WebSining

I have the current pleasure of working with Al Alegre in the context of ONI Asia. Al lives and works in the Phillippines, and is extremely active in the world of digital media and technology, especially where it relates to civil society and human rights and freedoms within Asia.

Al is involved in many projects, one of which I draw your attention to now. The project is called Websining, and is a flagship project of the Committee on Visual Arts, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Phillippines.

Websining is primarily an annual digital art competition that brings together Filipino culture and tradition with technological innovations and modern societal challenges. To quote from the CD liner notes:
"...the WEBSINING Digital Art Competition aims to encourage artistic innovation and creativity in the networked relationships of art, technology and society. It challenges Filipino artists to harness new technology's potential to propel their artistic creativity to uncharted trajectories and create fresh works"

Some may wonder how this relates specifically to Internet Security. In my role as Designer for the Citizen Lab, I am acutely aware that good design and strong imagery is one way in which we can propel messages and create interest in the issues of Internet Censorship. Projects like Websining are important in creating a world-wide dialogue in this context, and also in educating each other with regards to challenges faced by specific communities.

For more information on this project, and to browse the catalogue of digital works:
http://www.websining.net/