DESCRIPTION

6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

The gig economy has been at the center of public debate, with questions regarding worker rights on the forefront. How can workers in the platform economy have their interests represented and negotiate for better pay and working conditions?

In light of the 100th Anniversary of the International Labour Organization the Consulate General of Switzerland in San Francisco, swissnex San Francisco, the United Nations Association of the USA San Francisco Chapter (UNASF), and the Goethe-Institut San Francisco are organizing an event on the gig economy, a phenomenon which has emerged as a consequence of digitalization accompanied from a societal shift in business and work culture.

A recent bill passed in California in early September highlights the drive toward new legislation around the so-called “gig economy,” raising legal questions for work regulations for companies such as Uber and Lyft. This talk examines these questions in the context of the Future of Work — and how our way of working will evolve within the digital age.

The panel discussion will be accompanied by a video project called Labour in a Single Shot, which is a project by German curator, video-artist, filmmaker couple Harun Farocki and Antje Ehmann. Since 2011 Farocki and Ehmann have initiated video production workshops in 18 cities worldwide. The 1-2 min. short videos submitted by professional and amateur filmmakers from all around the world show work situations which are completely different from each other. Work in Bangalore varies from work in Boston. The project gives a broad idea of what work means in different cultures today.

Program
6:00pm — doors open
6:30pm — opening remarks by Thomas Schneider (Consulate General of Switzerland in San Francisco), Benjamin Bollmann (swissnex San Francisco), Bettina Wodianka (Goethe Institut SF), and Mary Steiner (UNA SF Chapter)
6:40pm — introduction from Jale Yoldas (Consulate General of Switzerland in San Francisco) & Nicola Ruffo (swissnex San Francisco)
6:45pm — Uma Rani Amara, ILO (via Skype)
6:55pm — q&a between Natalie Foster and Uma Rani Amara
7:10pm — Dr. Jordan Brandt, CEO, Inpher
7:20pm — Dr. Maria Mexi, University of Geneva
7:30pm — Rocío Ávila, National Domestic Worker Alliance
7:40pm — Break
7:55pm — panel discussion
8:25pm — q&a
8:45pm — reception
10:00pm — doors close