Farhaan is CEO of Digital Public Square and a co-founder of the organization. For nearly 20 years, he has been leading efforts on the use of digital tools to connect and mobilize people online.
Farhaan has deep experience leading cross-functional teams, including in high-conflict and crisis environments. With nearly a decade of public service from Canada’s former International Development Agency, to most recently serving as the Prime Minister of Canada’s senior advisor for digital, Farhaan Ladhani has a record of generating real-world outcomes on a number of first-in-kind initiatives.
While at Global Affairs Canada, Farhaan’s foreign assignments included the Head of Section for Strategic Communications in Kandahar where he led a team of Afghan, US, Canadian, and international partners responsible for executing strategic communications and public engagement initiatives throughout Kandahar Province. From 2006 to 2008, Farhaan was based in Washington, D.C. at the Embassy of Canada where he focused on the development of social and new media initiatives.
Farhaan has conceived, designed and delivered a series of groundbreaking efforts to support human rights-related campaigns in a variety of countries through the use of digital tools. These include strategies to counter extremist violence in Kandahar in support of the Afghan government, and campaigns to equip Egyptian democracy activists with support from Silicon Valley technologists. Farhaan has extensive experience with projects involving free expression in areas of the world affected by censorship.
Under Farhaan’s leadership, the team at the Digital Public Square is at the forefront of developing new technology and tools to foster online engagement with expertise in reaching marginalized communities, those facing repression, and those in sensitive digital space.
The catalytic power of this Summit in bringing together those who are devoting their lives to pushing back and working to confront, understand and work towards solutions around hate in our society is a noble and difficult task. The Summit not only energized those who attended but led to connecting the dots in a global network of those doing this work. The stories of the victims of hate were painful to witness but their courage in coming forward was inspirational. Those who attended left energized with the hope that by working together solutions can be forged.
