Responsible Tech Mixer Series November 2023 Highlights and Recap: Co-Innovating Healthy Digital Spaces with Youth and Industry

Nov 20

(Monday, Nov. 20, New York, NY) All Tech Is Human, Project Liberty, and Safe Tech, Safe Kids, are delighted to release a special panel discussion focused on the ways youth and industry can co-create healthy digital public spaces. This panel was recorded live at All Tech Is Human’s Responsible Tech Mixer on Thursday, November 15, 2023, at Betaworks in New York City.

Hundreds of people working to build a better tech future turned out for a panel that featured Jackie Lho (Global Policy & Engagement for Naver Z), Zhamilya Bilyalova (founder of PrivaZy and a student researcher at Youth, Media, and Well-being Lab at Wellesley College), Joshua Lavra (Creative Lead at Hopelab), and Bzu Shiferaw (Campaign Organizer at Fairplay), and moderated by Sabrina Abdalla (Program Manager at Headstream).

Abdalla opened the discussion by asking the panel how tech products can better cater to the needs of young people.

“The reality is, we have no idea what youth are facing today and what their perceived reality is so really reaching out to youth, involving them in the process, getting their feedback, taking those insights and doing something with it is really critical.” Jackie Lho, Global Policy & Engagement for Naver Z said.

Catering to the needs of youth in tech can be difficult without representation in the design and deployment stages. Joshua Lavra, Creative Lead in Hopelab, detailed a story about how critical feedback on development of a chatbot helped the team learn about what technology youth enjoy interacting with and dedicating time to.

“I think it comes down to just building a relationship with the people that you hope to support.” Lavra said.

“Youth are the ones who've had a childhood that is intertwined with technology, and they've really grown up, so they need to be at the forefront of these conversations.” Bzu Shiferaw, Campaign Organizer at Fairplay, followed.

November’s Responsible Tech Mixer was created with support from Project Liberty and Safe Tech, Safe Kids.

Safe Tech, Safe Kids is a team of organizations, changemakers, and technologists who believe that young people and those who care about them have the tools, the transparency, and the agency they need to stay safe online and thrive. Safe Tech, Safe Kids builds momentum behind the solutions that can keep young people safe online. Safe Tech, Safe Kids strives for a world in which young people and those who care about them have the tools, the transparency, and the agency they need to stay safe online and thrive.

All Tech Is Human’s 2023 Responsible Tech Mixer Speaker Series brings together more than 200 people every month at Betaworks in New York City to highlight a global community of people working to co-create a better tech future. To date, every gathering has reached venue capacity and more than 2,000 unique people have registered to attend.