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Digital Rights Learning Exchange is a 6-week online training course organized by Digital Grassroots and the Open Internet for Democracy Initiative and tailored for emerging grassroots activists who would like to acquire critical skills and knowledge for conducting effective digital rights advocacy. The program also aims at building a platform for active cooperation and peer learning among the participants through shared group activities and guidance of established digital leaders who will serve as program mentors and facilitators.

The program starts on 25 April 2022 and will feature specifically designed learning content that will be reinforced by live Zoom meetings with industry experts, who will share their expertise across key topics, including effective advocacy writing and communication, using data in advocacy campaigns, staying safe and secure online while implementing advocacy and measuring its impact.

Eligibility requirements:

– Interest in digital rights advocacy

– Strong written and spoken English (all live sessions and course materials will be in English)

– Community building and leadership experience

– Ability to commit to six (6) hours per week of program activities, for six weeks, from April 25, 2022 to June 03, 2022.A reliable internet connection (a modest connectivity stipend will be provided)

– A willingness to share experiences and learn from one another

To help ensure that the program provides participants with competencies relevant to their real-life activities and work, applicants will be asked to submit a digital rights project or concept that they would like to develop further over the course period.

At the end of the program, participants will be invited to an open Digital Rights Learning Exchange Finale Event to present their digital rights advocacy projects. During the event, the participants will discuss their project goals, target audience, and road maps using various formats for virtual events, including round table discussions, arts and media showcases, and lightning talks.

2020 was a year like no other. The global pandemic has brought serious challenges and adversities for the entire global community, exposing a significant gap between different groups, specifically in the digital space. At the same time, it revealed an urgent need for supporting the most vulnerable communities and bridging the digital divide.

In the midst of the unfolding Covid-19 pandemic, Digital Grassroots remained optimistic and carried out projects and activities that would support our community members and strengthen their digital agility in the face of emerging challenges.

Our 2020 Annual Report reflects the scope of work that we implemented throughout the year and demonstrates our commitment to delivering high-quality projects that would benefit our DIGRA community. Apart from a detailed description of our 2020 activities, the report also features the selected community-led projects, DIGRA speaking engagements, and milestones that marked the year 2020 for us. We hope you will enjoy it.

While Digital Grassroots is steadily expanding its network and impact globally, each year, we remain committed to providing valuable learning and capacity-building experience to our community members and ensuring that youth voices are an integral part of the discussions about internet-related issues.

Our 2021 annual report represents the breadth of work we fulfilled to meet our commitments in the given year. It also provides a comprehensive overview of the key activities and projects that we implemented in 2021, including the third cohort of our Community Leaders Program and the fifth cohort of our Ambassadors Program. In addition, the report gives us an opportunity to spotlight and celebrate achievements and special moments that we shared with our community throughout the year.

Discover in the report:

• Featured community-led projects
• Community engagement events
• Our special media project
• Photo gallery of memorable moments and more!

Digital Grassroots held its third Community Leaders program from 19 April to 28 May 2021. The program’s focus was Internet Advocacy and built upon the Open Internet for Democracy Playbook by the Open Internet for Democracy Initiative.

At its core, the program sought to raise awareness on Internet Advocacy in local communities to enable grassroots communities to share their unique internet advocacy experiences. Six Community Leaders from five countries were selected to be part of this program including (in alphabetical order); Aubin Zoh from Côte d’Ivoire, David Aragort from Venezuela, Isaac Oloruntimilehin from Nigeria, Mauricia Abdol Tshilunda from South Africa, Taona Makolija from Malawi, and Victor Uahomo from Nigeria.

The Community Leaders for Internet Advocacy was a six-week online learning experience that delved into pertinent issues relating to Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Assembly and Association, Accessibility, Privacy and Data Protection, among more.

The program culminated into a two-week mentorship in which we matched each Community Leader with industry experts including (in alphabetical order); Carlos Iglesias, Eduardo Carillo, Emmanuel Vitus, Iris Boyer, Marco Konopacki, Meri Baghdasaryan, Muthoni Muriithi, and Solana Larsen. The mentorship phase was critical in building capacity for the future internet leaders.

