Announcing IFF’s First Ever Cohort of Community Development Fellows!
At the Internet Freedom Festival, we believe that the Internet is a community of communities. Since its inception in 2015, the IFF has become one of the largest, most diverse, and most inclusive unconferences in the world for those promoting and defending Internet Freedom globally.
Central to the curation of each year’s program are our Fellows, a group of individuals whose knowledge, perspective, and relationships in their given field of expertise who help to create indelible experiences for all participants. It is through the efforts and commitment of the Fellows that IFF participants are more prepared to tackle upcoming challenges, by grounding the Festival in a common vision.
The Internet Freedom community has evolved and adapted to confront ever-changing realities. Yet as the global community of Internet Freedom defenders grow, so does their demand for community development initiatives.
When communities can come together (digitally and in-person) in a safe and inclusive space, there are no challenges we cannot face.
It is in this vein that we are proud to present our first ever cohort of the IFF Community Development Fellows. This program represents a next step in Internet Freedom community development, as a pioneer initiative with the potential to influence community work globally, thanks to the highly diverse IFF networks. The cohort will not only curate and represent 7 different themes in this year’s program, they will also create a framework for regional community leadership and a foundation for future fellows to build upon.
This year’s cohort of fellows are 13 community organizers, activists, researchers, and trainers from 12 countries and a cross section of disciplines ranging from technology, policy, media, and human rights. All are leaders. All are pumped to create the best IFF program yet!
Introducing to you the IFF Community Development Fellows and the themes they’ll be shepherding. Head over to the IFF website to read more about their work and background.
Community Resilience Fellows
A space for frontline activists to share stories, skills and knowledge with allies and other frontline defenders.
Colores Mari
Organization: Ancestra
Country of Origin: Colombia
Tamika Lewis
Project: Our Data Bodies
County of Origin: United States
Hacking the Net Fellow
A space for designers and technologists to foster the next generation of security and privacy tools. This theme is spearheaded by Tor and Radically Open Security.
Yomna Nasser
Organization: EFF + Berkman Klein Center
Country of Origin: United States/Canada
Journalism & Media Fellows
A space to address the increasing challenges for journalists and media organizations in the Internet Freedom field.
Arzu Geybulla
Organization: Freelance journalist
Country of Origin: Azerbaijan
Don Evans
Organization: iYouPort / Relay Baton
Country of Origin: China
The Next Net Fellows
A space to capture the collective vision on the future of Internet Freedom, and how to address overarching issues and upcoming threats that could prevent us from getting there.
Esther
Organization: Digital Grassroots
Country: Zambia
Pellaeon Lin
Organization: Open Culture Foundation
Country of Origin: Taiwan
On the Frontlines Fellows
A space for frontline activists to share stories, skills and knowledge with allies and other frontline defenders.
Alaa Ghazal
Organization: Independent
Country: Syria
Khin
Organization: Phandeeyar
Country of Origin: Myanmar
Policy, Research & Advocacy Fellows
A space for civic engagement and collective action for better policies worldwide, and to explore how researchers can take an active part in the conversation.
Laura Schwartz-Henderson
Organization: Internet Policy Observatory
Country of Origin: United States
Maya Kamble
Organization: Equality Labs
Country of origin: India
Training & Best Practices Fellows
A space for the trainer community to showcase methodologies, exchange resources, and address shared challenges.
Mykola Kostynyan
Organization: Independent
Country of Origin: Ukraine
Sophina Kio-Lawson
Organization: TIERS
Country of Origin: Nigeria
