RightsCon 2019

In June, TIMBY attended RightsCon 2019 in Tunis, where a range of business leaders, technologists, human rights defenders, government representatives, general counsels, and policy makers convened to tackle the issue of human rights in the digital age.

TIMBY Lead Anjali Nayar spoke in the panel co-organized by the Office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights and Global Partners Digital titled “Enhancing Processes and Empowering People: Exploring the potential of new technologies and private remediation of business-related human rights abuses.” The panel brought together Raquel Vazquez Llorente from eyeWitness, Moataz El Fegiery from Front Line Defenders, and Richard Wingfield from Global Partners Digital and TIMBY.

3000 attendees came from over 200 countries to Tunis

The discussion centred on the opportunities offered through mobile technologies that are allowing organizations to improve the effectiveness of their grievance and remediation processes and giving people the chance to seek remedies from them in human rights-related cases. Digital tools such as TIMBY’s grievance mechanism can accelerate the speed with which human rights issues can be logged and tracked. Moreover, grievance dashboards provide a database for companies and certification bodies to monitor wrongdoing and improve their operations. At the same time, the panel agreed that substantial thought must be put into the ways in which these monitoring tools are designed and implemented in order to minimize the risk faced by remedy-seekers, human rights defenders and others. This means building in mechanisms to ensure that data remains secure, anonymity (when necessary) is maintained, and those collecting data follow strategies to maintain personal safety.

In addition, TIMBY moderated the session “From Failure to Hockeystick Growth - Human Centered Design and Lean Start-Up to Scale Social Impact,” which discussed the role of human-centred design and lean business models in the scaling up and development of digital technologies. Working with communities from all corners of the world, TIMBY has seen first-hand the benefits that come with learning from our users, and we are constantly iterating on accessibility, translation, security, trust-building, and safety in the implementation of reporting and monitoring strategies involving vulnerable populations.