Digital Grassroots is grateful to the community leaders, mentors, and the Open Internet for Democracy Initiative for making this cohort possible. Read the full report here.

Digital Grassroots is a youth-led organization aimed at increasing digital citizenship among youth from underrepresented regions.

The fifth cohort of our Digital Grassroots Ambassador program enables the ambassadors to analyze internet and digital rights issues in their communities. The program accomplishes the following goals:
1. Build a positive narrative on youth participation in Internet Governance
2. Engage youth in resolving internet-related problems at the community level
3. Introduce youth to participate in Internet Governance through mentorship
4. Use Internet Literacy as a tool to accomplish SDGs 4, 5, 10, 16, 17

The Digital Grassroots Ambassador program will include:
1. 4 weeks Internet Literacy online coursework tailored to address key internet and digital rights issues in local communities
2. A community engagement activity that will be done by selected Ambassadors; This would involve training a group of other people (minimum of ten) using the ILC coursework, and submitting a picture proof and report on the activities carried out
3. A 4-week mentorship program with a mentor to induct Ambassadors to Youth Participation in Internet Governance

Successful Ambassadors will receive a certificate at the end of the program, an opportunity to share success stories and write articles related to the internet on our website, forum, and social platforms, an exclusive mentorship program on how to engage as a youth in Internet Governance, as well as an opportunity to join the core team in a given capacity.

Selection Criteria

• Between 14 and 29 years old in 2021
• Interested in using the internet as a tool for social good and development
• Community Centred individual passionate about sharing information
• Applications are encouraged from persons from regions facing internet-related challenges including access problems.
• You do not need prior experience in Internet Governance to participate

Program timeline
– Applications Open – 6 August 2021
– 30 minutes DIGRA Ambassadors application guidance webinar – 10 AM UTC 13 August 2021 (register to join here)
– Application close – 20 August 2021
– Program start – 6 September 2021

The Digital Natives Youth Connect Board is an initiative by Digital Grassroots to enable young people to tackle community engagement issues for digital inclusion in underrepresented regions.

Digital Grassroots is a female and youth-led non-profit working to increase digital citizenship in local communities. We are youth leaders in the Generation Equality Action Coalition for Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality, which is led by UN Women, Mexico, and France. We have partnered with global organizations such as Mozilla Foundation, Internet Society, and Internet Freedom Festival to implement community engagement projects for youth inclusion in internet health, internet governance, and digital rights issues in local communities. In 2020, we were finalists in the Access category for ITUs Equals In Tech awards. We were also nominated by WSIS for Ethics in cyberspace.

We are registered in Nigeria and maximize the potential of the internet for our global network of digital natives, including 128 ambassadors and 15 Community Leaders in over 60 countries, 7 programs in 3 years, and a global leadership team. We apply the principles of working open and leading open.

Our distributed model of leadership allows us to create pathways for grassroots communities to interact with our work and create global networks through the application of open internet principles. We work online and are a diverse team open to contributors who uphold the values of an open, inclusive, and healthy internet.

As part of the Digital Natives Youth Connect Board, you will be one of the young people shaping the future of technology and innovation across the globe.

Whilst, being a member of this Board is a non-remunerated position, we believe that the community collaboration, leadership growth, and ability to create change in the world will be an enriching experience.

Apply for one of the five available roles as a member of this new board.

11 June 2021

– INTERNET ADVOCACY. Serve in an active advisory and implementation role on engaging young people in solving internet issues at a grassroots level by creating services that respond to the digital needs of underserved communities
– INTERNET HEALTH. Build online communities as a collective of young changemakers working towards a more open, equal, and healthy internet through youth participation in Internet Governance
– INTERNET FREEDOM. Take part in hands-on collaborative efforts with Digital Grassroots to connect grassroots communities to institutions that enhance their autonomy in digital citizenship

– Be part of a global youth organization shifting the landscape on youth participation in Internet Governance.
– Center your work and that of your community at a high level, with an opportunity to showcase it to world leaders and leading organizations.
– Contribute to bridging the gender divide in Internet Governance, Technology, and Innovation.
– Be part of the decision-making process that is positively shining light on the issues young people in underrepresented communities are facing
– Be part of a community of like-minded, ethical, and visionary young leaders who are ready to change the world.

