Digital Innovations for Peace: Campaigning for digital rights in North Africa

Four new peacebuilding campaigns from Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya were launched at a workshop in Tunisia, from June 28 - 30, 2024, hosted by DW Akademie. The regional campaigns aim to counter online hate speech in North Africa. They focus on rights for the disabled and more stringent cybercrime laws.

Attendees included DW Akademie’s Program Directors Susanne Stephan and Vera Möller-Holtkamp; the Press and Culture Advisor at the German Embassy in Tunisia, Paul Leonhardt; and the Press and Information Counsellor at the EU Delegation to Tunisia, Mohamed Zghal.

Finding the words

Over the three days, advocacy trainer Tarek Lamouchi discussed strategic planning, field mapping and other challenges with 12 representatives from the four civil society organisations.

"We gained insights into developing and executing successful campaigns designed to combat hate speech,” said Radhia Boudissa of the National Association for Women in Communication (Algeria). "The training provided us with a valuable opportunity to enhance our skills in designing and implementing effective campaigns that contribute to a culture of peace and tolerance in our societies."

"The training course was incredibly beneficial for me, especially as I had not previously received training on this topic," said Samah Al-Boughneim of Ibsar Association in Tunisia. "We brought our own campaign idea and emerged from the training with a refined vision for the campaign which will enable us to implement it on the ground in Tunisia and engage with our target audience of individuals with disabilities."

Innovating for digital rights

The campaigns will use varied techniques for creating social media content to address how the disabled can best access information, advocate for legislative reforms, specifically regarding cybercrime law, and relating to discrimination and hate speech. 

Paul Leonhardt from the German Embassy in Tunisia: "I was highly impressed by the presentations of the six organizations and their ideas for the ‘No Hate Speech’ campaigns. This topic concerns us all, creative approaches from civil society are most welcome. It will be exciting to see the final products in November this year".

For more information about the advocacy training program and the Digital Innovations for Peace initiative, subscribe to the newsletter. 

The “No Hate Speech” project, funded by the German Foreign Office, is a component of the "Digital Innovations for Peace" initiative, funded by the European Union.