The Open Internet for Democracy Initiative (OIDI) announced the selection of the first cohort of open internet advocates for the Open Internet for Democracy Leaders Program. The six outstanding leaders (see their profiles below) were chosen from nearly two hundred applicants, and represent a diverse group of global advocates from local civic, media, and private sector organizations that are passionate about protecting and promoting an open internet.

As part of the National Democratic Institute’s ongoing mission to work for democracy and make democracy work around the world, we are updating some of our policies in order to ensure the privacy of those who interact with the Institute. Effective May 25th, 2018, NDI is updating it privacy policy, online platforms and organizational procedures to bring them into alignment with General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).

While disinformation in traditional media has been used for decades, digital disinformation and computational propaganda, which uses artificial intelligence and political “bots” or pieces of code to manipulate public opinion online, have grown exponentially. An increasing number of elections across Europe and Eurasia are influenced by disinformation tactics.

To address this challenge, NDI conducted a four-day academy for 15 citizen election monitoring organizations from 11 countries. The event, which was held in Belgrade in April 2018, provided citizen activists with new strategies, skills, and tools to identify and expose disinformation during elections and to use electoral data to raise the level of fact-based discourse.

In the Liptako-Gourma Region, where Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger meet, citizens face cross-border security challenges from violent extremist organizations, organized crime networks and anti-state armed groups. Understanding the urgent need for a regional architecture to tackle security threats that rarely stay within the borders of one country, defense-focused Burkinabe, Malian and Nigerien civil society organization (CSO) activists and members of parliament (MPs) came together in Bamako to strategize from February 26 to 28.