– Board Secretariat
– Communications focal point
– Community Engagements focal point
– Projects focal point
– Resource and Partnerships focal point

The work of Digital Grassroots is sustained through intentional administrative functions and collaboration among all the team members. We set our intentions through measurable objectives, and assign ourselves meaningful work that allows us to make the most of our potential whilst embracing a healthy work-life balance. As core leaders of Digital Grassroots, we ensure that our commitment to the values of care, intention, collaboration, open leadership, and equity are centered in our practice and trickles down to our community. We can only achieve this by being organized, documenting our processes, and ensuring that our open leadership principles are embedded in all we do.
ROLE DELIVERABLES:
– Serve as the point of contact of the Digital Natives Youth Connect Board both internally and externally
– Maintain the calendar, dates, and task sheets of the board
– Offer direct support with documentation and minute keeping on behalf of the board
– Lead in writing outcome reports based on the board activities
– Lead in monitoring and evaluation of the board’s objectives and offer remedies where needed

Digital Grassroots projects center the community to ensure a bottom-up approach in responses to digital issues affecting our communities. As youth leaders in the Action Coalition for Technology and Innovation, our projects will be ambitious in solving the gender digital divide, and ensuring that our community of Ambassadors and Community Leaders have good impact on the digital story of their communities. Our projects are timely, gender-responsive, and innovative for a digital future that speaks for us.

ROLE DELIVERABLES:
– Lead on project conceptualization, administration, and evaluation
– Oversee relevant projects on behalf of Digital Grassroots and the Board
– Identify key partners to collaborate with Digital Grassroots on Projects
– Document project processes and outcomes in reports
– Report back to Digital Grassroots and the Board on key findings, connections, and outcomes of projects

Digital Grassroots pays a lot of attention to communicating the strides young people are making in the internet space with our community and partners. For us, communication is everything. To remain connected to our vibrant youth network we maintain an active and open communication channel with them through our social media pages, website, email, and newsletters. To ensure that our messages remain intentional, clear, and in line with our organizational objectives, we make use of branding and communication techniques for all of our platform updates.

ROLE DELIVERABLES:
– Curate content and post regularly on Digital Grassroots Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts
– Spotlight our community stories bi-weekly for our blog and newsletters by corresponding with board members, ambassadors, community leaders, and global activities related to our work.
– Document all related content and file them accordingly
– Create a brand strategy and communication plan for the organization and board

At the heart of Digital Grassroots is our vibrant youth community. Through the various projects that we implement, we have grown this network to consist of our 128 ambassadors and community leaders from 63 countries. We desire to further expand this network by designing and implementing more community engagement projects and supporting the present network members to carry out their individual community engagement activities.

ROLE DELIVERABLES:
– Curate and maintain communication channels for our existing community of Ambassadors and Community Leaders
– Serve as a point of contact between the board and the community
– Source and spotlight community stories and share these with the Communications lead
– Maintain a good community rapport and safety based on Digital Grassroots values by enforcing a code of conduct both internally and externally
– Collaborate with the Resource and Partnerships person to identify and connect with the new community from all stakeholders for opportunities that are beneficial to our community

At Digital Grassroots we are working to ensure that young people have the platform, capacity, and resources to address internet issues affecting their community. We do this with the generous support of our community, partners, and funders. We actively advocate to have young people as a core part of Internet Governance and its processes, and to do so we have to innovate the way we work so that our projects have an impact, are rooted in the grassroots, and remain sustainable.

ROLE DELIVERABLES:
– Lead in the process of grant writing, and partnership applications
– Document all past applications, their outcomes, and next steps
– Lead in bookkeeping on behalf of the board and Digital Grassroots
– Engage in stakeholder mapping to identify opportunities for the board
– Take part in partnership meetings and follow up until the process is complete