About the DDI

Digital space has become a central arena in the struggle for democracy. Digital technologies present a critical tool for civil society in promoting and protecting human rights and hold immense potential for promoting pluralist democracies, popular participation, and for giving a voice to marginalised groups. In many autocratising states, digital technology is, however, also a favoured tool for monitoring and restricting civic space through surveillance, limiting access to online activity, the spread of misinformation and disinformation, or targeted digital attacks and persecution.


Responding to this challenge, the objective of the DDI is to promote and protect local inclusive democratic space in the digital age through two key outcome areas. The first outcome area aims to enable local civil society to utilise digital technology to amplify agendas and to promote inclusive democratic space online and offline. The second outcome area works to defend and protect new and existing civil society actors, utilising digital technology to promote democracy.

The Digital Democracy Initiative

Launched in 2023 as a Team Europe Initiative, by Denmark, the EU Commission and Norway

Implementing Partners

Based on the two outcome areas, five implementing partners were selected to implement dedicated projects supporting e.g., sub-grants to local civil society actors, rapid response mechanisms to provide digital assistance to human rights defenders in acute need, advocacy campaigning toward governments, the private sector, and tech companies.

Partners were likewise selected with a view to supporting the implementation of a global digital Knowledge Hub to gather tools and knowledge products in localised and accessible formats. The five chosen organisations are: Access Now, CIVICUS, Digital Defenders Partnership, Global Focus and WITNESS. See Partners for more on the organisations, and Results for what they have achieved under the DDI.

DDI-SKETCHES-NEW-ii-5

Call for Proposal

The Digital Democracy Initiative is designed to facilitate scalability, both in terms of attracting additional donors and increasing the number of implementing partners during the implementation period from 2023 to 2026.

Through a restricted Call for Proposals in 2024, the DDI expanded its support to human rights defenders and civil society activists in the Global South.

 

 

The three thematic lots of the Call for Proposal was:

  • Lot 1: Combatting Technology Facilitated Gender-Based Violence
  • Lot 2: Leveraging digital technologies for climate activism
  • Lot 3: Strengthening youth engagement in the digital democratic space
This Call is now closed with the new partners set to be announced by the end of 2024. For more information on this Call for Proposal and its thematic lots, see the Information Note.
DDI-SKETCHES-NEW-ii-2

 

 

Programme Structure

To lead the implementation of the DDI programme, a Programme Management Team (PMT) is set up at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The PMT also functions as the secretariat to the Steering Committee, which is the highest decision-making level of the programme.

A Project Coordination Group chaired by the implementing partners ensures project level synergy and programme level dialogue between partners, the PMT and the Steering Committee.

The Advisory Board facilitates expert and stakeholder input from civil society to strategic decision-making at both strategic and project coordination level, and is envisioned as a cross-culturally collaborative, locally-rooted, future focused, inclusive, independent, and innovative consultative body integral to the governance structure of the DDI.

The Advisory Board consists of the following members:

  • Babette Ngene – Electronic Frontier Foundation (Chair)
  • Brian Malika – One More Percent
  • Cristian Leon – InternetBolivia.org Foundation
  • Esther Mwema – Digital Grassroots
  • Fatma Ibrahim – The Sex Talk Arabic
  • Gaston Wright – Civic House
  • Leah Kimathi – Council for Responsible Social Media
  • Nadim Nashif – 7amleh
  • Nana Nwachukwu – Individual
  • Obioma Okonkwo – Media Rights Agenda
  • Richard Ngamita – Thraets

AB