National Borders and Identity - Agnew, Blender, Bustani, Gladstein - RxC 2020
Channel: RadicalxChange
Date: 23/06/2020

Today, close to 1.1 billion people are living without an official identity. What is identity, really, and what makes it official? What government and non-government systems are responsible for the current situation, and how can we create more coherent, sustainable communities that redefine the concept of identity? What role can ideas championed by the RadicalxChange -- from Visas between Individuals Program, to the concept of Intersectional Identity, to Quadratic Voting -- play in driving change?

Zarinah Agnew
Research Scientist • Irrational Labs
I am formally trained as a neuroscientist, and having completed postdoctoral positions at University College London, and then UCSF, I have published around 27 peer reviewed papers in strong journals. My passion as a scientist underlies all that I do, and it is for this reason that I begin this biography with this fact. I am passionate about asking why things are the why they are? do they have to be like this? how do they work and can we shift them to make them better? Whether this is the brains of healthy people, or the damaged brains of the patients that I work with, whether it is communities, governance, the legal system, or other social dynamics. I am passionate about communication of these issues with the public, and have been centrally involved with public engagement of science since the first year of my PhD. I am a Guerrilla Scientist, speaker for Museums and science nights all over the world, and have tried my hand at science stand up comedy.  

Anna Blender (Moderator)
VP, Sales Strategy • Insights CafeMedia
Anna Blender’s career has centered on data-driven advisory and thought leadership in branding, advertising, and social trends.
Currently, she leads strategic insights and thought leadership initiatives for CafeMedia. CafeMedia is a uniquely human ad tech company working to build a creator-first future by supporting the internet’s independent publishers.

Lourenço Bustani
Founding Partner • Mandalah
Lourenço Bustani is Brazilian, though he was born and raised abroad. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania and upon returning to Brazil in 2006, founded Mandalah, a Conscious Innovation consultancy which today has a presence in São Paulo, New York, San Francisco, Mexico City, Berlin and Tokyo, servicing different types of clients including Nike, Telefonica, GM, Samsung, Anheuser-Busch Inbev, Kimberly Clark, Unilever, Itaú, Danone, UNHCR, Russell Brand, Kobe Bryant, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as dozens of Brazilian startups. In 2015, he launched Human Experience Design (HED), an Experience Design agency, which has been responsible for the production of over 40 philanthropic morning parties in Brazil and Mexico. In 2016, he launched Diálogos, which provides mentoring for young professionals, directors and C-level executives. In 2018, Mandalah invested in a Brazilian health tech startup called Cuidas (together with VC funds Kaszek Ventures & Canary) and in the following year, opened a superfood-based vegan smoothie bar, together with a yoga studio and spa in São Paulo called Smuv (sold in 2020). In mid 2018, Lourenço took a leave and on a volunteer basis, managed the campaign for the Brazilian Presidency of Marina Silva, a leading global environmentalist. His most recent ventures include: a company dedicated to branded projects with large-scale social impact, in partnership with a leading design agency in Brazil and the producers of the largest rock festival in the world (Rock 'n Rio); a company comprised of academic researchers and practitioners from around the world dedicated to developing a Consciousness Index; as well as investing in an AgTech startup focused on the early detection of forest fires. His connecting thread: all that reveals who we are and what we came for.

Alex Gladstein
Chief Strategy Officer • Human Rights Foundation & Oslo Freedom Forum
Alex Gladstein is Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights
Foundation and the Oslo Freedom Forum. In his work, Alex has connected hundreds of dissidents and civil society groups with business leaders, technologists, journalists, philanthropists, policymakers, and artists to promote free and open societies. Alex’s writing and views on human rights and technology have appeared in The Atlantic, BBC, CNN, Fast Company, The Guardian, NPR, The New York Times, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, and WIRED. He has spoken at universities ranging from MIT to Stanford, provided expert briefings at the US State Department and European Parliament, and has presented at a range of fintech and innovation events around the world about why Bitcoin matters for freedom. He serves as faculty for Singularity University and also serves as an advisor to Blockchain Capital, a leading venture firm in the fintech industry. He recently co-authored "The Little Bitcoin Book" and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.