In the fourth episode of Feminist Digital Futures, we’re joined by Ledys Sanjuan Mejia, who shares with us why feminist social media needs to be community-led, open and accessible to all. Ledys highlights how social media can be used to build cross-border solidarities, why access to the internet is a basic human necessity, how we can enable communities to build decentralized internet infrastructures in local languages, and the need to make feminist principles a core part of tech policy.
Episode Navigation
00:10: Introduction
00:47: About Ledys
02:43: How gender and other identities affect experiences of the online sphere
07:04: Why equal access to and participation in social media is a feminist issue
10:49: How social media can be a tool for feminist organising and education
14:36: Ledys’ vision of a feminist social media
18:00: How platform design and governance needs to change, from a feminist and Global South perspective
23:39: The role of funding and resources in enabling feminist initiatives
26:50: Conclusion
Ledys Sanjuan Mejia is an ecofeminist writer and digital activist from Bogotá, Colombia with extensive experience in social justice philanthropy, strategic communications and social justice advocacy. She holds an undergraduate degree in International Relations from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and an MA in Critical Global Politics from the University of Exeter in England. Ledys is currently communications, advocacy and tech manager at FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund where she works to amplify young women, trans and intersex youth activism and issues from the Global South to donors and decision makers, in partnership with international human rights organizations. Ledys is passionate about feminist technology and freedom of speech as an integral part of care and sustainability for social justice movements.
Hosted by: Tanvi Kanchan
Research and conceptualization: Nandini Chami & Tanvi Kanchan
Post-production: Tanvi Kanchan
Podcast artwork by: Harmeet Rahal
Acknowledgements
This podcast series has been produced as part of the Feminist Digital Justice project, a joint policy research and advocacy initiative of IT for Change and DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era). The series is co-supported by the World Wide Web Foundation.