About Us
Who are we?
Bot Populi is an alternative media platform dedicated to looking at all things digital from a social justice and Global South perspective. It was founded in 2018 by seven global, digital justice organizations.
What do we do?
Digital technologies have been the transformative force of the 21st century, changing the way we live, work, and interact. Those who control data mark and mediate our social location in society. They also decide who is included and excluded from the digital ecosystem. Data, and the digital intelligence harvested from it, are today the purveyors of destiny. As data-based systems become the basis of development, important questions about justice and rights emerge.
We explore these questions about the ways in which the digital world affects different aspects of our lives — in obvious and unexpected ways — through articles, podcasts, and videos. Our contributors include passionate and committed scholars, activists and visionaries from around the world working on issues of digital justice.
Our goal
We aim to meaningfully shape the public discourse on digitalization. In the process, we seek to influence the norms, rules, and practices that contribute to transformative change.
Get in touch!
To know more and support our work, please get in touch with us at hello@botpopuli.net and subscribe to our updates.
Anita Gurumurthy
Anita Gurumurthy
Editorial Advisor
Anita is a founding member and executive director of IT for Change, where she leads research collaborations and projects in relation to the network society, with a focus on governance, democracy and gender justice. Anita engages actively with policy makers, practitioners, social movements activists and the academic community to expand and deepen conversations on the public policy imperatives of the intertwining of the digital in all spheres of life.
Deepti Bharthur
Deepti Bharthur
Editorial Advisor
Deepti is a Senior Research Associate at IT for Change. She contributes to academic, action, and policy research in the areas of e-governance and digital citizenship, data economy, platforms and digital exclusions. She received her PhD in Media and Communication from Bowling Green State University in 2015, where her thesis work was on the policy architecture of rural connectivity in India.
Nandini Chami
Nandini Chami
Editorial Advisor
Nandini's work largely focuses on research and policy advocacy in the domains of digital rights and development, and the political economy of women’s rights in the information society She is part of the organisation’s advocacy efforts around the 2030 development agenda on issues of ‘data for development’ and digital technologies and gender justice. She also provides strategic support to IT for Change’s field centre, Prakriye.
Parminder Jeet Singh
Parminder Jeet Singh
Editorial Advisor
Parminder is executive director of IT for Change, and leads the organisation’s work in the areas of Internet governance, e-governance and development in the digital age. At the global level, he has played a major role in shaping a Southern discourse on global Internet governance, and a positive rights-centred approach to cyberpolicy. He is a founding member of three key global coalitions in the Internet governance domain – Just Net Coalition, BestBits and Internet Rights and Principles Coalition.
Shreeja Sen
Shreeja Sen
Editor
Shreeja co-anchors and coordinates the editorial processes for Bot Populi. She also works on issues of social media and content regulation, data infrastructures and the digital economy at IT for Change. She has a bachelor’s degree in law and a graduate degree in public policy. In previous roles, she has been a court reporter for Mint, tracking stories from the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, and a program manager for US-based tech clients at Deloitte Consulting.
Amay Korjan
Amay Korjan
Editor
Amay works on projects that aim to formulate progressive policy positions around various sectors within the digital economy. He has a background in philosophy and sociology, and is particularly interested in the political economy of data and digital technology.
Sreemoyee Mukherjee
Sreemoyee Mukherjee
Communications Assistant
Sreemoyee works on external communications and social media outreach for Bot Populi. She also supports the editorial processes. She holds a Masters in Media Governance from Jamia Milia Islamia and a Bachelors in English from Jadavpur University, with a diploma in African Diasporic Culture studies.
Chandra
Chandra
Tech Advisor
Chandra provides technology leadership and support for Bot Populi. Previously, he has worked in the corporate sector implementing technology solutions for global enterprises, specializing in user-centric software design. He holds a Master's degree from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Sohel Sarkar
Sohel Sarkar
Editorial Consultant
Sohel is a former journalist and handles the day-to-day editorial functions of Bot Populi. She is a senior communications associate at IT for Change. Sohel holds a Master’s degree in Gender Studies from SOAS, University of London; and a postgraduate degree in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism. Previously, she worked in the editorial desks of various news media outlets.
Intifada P. Basheer
Intifada Basheer
Communications and Editorial Consultant
Intifada holds a Master’s degree in Convergent Journalism from Jamia Millia Islamia, and a triple-major Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, English Literature, and Mass Communication from Osmania University. Previously, she worked in the editorial desks of Outlook India and CNN-News18.
Sadaf Wani
Sadaf Wani
Communications Associate
Sadaf holds a Master’s degree and an MPhil degree in Sociology from Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. She has previously worked with Zubaan and the Centre for Equity Studies, New Delhi. Her research interests include anthropology of space, gender, feminist methodologies, digital media and visual cultures. Her work has been published in Himal South Asian, Scroll, and Wande Magazine among others.
ALAI
ALAI
The Latin American Information Agency (ALAI) is a communication agency of international character, committed to the full enforcement of human rights, gender equality and citizen participation in the development and public work of Latin America.
ALAI's mission is to formulate and develop responses to the various challenges posed by communication and its democratization, as a strategic area for democratic validity, social justice, peace and multicultural coexistence and regional integration.
Data Justice Lab
Data Justice Lab
The Data Justice Lab examines the intricate relationship between datafication and social justice, highlighting the politics and impacts of data-driven processes and big data. The lab is hosted at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture. The lab is directed by Dr Lina Dencik, Dr Arne Hintz, and Dr Joanna Redden.
DAWN
DAWN
Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) is a network of feminist scholars, researchers and activists from the economic South working for economic and gender justice and sustainable and democratic development. Through research, analyses, advocacy and, more recently, training, DAWN seeks to support women’s mobilization within civil society to challenge inequitable social, economic and political relations at global, regional and national levels, and to advance feminist alternatives.
Derechos Digitales
Derechos Digitales
Founded in 2005, Derechos Digitales is a non-profit organization based in Chile that works across Latin America. Its main objective is the development, defense and promotion of human rights in the digital environment. Its work focuses on issues around freedom of expression, privacy and personal data, and copyright and access to knowledge.
InternetLab
InternetLab
InternetLab is an independent research center that aims to foster academic debate around issues involving law and technology, especially internet policy. Our goal is to conduct interdisciplinary, impactful research and promote dialogue among academics, professionals and policymakers. As a nexus of expertise in technology, public policy and social sciences, our research agenda covers a wide range of topics, including privacy, freedom of speech, gender and technology.
IT for Change
IT for Change
Established in 2000, IT for Change is an NGO based in Bengaluru, India. IT for Change’s work in the areas of education, gender, governance, community informatics and internet/digital policies push the boundaries of existing vocabulary and practice, exploring new development and social change frameworks. Network building is key to our work. IT for Change is in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
Just Net Coalition
Just Net Coalition
The Just Net Coalition (JNC) is a global network of civil society actors committed to an open, free, just and equitable Internet. Founded in February 2014, the coalition engages on topics of the Internet and its governance, with the goal to promote democracy, human rights and social justice. Our founding principles and objectives are contained in the Delhi Declaration.