FAIR TECH FUTURES

Politicians of all colors talk about technology and digital rights

4 November 2023

Tickets

With a general election coming up on 22 November in the Netherlands, the IMPAKT Festival 2023 invites Dutch politicians to discuss the most urgent issues relating to our digital rights. Politicians are the ones who should be developing better legislation that forces online platforms to be more ethical. It is their job to make sure our data is protected and that tech corporations operate on our terms. And when it comes to the way governments themselves use digital technologies, our politicians should prioritise the interests of the people over efficiency. In this panel we invite politicians to state their position in clear terms and nail their colours to the mast. We ask them: “How are you going to ensure our digital future is fair and inclusive?”

TICKET FOR THIS PROGRAMME

What else is on Saturday?

Check the timetable to visit more programmes with your Festival Pass (5-days) or Day Pass (1-day). With the passes you can also visit the festival exhibition Our Terms, Our Conditions at the IMPAKT [Centre for Media Culture] and Fotodok/Casco.

Saturday day pass 5-day festival pass

For more information on the festival tickets please see here

Renske Leijten Marieke Koekkoek

Renske Leijten

― Speaker

Renske Leijten is a Dutch former politician who played an important role in uncovering the Dutch childcare benefits scandal. She was a member of the House of Representatives for the Socialist Party (SP) from 2006 to 2023. She has been the chairwoman of the SP’s youth organisation ROOD and was part of several standing committees within the Dutch government. From 2021 to 2023, she was the chairwoman of the committee for Digital Affairs, which focuses on creating oversight and legislation on themes about, among others, digital citizenship, ethics and civil rights.

Marieke Koekkoek

― Speaker

Marieke Koekkoek is a Member of the Dutch Parliament, the ‘Tweede Kamer’ since 31 March 2021. “Politics is what you pass on to the next generation, and especially what you do not give on. I want to pass on better protection of our fundamental rights and to stop all forms of exclusion!” Marieke is 34 years old and grew up in Amsterdam-Southeast. Through travelling, studying and working she lived in Utrecht, Barcelona, Leuven en Shenzen (China). Now she lives in Utrecht Leidsche Rijn with her husband and three young kids. Convinced that everyone should be safe to be themselves, she studied Law. “We often forget – because of convenience, habit or prejudice – that protection of fundamental rights and inclusion in the law does not mean anything if we are not constantly vigilant of forms of exclusion.” She specialised in International Trade Law and Economics. In 2018 Marieke joined the European Party Volt, for which she was elected as a Member of Parliament in March 2021. There she advocates for inclusivity, the protection of fundamental rights like privacy, making sure the digital revolution does not exclude anyone, a humane asylum- and migration system and public policy that is accessible to everyone.