We Are Recording You Medellín
The 2021 Research Sprint of the Edgelands Institute, incubated at the Berkman Klein Center, and the EAFIT University, explored the intersection of security and civic coexistence issues, youth inclusion, and digital surveillance in the city of Medellin with the city's youth.
Medellín has been adopting various digital technologies and practices to strengthen its security and coexistence services. These include the Integrated Security System (SIESM) managed by the Secretariat of Security and Coexistence, which links the Police, the Health Secretariat, the Women's Secretariat, the Social Inclusion Secretariat, the Risk Directorate, the Mobility Secretariat, and the Fire Department; a network of 170 surveillance cameras with facial recognition technology for use in the stands and entrances of the Atanasio Girardot stadium, and the adoption of the "Medellín Me Cuida" program to track COVID-19 infections during the pandemic.
The Research Sprint We Are Recording You provided a unique opportunity for participants to explore how security and coexistence in Medellin have changed over the past decades and how their intersection with digital surveillance technologies is transforming the city's social contract, especially for young people. The Sprint delved into what security and civic coexistence mean and require for different sectors of society and what the potential and risks are of using digital technologies to provide security services.
