Resource Mobilization in the Digital Age: Highlights from the Defenders Meet.

This month, the Digital Human Rights Lab and Pollicy hosted another defender's networking, linking, and learning event bringing together several activists, journalists, human rights workers, defenders, technologists, and innovators working to protect human rights at the intersection of technology in East Africa.

Resources are critical to human rights work because they enable activism, lobbying, advocacy, and human rights innovation. Resource mobilization in the context of human rights and the SDGs is a critical issue for those working to defend human rights and devise workable strategies. Without sustainable funding, rights and goals will fall short.

"Human rights organizations, particularly those that are new to the field, must be deliberate in defining their core work areas and making a case for why they should be funded. Resource mobilization can be a difficult and limiting factor for young organizations, but it is critical that you use existing digital and online platforms to make your ideas and work visible at all times, especially if you work in the grassroots and peripheries, which are often underfunded." Pollicy's founder, Neema Iyer

But, when we rely on donor funds, how can we transform community work? Human rights workers and organizations must become more pragmatic, adaptive, and responsive to the needs of the community and stakeholders. Most importantly, working in coalitions should point human rights workers in the direction of sustainable funding models and strategies.

As you embark on your journey of resource mobilization, please refer to our grant writing toolkit to enhance your own grant writing and learn more about the various stages of the grant writing process.

Communities of Practice (CoPs) were envisioned at the outset of the Digital Human Rights Lab's project and have since grown into large consortiums tackling a wide range of human and digital rights issues, such as cyberlaw and regulation, digital inclusion, innovation for rural development, and ICT 4 Advocacy. There are currently close to 50 organizations represented within the CoPs, all of which are working to advance human rights at the intersection of technology and human rights.

At the convening, Unwanted Witness from the CoP on Cyber Laws and legislation shared about NETDAN, an assistive tool that detects and audibly informs the users about the connectivity status of the most commonly used websites and applications in Uganda.

Ushahidi shared the Uchaguzi initiative, which spearheaded the commitment to increase transparency and accountability in Kenya's recently concluded general election through active citizen participation.

Awesome Mind Speaks discussed their work with young people in and out of school, artists, civil society, and human rights workers on the importance of prioritizing their mental health and wellbeing. They demonstrated and tested a prototype of their soon-to-be-released Keep Chatty App, which aims to make mental health services, such as self-diagnosis, more accessible to people.

The Debunk Show also announced the launch of a WhatsApp Bot to combat misinformation and fake news. They shared their innovative multimedia projects, which they are using to ensure that accurate information is available to the public.

Please check out our Resources, Blogs, and Events to find out what is happening in the community