Looking to learn more about or engage with Mozilla Fellows and Awardees around the world? Keep your eye on the Mozilla Foundation blog to stay up-to-date with regular updates about these leaders and their work by reviewing the current and upcoming news and announcements below.

AI and internet health

News from current fellows and awardees

• Explaining Brazil #277: How algorithms can be racist — featuring senior fellow Tarcizio Silva in The Brazilian Report
• “Wezesha na Kabambe:” Building Tech With Smallholder Farmers in Western Kenya — a profile of Wezesha na Kabambe, a Common Voice awardee
• How to Make AI Audits Societal, Not Just Technical — lessons from the Data Nutrition Project’s 2023 convening. Data Nutrition Project is a Data Futures Lab awardee
• Growing Grassroots Movements Across Africa — a profile of Sistah Sistah Foundation, an Africa Mradi IRL Fund awardee
• Chatbots, Local Weather Reports, and a Boon for Kenya’s Smallholder Farmers — a profile of Imarika, a Strathmore University project funded by the Common Voice Kiswahili program
• ‘Like a Magic Box:’ Expanding Digital Literacy in Kenya — a profile of an Africa Mradi IRL Fund awardee, Angaza Vijana
• ‘A Life or Death Issue:’ Equipping Parents and Children with Digital Safety and Security Tools in Kenya — a profile of an Africa Mradi IRL Fund awardee, The Africa Centurion Initiative.
• MyCandidate: Equipping Voters with Knowledge and Power — a profile of an Africa Mradi IRL Fund awardee, Open Cities Lab
• Narrowing the Online Gender Gap in Rwanda — a profile of an Africa Mradi IRL Fund awardee, Women@Web Rwanda
• Growing Skills, Confidence, and ‘Quality Potatoes’ in Tanzania — a profile of a Common Voice awardee SEE Africa.
• Lifting Up Women Through Land Ownership — a profile of a Common Voice awardee, Core23Lab
• Supporting Maize Farmers in Tanzania — a profile of a Common Voice awardee, DuniaCom
• Speculative F(r)iction in Generative AI — learn more about Speculative Friction Living Archive, a project of senior fellow Bogdana Rakova

Alum news

• Navigating The Intersection Of FemTech And Data Privacy — featuring alum Lucy Purdon in Forbes
• Dr Abeba Birhane highlights the dangers of hyping up generative AI — featuring alum Abeba Birhane in Silicone Republic
• The top 12 people in artificial-intelligence policy, ethics, and research — featuring alum Deb Raji in Business Insider
• In Africa, the priority is developing artificial intelligence aligned with the continent's challenges' — featuring alum Odanga Madung in Le Monde
• There Was Never Such a Thing as ‘Open’ AI — featuring alum Abeba Birhane in The Atlantic
• The Coalition for Independent Technology Research’s Board has announced that Brandi Geurkink will lead the Coalition as its inaugural Executive Director beginning in 2024. Read more here

Program Updates

• Mozilla announced seven Africa Mradi Research grantees. This is a new funding stream for researchers examining AI in Africa.
• Mozilla announced first-ever Alumni Connection Grant finalists. These grants were introduced to explore how alumni can nurture relationships with each other, connect as a network, collaborate, and share their impactful work with the world.
• Responsible Computing Challenge will expand into South Africa in 2024. Mozilla and its partners will fund higher education initiatives in South Africa that support the global movement for responsible computing. Read more here.
• Mozilla’s Responsible Computing Challenge held its first Student Unhackathon on December 2 and 3, engaging 20 undergraduates and recent grads from across the U.S. in activities centered around the question: “How do we build the future of responsible computing together?” Read more here.