Background

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This session demonstrates how open source technology, open data frameworks, and AI/ML models empower communities to monitor environmental threats and protect their fundamental human rights. Featuring real-world case studies from UNICEF and grassroots organizations, participants will explore collaborative data science innovations that democratize environmental monitoring, strengthen community advocacy, and advance environmental justice globally.

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Key Objectives

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• To illustrate how this collaborative approach democratizes data science, empowering grassroots advocates to move from anecdotal claims to evidence-driven advocacy, thereby strengthening their demands for accountability and environmental justice.

• To inspire cross-sector action by presenting a successful partnership between community rights holders, government, data scientists, and international organizations like UNICEF, providing a clear blueprint for future collaborations.

• To illustrate how community-generated data, analyzed through open and collaborative AI, can transform the abstract "right to clean air" into actionable intelligence, empowering individuals and communities to make daily, informed decisions to safeguard their health and proactively reduce their exposure to environmental hazards.

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Guiding Questions

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• How can the combination of open source technology, open data, and AI transform environmental monitoring from a niche scientific practice into a fundamental tool for community-led human rights advocacy?

• What does this shift to data-driven advocacy look like in practice, and how does it fundamentally change the power dynamic between communities, corporations, and government regulators?

• What key ingredients - from robust data pipelines and sustainable funding to new forms of partnership - are necessary to replicate and scale these collaborative environmental innovations globally?

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Format

• Spotlight Session

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Session Partners