The public lashing back against a governmental recording of private civilian data in the name of national security will be granting an audience to one of the most revered champions of individual freedom of the 21st century thus far: Edward Snowden.
Risking his life and his freedom, Snowden is renowned for fighting back against the injustice of unauthorised government surveillance by exposing the invasive actions of the National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence agencies during his time as a high-level
technology and cyber security specialist across US government agencies. Snowden revealed in 2013 that the NSA was secretly seizing private records from everyday civilians, which led to a nationwide scandal resulting in the most significant US surveillance policy reform in three decades and, consequently, criminal charges being laid against Snowden, leading him to flee the country. Facing controversial “espionage” charges in the US, he currently has legal residence in Russia, though he maintains that “Truth has its costs, but I would rather be without a State than without a voice.”
Snowden is no stranger to locking horns with American national security, and his critique extends even to the changing landscape of Australia’s population, addressing the Australian government’s own newly-imposed surveillance initiatives: “Just months ago, an aggressive new ‘bulk collection’ program came into effect in Australia, mandating the indiscriminate interception of private records without regard to an individual’s guilt or innocence. This is the most classic form of mass surveillance, and it radically redefines the balance of power between citizen and state…a battle is beginning, and the internet and democracy hang in the balance.”
Appearing via video link, Snowden will enlighten audiences on how he did what he did, and most importantly, why he did it in An Evening with Edward Snowden. Brought to you by Think Inc. – the team behind the Australian tours of Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson, Sam Harris, Maajid Nawaz and Dr Cornel West – An Evening with Edward Snowden provides a rare opportunity for Australians to hear the first-hand accounts of the man who sacrificed everything so that his country – and, by extension, the western world – would not fall into “…the hands of a system whose reach is unlimited, but whose
Australian event dates: Fri 20 May 2016 | PCEC, Perth
Sat 21 May 2016 |ACC, Adelaide
Sun 22 May 2016 | MCEC, Melbourne
Fri 27 May 2016 | Courier Mail Piazza, Brisbane
Sat 28 May 2016 | Big Top, Sydney
Sun 29 May | Llewellyn Hall, Canberra
TICKETS ON SALE AT WWW.THINKINC.ORG.AU
Comments