Masterclass: Digital Rights

With a new world of possibilities emerging through what’s described as Web3.0, a new world of restrictions, censorship, and hegemony challenges our digital future. And while the new ‘better’ internet promises decentralization and trustless economies, it has equally alienated and deplatformed many contributors who are Arab and Muslim, as well as other non-Western and non-White people. This masterclass surveys new digital strategic and ontological changes taking place today, and investigates how they will impact our digital futures. During the session we will share key-concepts such as DeFi, DAO’s, NFTs, the Metaverse, and other basic notions of what the blockchain and Web3 are. The session will take a look at case-studies of censorship and crackdown on content by artists who identify as Arab, West Asian and African. And it will showcase possible strategies of working together and of understanding and building resilient digital infrastructures for the arts.