Meghan Markle is set to talk about ‘creating humane tech’ which will be ‘a big part of new charity Archewell’ during a virtual summit today.
The Duchess of Sussex, 39, is currently living in her $14 million Santa Barbara mansion with Prince Harry, 35, and their Archie, 18 months, having stepped back from royal duty in March.
The royal will speak at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit Virtual today in a 15 minute slot, where she will meet with one-on-one with Ellen McGirt to discuss ‘what it will take to create humane tech.’
The exclusive Fortune conferences invites members paying $13,000 to attend ‘by-invitation-only live and virtual meetings and membership communities for the leaders setting the global business agenda’.
Royal reporter and Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie tweeted: ‘Duchess Meghan will speak at tomorrow’s Fortune summit about how experiences online shape communities offline. She will join the summit for a virtual one-one-one on rebuilding the digital world and creating humane tech (a big part of Archewell).’
MailOnline has contacted The Sussexes for comment.
Meghan Markle, 39, is set to talk about ‘creating humane tech’ which will be ‘a big part of new charity Archewell’ during a virtual summit today
According to it’s online description, the three-day event will ‘gather the preeminent women in business, along with select leaders in government, philanthropy, education, sports, and the arts, to explore our theme, ‘Rising to the New Reality’.’
Meghan’s session, which is just 15 minutes long, is described online as: ‘Our experiences online shape our communities offline.
‘How do we build—and rebuild—our digital world? What’s the true price we pay if we don’t?’
While it is unknown if the Duchess will receive a fee for her appearance, Meghan and Prince Harry signed up with the Harry Walker Agency earlier this year.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are setting up their Archewell organisation having stepped back from royal duty in March
At the time, branding experts revealed they could earn as much as £770,000 ($1million) for a speech through HWA, which calls its the ‘World’s #1 Exclusive Speakers’ Agency’.
Earlier this year, Prince Harry said social media was stoking a ‘crisis of hate,’ and urged companies to rethink their roles in advertising on digital platforms.
In an opinion piece for U.S. business magazine Fast Company headlined ‘Social media is dividing us. Together, we can redesign it,’ Harry said that social media, as it currently stands, is ‘unwell’.
The former senior royal said he and his wife, Meghan, have spent the past few weeks working with business leaders and marketing executives on the issue to try and introduce changes.
‘The digital landscape is unwell and companies like yours have the chance to reconsider your role in funding and supporting online platforms that have contributed to, stoked, and created the conditions for a crisis of hate, a crisis of health, and a crisis of truth,’ he wrote.
He called for online communities to be ‘defined more by compassion than hate; by truth instead of misinformation; by equity and inclusiveness instead of injustice and fearmongering; by free, rather than weaponised, speech.’
Meghan’s comments come after Harry urged every social media platform to step up and take responsibility for creating new standards for hate speech, and to work more actively with consumers – not ad-buying corporations – to create a safe environment that isn’t cashing in on misinformation and hate
The couple were forced to drop the Sussex Royal branding as part of their release from The Firm, starting an Archewell Foundation instead, and are thought to be waiting until after the pandemic to announce any further details on their charity or any new social media accounts they may be launching.
The couple revealed their new charitable foundation ‘Archewell’ in April, which will incorporate the causes close to their heart, and said the Greek word in the project Arche – meaning source of action – was the inspiration behind the name of their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
The couple submitted an application for their non-profit foundation to be called ‘Archeway’ with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on February 28.
The duke and duchess said they were focusing their efforts on the coronavirus pandemic but felt ‘compelled’ to reveal details of the venture.
‘Like you, our focus is on supporting efforts to tackle the global Covid-19 pandemic but faced with this information coming to light, we felt compelled to share the story of how this came to be.
‘Before SussexRoyal, came the idea of Arche – the Greek word meaning source of action.
‘We connected to this concept for the charitable organisation we hoped to build one day, and it became the inspiration for our son’s name. To do something of meaning, to do something that matters.
‘Archewell is a name that combines an ancient word for strength and action, and another that evokes the deep resources we each must draw upon.
‘We look forward to launching Archewell when the time is right.’