Our team

We are a group of university researchers in social sciences and data science, as well as activists with deep knowledge and profound experience. Our team consists of experts in the fields of human rights, labour rights, and media communication.

Stefan Brehm

Stefan Brehm is associate professor at Lund University and research director at Globalworks Lund AB. He is an economist by training and an expert on China’s political economy. Stefan is familiar with statistical modelling and spatial econometrics. Stefan is an expert on China’s social media landscape and member of the human rights research hub at Lund University. He speaks and reads Chinese.

Gion Koch Svedberg

Gion Koch Svedberg is associate professor at Malmö University and partner at Globalworks Lund AB. He has more than fifteen years of experience as academic researcher and consultant in the field of computer sciences. Gion is an expert in automation, automatic process control and feedback systems, including modelling and simulation, adaptive systems and machine learning. He designed and implemented distributed, intelligent systems, including applications in machine-to-machine learning and Internet of things

Helena Magnusson

Helena Magnusson is a multiple start-up entrepreneur and co-founder of Globalworks Lund AB. She is an academic activist trained in political science, gender studies, and labour rights. Helena is an expert on China and has more than ten years of experience in the field of labour organizing. She has worked as senior HR manager at a large US-Chinese joint venture in China. Helena is certified in GRI reporting and experienced in conducting social audits.

Policy Statement

Globalworks is a not-for-profit organisation analysing the working conditions and living environments of stakeholders at the bottom of global supply chains. Our research focuses on the situation of workers and communities in places without strong institutions to protect their legal rights. Because we collect the voices of marginalised stakeholder groups in repressive environments from social media, we have the responsibility to safeguard privacy, security, and ethical use. We are committed to the following policies:

Privacy

  • We only search for voices on publicly accessible sites.
  • We do not ask for access to private information.
  • We do not engage directly with users on the internet.
  • We do not encourage or discourage users from posting information on the internet.
  • We do not look for information with the aim of revealing the real identity of an internet user.

Data security

  • Data containing individual posts is encrypted and only experts with clearance and direct legal obligations have access to raw data.
  • All information that is shared with partners, other organisations, and the public is aggregated and non-traceable.

Ethical use of data

  • Analyses serve the purpose of mitigating and remedying adverse human rights impacts.
  • Analyses must not aim at monitoring workers or communities.
  • Analyses must not undermine or interfere with workers’ and communities’ activities and communications.