Online or off, human rights are fundamental to making sure every person can live a full and free life, with dignity and respect, and that’s something worth fighting for. On this upcoming International Human Rights Day, December 10, people around the world are finding ways to #StandUp4HumanRights and celebrate the kick-off of a one-year celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Eleanor Roosevelt, the mother of the Universal Declaration, put it best when she said, “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home … Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerned citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”
Here at Access Now, we believe deeply in the importance of supporting those who are leading the fight to defend human rights in their local communities. Our grants program supports projects at the forefront of defending and extending human rights online for the users most at risk.
Our grantees are helping real people — from activists who are surveilled by their own governments, to journalists who are silenced and censored, to members of marginalized groups who are prevented from expressing themselves freely online. And together, starting from “home,” these organizations are changing the global landscape of human rights in the digital age.
So far we have provided $1.6 million in funding, helping local activists to deepen their impact, strengthen their digital security, and scale up new initiatives at the intersection of human rights and technology. In 2018, we’re aiming to give away another $1 million, supporting more projects in more places to expand, diversify, and empower the global digital rights movement. Here are just a few of the amazing organizations our grants have been able to support:
We are so grateful to stand together with committed people like these and our other partners in this fight to make our world a more compassionate, rights-respecting place. On International Human Rights Day and beyond, will you give to support these grassroots organizations striving to defend and extend the digital rights of users at risk?