SERBIA: Responsible Research and Innovation  

The innovation camp “Responsible Research and Innovation: Towards a Full Image of (in)Equality” was organized by Intersection Center for Science and Innovation at the premises of the RTS Media Lab in Belgrade on 24-25 June 2022 with 16 participants.  

Winning team & solution:

I GENDER – a software to detect and fight cyber violence content against women. 

© Maša Zdravković (Digital Society, ICT, Chemistry), Tanja Kecman (Marketing), Isidora Simeunović (Computer Science) and Sofija Seničić (Management, Digital)  

Social media and blogs, and even mainstream media, are not free from gender bias are still place where various unproper behavior and even cyber violence against women occur. There is currently no agreed definition of cyber violence against women at national levels and only a few countries cover some forms of cyber violence against women in their national laws. The solution aims to draw attention to this behavior and to provide evidence and tools for fighting online gender-based violence.   

It has two components: A Spider that collects texts from the Internet, and a natural language processing (NLP) software that analyzes data and conducts sentiment analysis of texts. The Spider finds various texts on the Internet. Search is conducted on the entire Internet, and Spider therefore collects a huge amount of data. Texts are transferred to the NLP engine, that is using neural networks to analyze content in order to determine general sentiment in texts and if there is negative sentiment toward women. The long-term goal of the solution is to assist data providers, but also law agencies, in detecting cyber violence content against women.  

The project should result in reduced cyber violence against women and content presenting gender inequality on the Internet. It should also help law enforcement and preventative actions in fighting various kinds of harassment and violence based on gender and intersectionality.  

The approach using NLP for securing evidence and providing tools for fighting online gender-based violence and bullying is novel and innovative, and could be used both for preventing aggressive and violent behavior in the digital sphere and collecting and documenting proofs for law enforcement, where needed.  

Testimonials from participants:  

From the winning team I Gender 

“Our participation in the EQUALS-EU event has, first of all, broadened our knowledge on and sensitivity to gender equality and intersectionality, but has also helped us improve our idea to use natural language processing (NLP) software, that analyses data and conducts sentiment analysis of texts, to tackle inequalities and assist data providers and law agencies in detecting cyber violence content against women. Another inspiring aspect of our hackathon participation was the opportunity to meet several like-minded experts, whom we invited to help us further develop our concept.  

We are a team that new each other for a long time, so it was great to get some fresh ideas and views from other angles, both from the organizers and the other participants. From this experience, we would highly recommend to other girls and women to use every opportunity for networking and broadening their perspectives, to be persistent in pursuing their dreams and goals, but also not to hesitate to ask for help and support when needed, as collective intelligence and support networks are of great value in the process of development of new, innovative concepts.” 

From participants 

“I felt empowered and energized after this innovation camp, the most relevant part for me being the exchange with experts, moderators, and other participants on Gender Inequalities in practice. I was not aware till today of many aspects of research and innovations that actually need to be engendered, and I am privileged that I was a part of this intellectually stimulating exercise, and glad that I met people with whom we can continue fine-tuning our solution for decrease of gender inequality in infrastructure investments. I am grateful to the organizers, experts, and other participants, please keep organizing such gatherings, and count on me and my team for future challenges of this kind.”  Uroš Galović, participant 

 “This event was a testimony to the fact that design and technology can be used, in many ways, to reduce gender inequality. As a techy person myself, I am glad that it was so obvious that we all have a role to play in that process, and a responsibility to use the resources that design and digital technology present, the opportunity they give to narrow gender gaps.”  Olivera Milutinović, participant

From experts in the jury  

 “As a researcher, an engineer, but also as an activist, and a father, I am glad to see that the use of digital technologies has substantial potential for economic empowerment of women and for increasing Gender Equality. This innovation camp offered knowledge, ensured awareness raising on importance of inclusion of gender aspect in innovation, provided perspective for additional employment opportunities for women, and called for the change of the roles of women in society, for enabling both women and men to gain a stronger voice in their communities, their companies, their universities, and their governments. The time has come for fast forward in decreasing the Gender gap.”  Kosta Jovanović, PhD, professor at the University of Belgrade School of Electrical Engineering, expert-jury member

“Guaranteeing the rights of women and giving them opportunities to reach their full potential is critical not only for attaining gender equality, but also for overall progress and development of our societies. We have seen today four wonderful – smart, educated, reflective and resilient women-led innovative teams, and I congratulate the organizers, all participants, fellow experts, jury members and the EQUALS EU project team on the results in this empowerment event and such great promotion of the values of inclusiveness and intersectionality.”  Mila Mirković, expert on Gender and Entrepreneurship, expert-jury member 

From moderators/facilitators  

“Achieving gender equality requires measures to compensate for existing disadvantages. I hope we made one small step in raising awareness on several key areas where disadvantages for women currently exist, and that our discussions will contribute to the identification of gender gaps, stimulate adoption of policy and programmatic strategies in this regard, and inspire some of our participants, hardworking female entrepreneurs, to realize their dream of building or expanding a successful business.”  Stefan Stanojević, moderator

  

 “Once women connect, they engage; once they engage, they embrace; once they embrace, they drive, as was said at one of the recent global tech gatherings. Tech companies and non-tech companies alike need more women. Women are already leading in the adoption of technology, they have driven the explosive popularity of e- shopping, while buying more e-readers and connected healthcare devices. Hope some of our participants today will, perhaps a bit inspired also by the great atmosphere of sharing and carrying, learning and mentoring we had at this innovation camp, come to the forefront of innovation and inclusion in the years to come. It was a privilege to facilitate such inspirational discussions and see once again that opportunities are nearly limitless when we connect the unconnected with the right talent.”  Tamara Vasić, facilitator