Development Three Sixty: engaging policy makers and communities to protect citizens' digital rights in Zambia

After the 2021 general elections in Zambia, the digital rights landscape continues to be in “recovery mode” and remains volatile while the threats of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech increase. In this context, the NGO Development Three Sixty decided to implement the “Right to Click or Not to Click Project”, which included several policy engagement and awareness-raising events with which they promoted conversations around digital rights and misinformation and engaged policymakers and decision-makers of the region.

Through policy engagement events that involved policymakers from the national and local government and traditional leaders, it was possible to identify mechanisms to protect citizen’s digital rights, address online gender-based violence, increase young people’s access to digital technologies, prevent cyberbullying in schools and address mobile money fraud.

Additionally, using resources from ”What the Future Wants”, “The Digital Enquirer Kit”, “The Data Detox Kit”, and The Glass Room, they hosted awareness-raising and knowledge-sharing events that included theatre performances, exhibitions, community dialogues, one-to-one engagement and guided lectures. Information on digital rights, healthy use of technology, privacy, identifying misinformation and strategies for countering it was shared through these events.

But they didn’t stop there. As a result of the project, Development Three Sixty were invited to participate in continental-level events such as the Fight Inequality Alliance Zambia, and signed a partnership with Panos Institute of Southern Africa. These activities were crucial to share knowledge and explore strategies to scale the project objectives.