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Disruptive Media—Drone technology as empowerment

In partnership with:
With support from: Lowell Institute
Date and time
Friday, April 19, 2019

Drones are a disruptive, democratizing technology, allowing us to investigate space, architecture, and separation between communities in a radically empowering way. Johnny Miller’s project Unequal Scenes does just that; removing the personal and subjective gaze and forcing the viewer to confront systematic disenfranchisement from above. By putting this power into everyone’s hands, drone technology allows everyone to explore and examine their own neighborhood without needing intermediaries and gatekeepers. This is a fundamental shift in how we, as citizens, can understand the hidden networks, infrastructure, and systems in which our society is shaped, and which our lived experiences reflect. Miller is the photographer behind Unequal Scenes, and also africanDRONE, a NPO dedicated to empowering Africans to use drones for good. In this interactive discussion, Miller will explain why he believes drones, photography, and various forms of emerging media should be actively championed as enabling technologies of democracy, of positive, community-building practices, and explain how they can support educational initiatives to empower us all. Image: [Boston Society of Architects](https://www.architects.org/programs-and-events/disruptive-media—drone-technology-empowerment "Boston Society of Architects")

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Johnny Miller is a photographer, journalist, and founder of africanDRONE – a pan-African organization of drone operators. He is based in Cape Town, South Africa, and has networks and knowledge of contemporary African and world issues, specifically inequality, urbanization, tech, and art. He has received worldwide acclaim for his project “Unequal Scenes”, an exploration of inequality around the world using a drone. africanDRONE produces content for major international news organizations, develops new and socially aware storytelling methodologies, supports drone mapping and survey operations, and hosts educational drone camps across the continent. africanDRONE recently co-organized the Lake Victoria Challenge with the World Bank, a drone delivery competition in Tanzania. Johnny is an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity at the London School of Economics and a News Fellow at Code For Africa. Image: [LinkedIn](https://za.linkedin.com/in/johnny-miller-a50aab15 "LinkedIn")
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