Each year, TSPA collaborates with a committee of dedicated local Trust & Safety practitioners to select a theme, curate sessions, and advise on speakers for its regional summits. This year’s committee, including John Buckley, Dr. Michelle Teo, Ece Ozkan, and Ravi Bhalla, shared insights on this year’s theme and offered advice for maximizing the summit experience.
“The Power of Collaboration” emerges as this year’s theme against a backdrop of unprecedented change for Trust & Safety practitioners in the EMEA region, necessitating collaboration to continue safeguarding communities. Practitioners must look forward, join forces, and foster collective insight.
John Buckley highlighted the significance of dedicated time to plan for the future, commenting, “[Future proofing is] never easy, but being forward looking in T&S is not always something we get space to do. I’m looking forward to hearing from colleagues on how to think with forward focus.” His comments highlight the theme’s goal to foster a space for safely exploring questions that may not have definitive answers yet.
Building a foundation of collaboration is critical in order to address safety issues quickly while also addressing challenges comprehensively. Ece Ozkan remarked how often Trust and Safety teams face unexpected hurdles in isolation, noting, “in those challenging moments, one realizes—or re-realizes—the importance of collaboration.” This year’s summit focuses on diverse perspectives, processes, and strategies to equip practitioners with valuable connections for future challenges.
To ensure those connections include experts who can speak to all angles of the field, the committee has also identified three critical focus areas for the summit:
- Future Proofing Trust & Safety: Innovations and strategies for sustainability in our field, from new technologies to crisis management.
- Trust & Safety in the Middle East & Africa (MEA): Focused insights on MEA-specific issues with global repercussions, inviting worldwide collaboration.
- Trust & Safety for All Digital Technologies: A broader examination of Trust & Safety across all digital platforms, beyond social media.
Highlighting the significance of these focus areas, Ravi Bhalla shared his enthusiasm for the focus on trust and safety in the Middle East and Africa. “This has been an under-represented geography over the past few years despite having close to 20% of the global online user population, going through geo-political storms and still delivering great support for improving online user safety.” Dr. Michelle Teo emphasized the diverse agenda’s value, hoping “everyone can attend at least one session or engage in a conversation that offers a new learning experience or a fresh perspective on their work.”
Attendees can anticipate an engaging lineup of sessions, including diverse panels, unifying roundtables, and presentations designed to spark innovation. The committee members collectively advise participants to review the agenda beforehand, select a few must-attend sessions, and stay for the reception. John made special note to encourage attendees to connect with speakers throughout the day. “Don’t be afraid to say hello to people (everyone is lovely!)…and make time (if you can) to stay after the main summit track is done. Some of the most interesting conversations happen there.“
With the Call for Proposals now complete, our team is diligently working to finalize the agenda, which will be announced in early April. Registration is open, so secure your spot now!
