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Meet The Voices:
All Participant Profiles

Explore profiles of Exigent Witness Fellows and Exigent Participants who contribute firsthand perspective, professional insight, and independent voices to Exigent’s educational mission and public-interest work.
 
Exigent Witness Fellows generously contribute their time, judgment, and professional integrity to this work. Each Fellow engages directly with complex realities and carries those experiences back into their platforms, audiences, and communities with full editorial independence, without direction or oversight. Their participation reflects a commitment to careful observation, rigorous questioning, and responsible public discourse.
 
Exigent is deeply grateful to all participants and Fellows who approach this work with seriousness, openness, and respect for the weight of what they witness. Their independent voices are central to strengthening public understanding and informed conversation in Canada.
David Batten Executive David Batten, Exigent Witness Fellow contributing leadership insight and public discourse.

David Batten

Exigent Witness Fellow
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Role/Affiliation:
President and CEO, digitalfreedom.ca
About:
David Batten, MSM is an award-winning Canadian photographer, visual storyteller, and entrepreneur with more than three decades of experience working with Fortune 500 companies, major law firms, and international brands. As founder of Digital.Freedom, he became an early pioneer in digital imaging, leading photography campaigns and visual strategy for companies including Home Depot Canada and Lowe’s North America.

Before launching his studio, Batten served as an airborne armoured soldier with The Royal Canadian Dragoons and later deployed to Bosnia while studying photography and image arts. His experiences in both military service and documentary photography shaped a career focused on capturing human resilience, leadership, and conflict through a deeply personal lens.

In addition to his commercial work, Batten has spent nearly two decades serving as the inaugural Patron of The Royal Canadian Dragoons, supporting veterans and military families. In 2017, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor General of Canada in recognition of his leadership and community contributions.

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David Batten
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Canadian police and demonstrators during a public protest in Ottawa reflecting tensions surrounding democratic expression and civic discourse

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Downtown Toronto encampment with tents and protest signage reflecting rising civic unrest and social tensions in Canadian urban spaces

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