Digital Defenders Partnership
Towards centring feminism
and decoloniality
DDP is an international programme that contributes to strengthening the resilience of HRDs by increasing their digital security through a holistic and sustainable approach.
Vision
DDP envisions a world in which HRDs contribute to social justice while enjoying safety, well-being, freedom, and dignity.
Mission
DDP contributes to strengthening the resilience of HRDs by increasing their digital security through a holistic and sustainable approach.
Our Guiding Principles
Collaboration
A strong commitment towards fostering solidarity, connection, cooperation and a sense of community in convening spaces.
Community-Centred
For us, the well-being, autonomy, empowerment and dignity of the people and communities we work for and with are of the utmost importance.
Confidentiality
A commitment to handling all incoming information responsibly and protecting it against inadvertent disclosure to unauthorised parties.
Diversity
Encompassing individual uniqueness and distinctions within communities and groups, diversity spans attributes such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, or education, among others.
Equity
DDP is committed to a feminist and intersectional approach as the epistemological basis for our analyses and the development of our programmes.
Not claiming but facilitating
Encouraging individuals, organisations and networks to have and take ownership of their own interventions and activities while supporting their strategies and efforts.
No-Harm
Our goal is to prevent or limit unintended negative outcomes through a decolonial approach that, through DDP’s regionalisation, centres and prioritises the knowledge and solutions of the communities we work for and with.
Openness
It is a position against the extraction, exploitation, privatisation, control and restriction of resources and knowledge, emphasising the political dimension of making information accessible to the public and of adopting, developing and maintaining free/libre and open-source tools.
DDP’s 2024-2027 Strategic Plan is shaped by its commitment to centre feminist and decolonial practices across all of its work through a holistic approach that goes beyond recognising and addressing surface-level issues to delve into the systemic injustices that threaten the digital security of HRDs. The strategy begins with a refreshed vision, mission, and guiding principles that steer DDP’s endeavours and trajectory during this phase of its work.
Strategic Objective 1
Increase flexible and relevant resources for holistic digital security for HRDs at risk (mitigate).
Strategic Objective 2
Strengthen and support HRDs’ digital security knowledge, capabilities, and practices through a holistic approach (prevent).
Strategic Objective 3
Support the strengthening of digital security knowledge, capacities, and practices within networks and communities at the local, regional, and global levels.
Strategic Objective 4
Strengthen DDP’s infrastructure, resilience and sustainability.
Our history
In 2011, several governments established the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC). A year later, the FOC, gathered in Nairobi, launched the Digital Defenders Partnership (DDP) Fund; an emergency grant mechanism towards digital activists under threat. Hivos was appointed to host the fund.
Funders
DDP operates in a manner that is independent from its donors. From 2012 to 2022, DDP received its funding from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom; along with the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the United States Department of State.
