The New Transparency Project, edited by Colin J. Bennett, Kevin D. Haggerty, David Lyon, and Valerie Steeves is a product of a Major Collaborative Research Initiative funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. *(More information about the book launch can be found on this Ottawa Citizen blog post.)

Many of this team are also participating in The Politics of Surveillance Workshop: Advancing Democracy in a Surveillance Society May 8 – 10 at the University of Ottawa.

Dr. Haggerty is also a member of the executive team for the SSHRC funded Major Collaborative Research Initiative “The New Transparency” which brings together several institutions and scholars with the aim of advancing surveillance studies through critical and comparative research.

Some of the questions Dr. Haggerty addresses in his work include how “surveillance creep” has risen to unprecedented and previously inconceivable levels including extensive new measures implemented at major events and “mega-games.” He is also interested in studying the effects and consequences of surveillance on individuals.

Privacy and surveillance issues have become increasingly prevalent in recent times as we grapple with leaks from Edward Snowden, WikiLeaks, and other sources. These issues are not isolated to any city or region, they are global, and we need to share research from around the world.

The Kule Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS) is helping bring together a conversation on privacy and surveillance from universities around the world, including University of Western Sydney, University of Lethbridge, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, National University of Ireland – Maynooth, Roma Tre University, and the University of Alberta.

This is our second Around the World Conference. KIAS is using these conferences to model an environmentally sustainable way of hosting international dialogues. Our goal is to mobilize research ideas sustainably. Book the time to listen in on the conversation!