Couchiching Annual Conference

Cultural Security Under Pressure: Platforms, Policy, and Power

Panel FIVE

September 30, 2025

In an era where digital platforms and algorithms shape what we see, hear, and believe, cultural security has become a frontline issue. This session explores how foreign interference, mis/disinformation, and the dynamics of platforms are reshaping Canada’s cultural landscape. From discussing cultural sovereignty to the question of where “Canadian” cultural policy is truly made, panelists will examine the evolving meaning of cultural security. What does it mean to navigate Canadian identity and culture in a globalized, digitized world—and how can democracy thrive amid these shifting currents?

Sascha Priewe

Director of Collections & Public Programs, Aga Khan Museum

With over 12 years of expertise in museum curatorship and programming, Dr. Sascha Priewe currently serves as the Director of Collections and Public Programs at the Aga Khan Museum. In addition to this role, he is an Associate Professor at both the University of Toronto and Queen’s University, holds the position of Senior Fellow at Massey College, and serves as President of ICOM Canada. Before joining the Museum, Dr. Priewe was the Associate Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships at the Royal Ontario Museum.

Vass Bednar

Managing Director, Canadian Shield Institute

Vass Bednar is the Managing Director of the Canadian SHIELD Institute for Public Policy. With a career spanning think tanks, government, academia, and media, Vass has built a reputation as a fearless and independent voice on the policies that shape our daily lives. In 2020, she co-founded the Master of Public Policy in Digital Society program at McMaster University, where she also taught courses on policy design.
Vass is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Fellow at the Public Policy Forum, and an advisor to both the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project and Social Capital Partners. She is the co-author of The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians and writes for the The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business where she focuses on the policies, technologies, and corporate forces that shape our everyday lives and economic futures.

Sarah Bay-Cheng

Professor of Emerging Technologies in Theatre & Performance and Helen and Paul Phelan Chair in Drama, University of Toronto

Dr. Sarah Bay-Cheng is Professor of Emerging Technologies and Theatre and the Helen and Paul Phelan Chair in Drama at the University of Toronto. She currently serves as the Academic Director for the BMO Lab for Creative Research in Emerging Technologies and is a former Fulbright Scholar in Media and Cultural Studies at Utrecht University (Netherlands). Bay-Cheng’s research focuses on the intersections between technology and cultural performances, both historically and in contemporary culture. Her publications include four books and more than 100 articles, essays and lectures. Current research focuses on theatre and AI and data representations of the performing arts.

Kyle Matthews

Executive Director, Montreal Institute for Global Security

Kyle Matthews is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Montreal Institute for Global Security. His work focuses on human rights, international security, emerging technologies and countering authoritarianism. He holds the position of McConnell Professor of Practice at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University. He is a member of the BMW Foundation’s Global Responsible Leaders network and is currently a member of the Government of Canada’s Cross-cultural Roundtable on Security. He began his career as an official with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and was posted to Tbilisi (Georgia), Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Geneva (Switzerland). He is a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal for his work to advance human rights.

Narendra Pachkhédé

Commonwealth Fellow, Centre for Inquiry into the Social, Geneva-London

Narendra Pachkhédé is a Commonwealth Fellow and journalist-scholar of global affairs working at the nexus of intellectual history, cultural policy, and diplomacy. At the Centre for Inquiry into the Social (Geneva–London), he fosters inquiry, merging field reporting, critical scholarship, and literary insight to examine the politics of knowledge, meaning, and democratic futures. With advanced training in Anthropology, International Relations, Arts, Journalism, and Cinema, he delivers keynotes, lectures, and curates public dialogues and exhibitions. His work also appears in Open Canada, The Hill Times, and The Wire; forthcoming titles include A World Not Our Own (winter 2025) and Canada at the Edge of its Idea (spring 2026).