GNI Fellows: Building Collaborative Policy Coalitions Across The World
Over the past five years, GNI has led the Sustaining Multistakeholder Networks for Internet Freedom (SuNI) project which aims to protect and advance online freedom of expression and privacy by establishing and enhancing connections between civil society and ICT companies. The project is an extension of an earlier iteration, Enhancing Multistakeholder Collaboration on Internet Freedom (EMCIF), which was previously conducted in coordination with Internews.
After five years of operations, this project is coming to an end. There were three major components to the project: targeted research grants, the Emerging Voices Fellowship program and collaborative policy coalition building in four regions. Activities built upon GNI’s multistakeholder model and convening structure to foster collaborative advocacy between companies and civil society in support of laws and policies that protect and enhance freedom of expression and privacy.
As part of SuNI, GNI led the Emerging Voices Fellowship Program, seeking to further online freedom of expression and privacy around the world by facilitating collaboration and conversation among diverse stakeholders. During the 2021–2023 time period, six one-year fellowship grants were awarded to organizations based in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa. GNI is proud to share the work and experiences of the past two cohorts of fellows (2021–2022 and 2022- 2023).
Fellows were engaged in improving their CSOs ability to advocate directly with large technology companies in order to improve those companies’ policies, as well as to foster greater coordination and collaboration between their organization and ICT companies on shared priorities. The fellowship included funding to participate in GNI Board meetings, networking events and activities, including but not limited to: policy and learning calls on digital rights issues, development of policy analysis papers, and attendance at regional multistakeholder meetings. Fellows worked with GNI’s diverse membership, including information and communications technology (ICT) companies and human rights and press freedom non-governmental organizations to foster shared learning, advocacy, and contribute their own experience to GNI’s unique multistakeholder platform.
We are excited to share the work these fellows have taken part in. Should you have any thoughts or comments, please feel free to get in touch with GNI Operations and Program Associate, Montserrat Legorreta at mlegorreta@globalnetworkinitiative.org.
2021 GNI Emerging Voices
Lisa Garcia represents the Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA), based in the Philippines. Established in 1987, FMA focuses on human rights issues as they relate to technology. Lisa is the executive director and leads projects on online freedom, data protection, privacy, and gender issues in the ICT sector.
Hamadou Tidiane Sy represents E-JICOM, based in Senegal. E-JICOM is a journalism school, founded by Tidiane a decade ago. The school is looking for resources to carry out activities to strengthen the media and digital lab. Tidiane is interested in researching laws that interfere with the privacy of citizens and press freedom.
Eliana Quiroz represents Fundación Internet Bolivia, based in Bolivia. Fundación Internet Bolivia works on data protection, democracy and digital participation, digital economy, and equity and digital divide. Currently, they are working with the legislative assembly to help them discuss municipal laws on personal data protection. Eliana is the director of research and is pursuing a Ph.D. on disinformation.
2022 GNI Emerging Voices
Francisco Brito Cruz is InternetLab’s executive director. He holds a PhD and a master’s degree from the University of São Paulo School of Law (FDUSP), and was a visiting student researcher at the Center for Study of Law and Society at the University of California — Berkeley (2013).
Francisco’s research “Leveling the Playing Field: Achieving Fairness and Transparency in Content Moderation on Digital Platforms” approaches the nuances of layered moderation systems and presents recommendations to make them instruments to promote equity and transparency within platforms.
Charles Kajoloweka is a frontline human rights activist, founder and Executive Director of Youth and Society (YAS), a non-profit human rights and governance watchdog in Malawi. The core mission of YAS is to advance human rights, democratic governance, and inclusive economic transformation.
Charles’ Policy Brief spotlights the implications of Malawi’s Electronic Transactions and Cyber Security Act (ETA) on citizens’ internet freedom (online expression). It interrogates contentious provisions of the ETA with a focus on lived experiences of citizens, activists and journalists. Most considerably, the Policy Brief provides practical steps that the Malawi government and stakeholders could take to bolster internet freedom.
Wahyudi Djafar is a digital policy researcher, specifically related to the right to privacy protection and cybersecurity. Over the past ten years, he has been active in conducting various studies and policy advocacy related to personal data protection, internet governance, digital rights, internet content policy development, cybersecurity, digital identity, and policy response to digital technology innovation in Indonesia.
