be done at the event.

Will there be free food and drinks?

There will be multiple meals scheduled throughout the event. Drinks and snacks will also be available, and one free drink at the afterparty. 🌯 ☕️

Is there a theme for the hackathon?

Yes! You’ll have the choice of choosing a project within our theme of Internet Freedom. The hack you decide to do must fall within the track that you choose.

What are the rules?

The maximum team size is five people. All projects must start from scratch at the start of the hacking period and completed by the designated time. All participants must follow the enforced Code of Conduct.

Is there a schedule?

Yes! See above.

Can I sign up with a team?

We allow team sign ups of up to five people as long as you have a journalist on your team. All team members must sign up individually and you can specify team members on your application.

What should I bring?

Bring your laptop, chargers, a valid ID, and comfortable clothes. We also recommend a sleeping bag and pillow so you can take advantage of our designated napping zones 😴

Is the event in English only?

Yes.

Got more questions? Get in touch!

Registration

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