Biography
hvale vale (small letters as per bell hooks) has a background in law studies. She has discovered and learned about technology-related issues through her work, so her engagement with internet and digital rights ranges from policy advocacy to capacity building. As an activist she connects women's rights, sexual rights and the internet politically and practically, and advocates for feminist internet. She is also a facilitator on strategic use of ICTs, digital security, privacy, citizen journalism and visual methodology for social change that combine solidarity with digital storytelling and its powerful peer-to-peer co-production, distribution and outreach. With more than 20 years spent working and living in the region, she has a deep understanding of the Western Balkan political and civil society environment and women's rights movement from within. In 2003 she led the process that established One World Platform, an organisation that tackles and researches the intersections between internet rights, women's rights and the transformative power of technology, where she continues to serve pro bono as president of the board. In 2014, she led the first regional training on ICT and violence against women, privacy and security online, Women Rock IT, which is now in its fourth edition. In 2015, One World Platform co-hosted the first Bosnia and Herzegovina Internet Governance Forum with the BH Communication Regulatory Agency. In April 2017 she started a new professional adventure as coordinator for the “Building EROTICS Networks in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka” project for the APC Women’s Rights Programme.
As a feminist internet writer, she maintains her own blog, www.hvale.me, collaborates with GenderIT.org and GISWatch, and was a supporting author for the Handbook on Securing Online and Offline Freedoms for Women: Expression, privacy and digital inclusion. She has been a speaker in many international forums, and is also one of the proud founders of the feminist portal www.zenskaposla.ba. You can contact her via email: hvale@apcwomen.org, valentina@oneworldplatform.net.