Localization Lab is happy to introduce Dianne Olivan, who recently joined us as a Program Associate (Community engagement). Here is a brief Q&A where you can get to know a little bit more about her;
What has been your experience before joining Localization Lab?
I work at the intersection of digital rights, gender, and community engagement. A few months ago I took a professional break to focus on graduate school – I will finish soon!
I was full-time at the World Wide Web Foundation as Gender Engagement and Policy Officer. There I coordinated the Foundation’s gender program, managed two subgrants, and led the strategy for the Women’s Rights Online Network, a consortium of organizations primarily in Latin America, Africa, and Asia-Pacific working towards equitable and inclusive digital societies.
Earlier in my career, I worked for EngageMedia, and I coordinated digital rights and social issue documentary projects and events. I also served as a key point person for the Coconet community, a network of digital rights activists across Asia-Pacific.
Dianne (third from left) at the Women’s Rights Online Network convening in Dubai, June 2022
Tell us about an experience that has shaped your perspective and work.
In my advocacy work starting in university to working in digital rights, I realized that my activism was heavily shaped by people who have shown me kindness, love, and grace as I grow professionally. Because of them, when I learned that I wanted to do community and network-building work, I told myself that I will act with kindness and care above all.
They taught me the importance of collective care; loving and caring for oneself and others is an act of resistance. That a truly inclusive space is feminist, acknowledging the intersections of our identities and context. Ultimately, I learned that love should be at the center of both celebrations and difficult conversations.
What do you see as the greatest challenges for the future of internet freedom, digital rights and the role of Localization Lab in this changing landscape?
Violence remains to be the greatest challenge in the use of technologies and participation online. Violence can be state-sponsored; towards those who express dissent; against women and gender-diverse people’s freedom of expression; or can be condoned through platforms that lack mechanisms to avoid so in the first place. Localization Lab has been at the forefront of ensuring that marginalized, at-risk groups can meaningfully access products and services that protect them from threats and attacks.
Future trends and signals also point us to newer versions of technological disruptions that are marketed to bring optimization and solve “age-old problems,” but are designed and operated without a holistic consideration of their impact across stakeholders. As these disruptions exist in the same profit-oriented, Silicon Valley, West-centric framework, these will again widen an already growing gap between those who have meaningful access (across all forms) versus those who do not.
Localization Lab has also been working to break barriers by bridging participatory design, accessibility, and digital rights. The organization shifts its attention from tech to the communities and groups who need them, which is much needed in this space.
Explain what localization is to a 6-year-old
Localization is making sure that all our friends – regardless of who they are, how much money they have, and where they come from – can understand and use all the toys, movies, and books they want.
What’s a project you’re really excited about at the moment?
I will be supporting the community engagement efforts of the organization, so I am extremely excited to meet everybody and see how we can co-design meaningful interactions with our contributors and partners.
What’s your favorite word or expression in your own language and what does it mean?
In Filipino, we use tahan to mean “stop crying.” We also use tahanan to refer to home. Tahanan essentially means “Here (at home) is where you stop crying.”
Tell us something that most people don't know about you
I recently found out that I had an IMDB account for being an extra in a 2014 indie film (where a protagonist fell in love with a supernatural being in the woods that shape-shifted as their ex-lover).
Your superpower?
I always find a way to create a new dish from leftovers in the fridge.