The Liberation Technology Seminar Series is set for an exciting fall quarter. Held on Thursdays from 4.30 to 6 pm at Wallenberg Theater, this 1-unit seminar course is co-taught by CDDRL director Larry Diamond and Professor of Computer Science Terry Winograd. Hosted by the Program on Liberation Technology (LibTech) at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, this seminar series features guest speakers who introduce students to cutting-edge theoretical and practical applications of new technologies.

Beginning on October 6, the seminar series will kick off with Andrew McLaughlin an expert on internet regulation who served in the Obama administration and worked with Google’s policy division. The quarter will continue featuring new research, innovative Lib Tech products and stimulating debate on the impact technology has on ‘liberation’.

Technology and revolutions debate

When protestors waged a revolution across the Arab world in January, they did not set out to make life interesting at Stanford. Whether they intended to or not they have achieved just that. We are now mired in the debate on the impact of technology in revolutions that has become more interesting since the Arab Spring. Ramesh Srinivasan Assistant Professor in Design and Media/Information Studies at UCLA, will speak to this debate based on his recent field work in Egypt on October 20. Evgeny Morozov a visiting scholar for the Program on Liberation Technology will revisit the debate at the end of the quarter based on his new work. For those who have heard him caution against the use of technology before the Arab Spring, it may be an interesting time to revisit Morozov's arguments on December 1.

Lib Tech products

At the core of this debate is the idea that technology is ever-evolving. Some are creating systems to give governments greater control, while others seek to protect the activists. New ideas and products are changing this landscape every day. To take an example, at a recent hack-a-thon in San Francisco there was a suggestion to encrypt sensitive messages in a Beyonce song. If that works out, you may be able to swing a leg and send a message at least until a technology comes up to trace your steps. We could not have a LibTech seminar series without taking a look at such innovations. 

Sam Gregory and Bryan Nunez from Witness will give a taste of this evolving drama through their work on the use of videos for human rights. They will offer ideas to harness its power without exposing the activists to its dangers on October 27. 

The Fall series will also feature Joshua Stern, executive director of Envaya, speaking to their ultra fast blogs that are making inroads among African NGOs on October 13. Paul Kim of Stanford University will discuss his experiments with delivering education through mobile phones. For those who enjoy the 'hands on experience,' word is that Paul Kim will bring his mobile phones for us to play with on November 3! On December 8, Jeff Klingner of Benetech will give a presentation on databases that help track human rights abuses.

D-School presentation

One of the season’s highlights is a panel of students who participated in the innovative class taught by Joshua Cohen and Terry Winograd at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school). On November 17, four teams will present their new ICT designs to mitigate water problems and other issues in the slums of Kibera, Kenya. For those who wish to get a taste of this much sought after course, this talk will prove invaluable.

For those interested in registering for the course it is available on Explore Courses as CS 546: Seminar on Liberation Technologies and POLISCI 337S. We encourage others to attend who are interested in the topics, speakers, or liberation technology in general.

To view the complete Liberation Technology Seminar Schedule, please click here.

The Program on Arab Reform and Democracy (ARD) at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, together with the Safadi Foundation USA (SFUSA) and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) announced the winners of the first annual Safadi-Stanford Initiative for Policy Innovation (SSIPI). The title of Safadi Scholar of the Year has been awarded to Katarina Uherova Hasbani, an energy policy expert at the American University of Science and Technology in Beirut, Lebanon. The title of first runner up has been awarded to Miriam Allam, an economist for the Middle East North Africa Governance Program at the Regulatory Policy Division, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

SSIPI was established to promote new scholarship and analysis on Lebanon. “SSIPI represents the link between the academic and policy worlds that Stanford's Program on Arab Reform and Democracy aims to nurture,” said Dr. Lina Khatib, who leads the ARD program at CDDRL. "The research by Hasbani and Allam addresses some of the core challenges impacting governance in Lebanon and the rest of the region. Hasbani’s paper on the reform of the electricity sector and Allam’s discussion on public consultation are both strategic areas vital to linking citizens and institution building,” said Lara Alameh, Executive Director of Safadi Foundation USA.

Hasbani will begin her four-week residency at CDDRL with the ARD program on October 1 where she will participate in seminars, engage with leading faculty and benefit from the scholarly resources at Stanford. During that time she will produce a publishable paper based on her research, which will then be presented at a policy conference in Washington, DC on December 6, 2011.

"It is an incredible opportunity to receive the support of SSIPI for my research on consensus-based electricity sector reform as a vital element for Lebanon's future economic and social development," said Hasbani.

CDDRL is pleased to welcome new (and returning) faculty, staff, pre and post-doctoral fellows, and visiting scholars to our expanding research community for the 2011-12 academic year. Enriching our ranks with new scholars and practitioners, allows CDDRL to expand the breadth and scope of our work and global impact. Please join us in welcoming these new colleagues to the CDDRL community.

Faculty and Staff

Jeremy Weinstein, Associate Professor of Political Science, who has just rejoined CDDRL after serving for the last two years as Director of Democracy at the National Security Council. Jeremy will be delivering a CDDRL seminar on November 3 on policy perspectives under the Obama administration                                                                                                            

Stephen Stedman, FSI Senior Fellow, recently joined CDDRL as a member of our core faculty 

General Karl Eikenberry, CDDRL and CISAC Affiliated Faculty, and Payne Distinguished Lecturer at FSI. General Eikenberry's first public lecture will held at the Cemex Auditorium at the Knight Management Center on Monday, October 3, at 5:30 p.m. on "Improving Governance and Combating Drugs".

Kavita Ramdas joined CDDRL in August as the executive director of the newly launched Program on Social Entrepreneurship at CDDRL

Nadejda Marques, is the new program manager for the CDDRL Program on Human Rights

Samantha Maskey is the new administrative assistant to Steve Stedman and Francis Fukuyama

CDDRL pre and post-doctoral fellows arrived in September to begin their year-long residency at CDDRL:

Mike Albertus, CDDRL Postdoctoral Fellow from Stanford University

Eric Kramon, CDDRL Pre-doctoral Fellow from UCLA

Reo Matsuzaki, CDDRL Postdoctoral Fellow from MIT

Alex Ruiz Euler, CDDRL Pre-doctoral Fellow from UCSD

CDDRL Visiting Scholars

Andrea Abel, Visiting Scholar, Commission on Global Election Integrity

Henrik Larsen, Visiting Researcher from the Danish Institute for International Studies

Brenna Powell, Visiting Scholar, Commission on Global Election Integrity

Brenna PowellA9/">Landry Signe, Postdoctoral Scholar from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Daniel Zoughbie, Visiting Scholar Program on Arab Reform and Democracy, CEO and President of Microclinic International