Dear friends and colleagues,
In 2015, when we celebrated the ten-year anniversary of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (then still abbreviated EHAHRDP), we decided it was time to give the organisation a new, fresh face under its new name: DefendDefenders. In February, after a year of consultations, we presented our new logo and rebranded image during the third general assembly of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network. Today, I’m proud to launch our new website at https://defenddefenders.org as the final step in our rebranding process.
On DefendDefenders’ new website, it will be easier to find information and stay up to date on our work. HRDs will be able to contact us more quickly in case of emergencies and to access essential resources they can use to improve their safety. The website itself was developed with the specific requirements of the East and Horn of Africa in mind, and is designed to work with low bandwidth Internet or on mobile devices.
Every element of DefendDefenders’ new brand has been carefully chosen to represent the changes we have made over the years, without losing sight of who we are – from prominent features in the logo, such as the shield which remains the core of our identity, to subtle nuances like a font inspired by anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko.
The rebranding of EHAHRDP to DefendDefenders is one of the many ways we continue to grow as an organisation. With a new look, we are ready for the next decade, as we stand shoulder to shoulder with HRDs across the sub-region.
We give our thanks to the team of creatives at Loop: Design for Social Good, who developed the website and our new brand in cooperation with our Technology and Communications teams, and also to HURIDOCS, who generously supported the development and hosted the previous incarnation of our website over the past five years.
We encourage you to visit our new site and share any feedback or suggestions with us. As always you can still get our updates via Facebook, Twitter, and our Mailing List.
Yours in solidarity,
Hassan Shire.