Welcome to Confluence

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Confluence! Meet Consul General Rana Sarkar, Canada’s Tech Envoy in Silicon Valley. In this first episode, Sarkar introduces the concept of techplomacy, or technology diplomacy. Over the past five years, Sarkar and his team at the Consulate of Canada in San Francisco have been using diplomacy to help shape the future of technology regulation. To help illustrate this work, Sarkar speaks to Peggy Hicks—Director, Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures, and Right to Development Division at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)— and Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen—Tech Ambassador for Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former Technology and Sustainable Development lead at the World Economic Forum. Both guests are diplomats working at the intersection of human rights and technology policy. Together, they help Sarkar introduce the concept of techplomacy,  give examples of this kind of diplomatic work, and describe the  global importance of techplomacy—with implications for everyone. Both guests on this episode provide a global perspective that is both rooted in yet extends far beyond Silicon Valley. While their approaches to dealing with the enormous impact of the tech industry may differ, human rights frameworks are a  common throughline that many actors can agree upon as a guide for action.

Links: 
Peggy Hicks WEF Profile

Peggy Hicks LinkedIn

Peggy Hicks Twitter

Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen WEF Profile

Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen LinkedIn

Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen Twitter

Danish Tech Embassy

United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

Canada in San Francisco Twitter

Rana Sarkar Twitter

Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco

Additional Resources:
The rise of TechPlomacy in the Bay Area

Why techplomacy is more important than ever

Introducing ‘Techplomacy’: A roundtable with Denmark’s Tech Ambassador - Casper Klynge

All Tech is Human, August 2020

Massey Dialogue, September 2020

Dane against the machine: Tech-diplomat aims to protect fundamentals of democracy in digital age

Citizen Lab Submission to the Government of Canada

Canada Digital Government

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