"Rise Of The Individual" : presented by Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk -- May 30, 2013

BOSTON - May 10, 2013 - PRLog -- Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University presents Rise Of The Individual with Nicco Mele and Kevin Bankston ; discussion moderated by Dharmishta Rood. Thursday, May 30, 6:30-8:00 pm. Admission is free and open to all. C. Walsh Theatre at Suffolk University, 55 Temple St., Boston, MA 02114. Conveniently located near the Park St. MBTA Station. For more information, contact Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University: 617-557-2007, http://www.fordhallforum.org.

The invention of the internet has opened an entirely new world of communication and, therefore, organization. With so much power now in the hands of the individual, one questions whether we need institutions anymore. As this technology progresses, we face an inevitable need to restructure our government systems, safety measures, and concept of ownership, as well as their attached legal implications. But while the world touts the internet as the prime conveyer of a bold, new democracy, we consider how it also ushers in sharper methods of surveillance and control.

Moderator Dharmishta Rood (Fellow, Harvard University Psychology Department) leads Nicco Mele (Founder, EchoDitto and author, The End of Big) and Kevin Bankston (Director, Free Expression Project, Center for Democracy & Technology) in a bold discussion on how the internet is giving rise to the individual.

Further background information on the participants:

Nicco Mele, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government, is a leading expert in the integration of social media and Web 2.0 with politics, business, and communications. As the internet operations director for Governor Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential race, Mele and the campaign team pioneered the use of technology and social media that revolutionized political fundraising and American politics. Later that year, Mele founded EchoDitto, a leading internet strategy consulting company. Melo also co-founded GeniusRocket.com, which uses the internet to solicit advertising creative, and launched ProxyDemocracy.com, an online resource for proxy voting and shareholder resolutions.

Kevin Bankston is Senior Counsel and Director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT). Prior to joining CDT in February 2012, he was a Senior Staff Attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) specializing in free speech and privacy law. From 2003-05, he was EFF's Equal Justice Works/Bruce J. Ennis Fellow, studying the impact of post-9/11 anti-terrorism surveillance initiatives on online privacy and free expression. Before joining EFF, Bankston was the Justice William J. Brennan First Amendment Fellow for the American Civil Liberties Union, where he litigated Internet-related free speech cases.

Dharmishta Rood is a Masters student at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, studying social media tools and their applications for informal learning. With this interest in new media, she also works at the Berkman Center as a research assistant for Yochai Benkler, delving into online cooperation. She is the co-founder of Populous, a Knight Foundation-funded project that aims to provide collegiate and small town newspapers with the tools they need to survive in a web 2.0 environment. Rood was recently a Knight News Challenge Fellow at MIT's Center for Civic Media.

About Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University:

Ford Hall Forum is the nation's oldest free public lecture series. The Forum provides an open venue for sharing opinions and discussing controversial points of view. It advances the First Amendment through freedom of expression, encouraging attendees to engage directly with speakers. Ford Hall Forum discussions illuminate the key issues facing our society by bringing to its podium knowledgeable and thought-provoking orators from a broad range of perspectives. These experts participate for free, and in settings that promote a culture of involvement in a non-partisan environment.

The Forum began in 1908 as a series of Sunday evening public meetings held at the Ford Hall, which once stood on Beacon Hill in Boston. While the original building no longer exists, the public conversations have continued throughout the Boston area with the generous support from state agencies, foundations, corporations, academic institutions, and individuals. In its 104th year of programming, the Forum continues to build upon its partnership with Suffolk University. Suffolk is now housing the Forum's administrative offices just a block away from where the original Ford Hall once stood.

Ford Hall Forum programs are made possible through the generous contributions from individual members as well as corporations and foundations, including American International Group (AIG), AMES Hotel, Broadway Video, Compass Eight, The Fred & Marty Corneel Fund, Gray Media, Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, Helen Rees Literary Agency, Iron Mountain, Jackson & Company, LCMG Certified Public Accountants, The Lowell Institute, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Penny Pimentel, The Pfizer Foundation, Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation, Prince Lobel & Tye, Saturday Night Live, Suffolk University, True North,  and WBUR 90.9 FM.

For more information on Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University, visit http://www.fordhallforum.org. Information about Suffolk University’s partnership with the Ford Hall Forum can be obtained by contacting Mariellen Norris, (617) 573-8450, mnorris@suffolk.edu.