DefendersTech

We provide digital security and IT-support to human rights defenders in the East and Horn of Africa sub-region.

DefendersTech is DefendDefenders innovation team working to facilitate intelligent, strategic, and secure usage of technology by human rights defenders (HRDs) in the East and Horn of Africa sub-region.

Digital Safety Education

We offer digital security training for HRDs with beginner, intermediate, or advanced ICT skills, as well as advanced trainings for IT-staff of human rights organisations.

Documentation & Data

We offer training and support on electronic documentation systems for human rights documentation projects, including Martus, OpenEvSys, CiviCRM, Kobo Toolbox, and Elmo.

Research & Monitoring

DefendersTech aims to raise awareness about the digital safety and privacy situation for HRDs in the sub-region, through closely monitoring the situation, and publishing in-depth reports.

Web Presence

DefendersTech offers a small-scale hosting service for human rights organisations in the East and Horn of Africa sub-region, and social media training on social networking, brand building, and WordPress web hosting.

DefendDefenders’ digital security program for women HRDs enabling them to respond to the digital security challenges they face in their work and daily life.

DefendDefenders’ comprehensive skills-building project for HRDs and human rights organisations aiming to illuminate the world of digital tools and strategies.

Are you an HRD in the East and Horn of Africa in need of digital security support?

Latest News

Updates from August 2023

Dear friends, I bring you this month’s greetings from the heart of Kampala, at Lotis Towers, Plot 16, Mackinnon Road, where we have substantively moved

Human Rights Defender of the month: Veronica Almedom

Veronica Almedom is a poster child of successful immigration. A duo Eritrean and Swiss citizen, she was born in Italy, and grew up in Switzerland where she permanently resides. Her parents are some of the earliest victims of Eritrea’s cycles of violence. When Eritrea’s war of independence peaked in the early 1980s, they escaped the country as unaccompanied minors, wandering through Sudan, Saudi Arabia, before making the hazard journey across the Mediterranean into Europe. There, they crossed first to Italy, and finally, to Switzerland, where they settled first as refugees, and later, as permanent residents.