Press Releases
10/13/2021
Consumer Protection Hosts 6th Cross-Cultural Communications Symposium
OCTOBER 13, 2021 – On Friday October 22, 2021 The Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) will host the 6th Cross-Cultural Communications Symposium: “Data with Dignity: People Behind the Numbers.”
This annual symposium returns for the first time since 2019, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and will focus on much of what we learned about communicating across social and economic divides in an era driven by technology and informed by data points.
The 2021 Symposium keynote speaker is Charlton McIlwain, author of Black Software, a professor of media, culture, and communication and Vice Provost for Faculty Engagement and Development at New York University.
Data plays an increasingly important role in determining how state and federal policy is created. Symposium speakers will explore how and why data collection often undercounts and misrepresents marginalized communities, resulting in policies and communication strategies that don’t appropriately consider the needs of underserved communities. This symposium will explore how to recognize and compensate for these biases in data collection to craft better policies and strategies for serving everyone.
“Reaching consumers where they are has been even more important during the past two years and using data can be a useful tool in consumer education and outreach,” said DCP Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull. “But understanding the social, cultural, and economic stories behind each data point is also critical to communicating with compassion, and ensuring we’re not further overlooking those vulnerable communities who may need this information the most. The goal of this year’s Cross-Cultural Communications Symposium is to go beyond the data and ask the hard questions about what we’re doing and how we can do it better.”
The Cross-Cultural Communications Symposium is free and open to the public. Attendees can learn more and register for the symposium by visiting DCP’s website.
This all-day event will be held at the Connecticut Convention Center from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This is an in-person event. Masks are required, as well as proof of vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours prior to the event for all registrants and presenters. The Symposium will also be live streamed. The link is available upon registration.
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Media Contact:
Kaitlyn Krasselt
kaitlyn.krasselt@ct.gov
(860) 713-6019 (office)
(860) 377-0246 (cell)
Outreach and Education Contact:
Catherine Blinder
catherine.blinder@ct.gov
(860) 713-6021 (office)