Detailed biography
Dr Andre Oboler is a social media and online public diplomacy expert. He is CEO of the Online Hate Prevention Institute, a not-for-profit organisations that seeks to prevent harm that results from various forms of online hate including online racism and cyberbullying. He serves on the Executive of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) and as a Councillor on the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ). He was previously Director of Online Engagement at the Zionist Federation of Australia, where he headed the Community Internet Engagement Project. He also worked with the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission developing the “Click Against Hate” program for schools.
Andre Oboler has lived in South Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom and Israel. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Lancaster University (UK) and a first class honours degree in computer science as well as an LLM(JD) from Monash University (Australia). HE has also completed a Post Doctoral Fellowship in the Political Science Department at Bar-Ilan University (Israel).
In Australia Andre served as a Madrich with Hineni Youth and Welfare. In the UK he served as President of the Lancaster University Jewish Society, Secretary of the Union of Jewish Students and as a Deputy on the Board of Deputies of British Jews. As CEO of Zionism On The Web, Andre’s work on behalf of Israel and the Jewish community received endorsements and support across the Jewish world.
In 2006 Andre was the UK delegate on the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs‘ Young Jewish Diplomatic Leadership Seminar. In 2007-2008 he was Legacy Heritage Fellow at NGO Monitor in Jerusalem. Andre is a member of the ROI Community and attended the 2008, 2010, and 2011 summits. He also completed Monash University’s prestigious John Bertrand Leadership program. In 2014 he was award the Marion & Kurt Lippmann Scholarship for Jewish Community Professionals. In 2015 he was awarded the JNF / B’nai B’rith Jewish Changemaker Award for contribution to Australian Society.
Dr Oboler has pioneered work in the study of online antisemitism, coining the phrase “Antisemitism 2.0” in 2008. He has presented on the topic for the Global Forum to Combat Antisemitism, the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism, the World Jewish Congress, the Kantor Center and many others. He has also conducted research in Facebook, Google Earth, Wikipedia, YouTube, Twitter and other social media platforms. Drawing on his experience and methodologies for tackling online antisemitism, he has also pioneered work in the study of anti-Muslim hate in social media.
Outside of the Jewish world, Andre has played a leading role in the higher education sector. He has served three times as an officer in the UK’s National Postgraduate Committee (including responsibility as a trustee), and for two years with the Board of Directors of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). Andre has been a member of the Higher Education Academy’s Research and Teaching forum, as well as serving on the LTSN working group on part time teachers. These roles followed years of local representation. Andre served for three years as a departmental student representative at Monash University’s School of Computer Science and Software Engineering, as well as serving on the Faculty of IT’s Education Board and the Faculty Board. In the UK he served as Vice President of the Graduate Students Association at Lancaster University, as well as serving in the Lancaster University Students’ Union as the Postgraduate representative. He represented students in the University Senate, the Graduate School Committee and the University Court.
Andre is a Senior Member of the IEEE and is active at the global level with the IEEE Computer Society and locally with the Victorian Section and the Victorian Chapter of the Computer Society. Within the Victorian Section he has served multiple times on the review committee for the best student academic paper prize, and as chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, and is currently the Section’s Membership Development Officer. With in the IEEE Computer Society, Andre served as Vice Chair and then Chair of the Society’s Victorian Chapter and continues his involvement today as a committee member without portfolio. He has also served for two years as the Country Coordinator for the IEEE Computer Society in Australia and New Zealand and as Vice Chair then Chair of the Society’s Student Awards Committee. HE is currently Vice Chair (Awards and Recognition) of the IEEE Computer Society‘s Membership and Geographic Activities Board and the regional representative for the Asia and Pacific region (R10). He also serves as a Distinguished Visitor for the IEEE Computer Society.
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