Each year, Take Back the Tech! brings together activists and organisations from around the world for 16 days to discuss, raise awareness and develop strategies to address the issue of online gender-based violence (GBV). The campaign aims to empower women and girls to take control of technology, advance the conversation around digital rights and risks, and connect and strengthen the global community of digital feminists.
Under the theme of “Magic Formulas”, the 2018 campaign, which ran from 25 November to 10 December, challenged campaigners to use their varied skills, knowledge, creativity and energy to create strategies and recipes for a more feminist internet. The results were vibrant, diverse and enlightening, with each participant exploring digital GBV from a local perspective while connecting these concerns to the global movement against online violence.
We had the chance to catch up with participants from four different regions: One World Platform in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) in Nigeria, Foundation for Media Alternatives in the Philippines, and Colnodo, based in Colombia.
These conversations reveal a number of common challenges and concerns, while highlighting the specific, local issues that digital feminists and online advocates face in different countries and environments. The campaign activities of each organisation not only provide inspiring examples of how to initiate and sustain a productive, inclusive public discussion about online GBV, they also point to some of the opportunities and hurdles ahead in the fight for online safety and empowerment for all.
Check out Take Back the Tech’s 2018 interview series here:
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16 days for 16 voices: One World Platform takes back the tech!
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The ABC of taking back the tech: Colnodo's 16 days of activism