By bringing fellows and host organizations in various Global Majority geographies together in collaboration, this program aims to contribute to healthy internet and responsible technology movements, increase the impact of the organizations’ work, and enhance their capacity and that of the fellows to address societal issues that intersect with technology.
Collaboration
The program is rooted in the idea that both parties come to the table with essential expertise. The fellows bring a wealth of technological know-how, while the host organizations bring a deep understanding of how technology broadly—and in some cases AI specifically—is impacting the communities they serve.
As part of the program design -
We understand that movement and power dynamics between organizations and technology are deep and complex. At the same time, we recognize that effective and responsible technology, tools, and strategies are critical for civil society organizations, not only to best execute on their mission, but also to protect the sensitive data and communities they serve. We recognize it is critically important that technologists across the Global Majority also develop the skills, experience, networks, training, and networks to be effective leaders and advocates for the communities they represent.
We believe that collaborative analysis of gaps and opportunities is necessary. Silos facilitate a disconnect between otherwise connected movements and the people who are a part of them. This particular fellowship is focused at the intersection of technology and civil society and exists in part because of the power—and resource—imbalance civil society organizations in the global majority are experiencing. Understanding and addressing these silos was part of the design challenge, and led us to taking a collaborative approach of pairing technology strategists with civil society organizations for this fellowship model.
We acknowledge that expertise lives at the site of the experience. It’s the people who are the most impacted who are most knowledgeable about solutions, especially those from communities often left out of the design of technology.
We recognize that the personal is political. We—as individuals—are all part of different communities that are impacted by different geopolitical realities and structural inequalities. For this reason, we chose to take a whole person approach in designing the fellowship. This means providing personal supplements focused on supporting an individual’s wellbeing that are in addition to the fellowship stipends we offer.
We understand that sustained impact requires sustained support. We take a multi-layered approach to supporting sustainability in the context of this fellowship program. As part of our accompaniment strategy, we listen to fellows and host organizations to learn what supports they need to be most successful in their work and design our wrap-around support in response to those needs. We also focus on creating opportunities for sharing and learning, including spaces for peer-to-peer learning and skills sharing. We also look for ways we might be able to allocate resources to sustainability strategies that are co-created by the fellows and their respective host organizations, to serve as follow-up support once the fellowship concludes.