Welcome to the Advocacy Assembly Shutdown Academy
Internet shutdowns are on the rise globally. In 2021, 182 shutdowns in 34 countries around the world were documented, according to Access Now. As internet disruption and shutdowns are often accompanied by state repression, military invasions, and violence, it has never been more important to educate activists, journalists, and citizens affected by internet disruptions and online censorship.
This is why we have launched the Advocacy Assembly Shutdown Academy — to share all the valuable knowledge and skills needed to help people to identify, measure, circumvent and advocate against shutdowns.
What can you learn with the Advocacy Assembly Shutdown Academy?
This curriculum features 10 free online courses in eight languages designed to educate activists, journalists, or anyone impacted by internet disruption. The courses are presented in English and translated into Arabic, French, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili. You will learn everything from the basics and general concepts of internet shutdowns to more specialised topics like measuring and mitigating them as well as advocating and litigating against them.
Below you will find a list of all of the courses along with the organisations presenting them.
Courses & Partners:
- Documenting Human Rights Violations During Shutdowns (WITNESS)
2. Measuring Internet Censorship with OONI tools (OONI)
3. Documenting Shutdowns: Network Measurements (IODA)
4. Introduction to Shutdowns (Access Now)
5. Developing an Action Plan for Internet Shutdowns (Internews)
6. Mitigating Online Censorship (VESinFiltro)
7. Mitigating Internet Shutdowns (VESinFiltro)
8. Public Advocacy Campaigns Against Shutdowns (Access Now)
9. Strategic Litigation Against Shutdowns (Access Now)
10. Engaging With the Private Sector To End Shutdowns (GNI)
Take our first course presented by WITNESS
The launch of the Advocacy Assembly Shutdown Academy begins with our first course, “Documenting human rights violations during internet shutdowns”, presented by Yvonne Ng from WITNESS.
With internet shutdowns becoming a popular weapon of choice for authoritarian regimes to stamp out dissent, violations that happen during political unrest alongside online censorship makes documenting human rights abuse even more difficult. In this course, you’ll learn practical tips and tools to document and share human rights violations with video in the face of online censorship and blanket internet shutdowns. You’ll learn all the necessary techniques and tools so that your documentation is preserved, verifiable, and can reach others during internet shutdowns.
Sign up: https://advocacyassembly.org/en/courses/62/#/chapter/1/lesson/1
Together with Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), we have launched our 2nd course on “Measuring Internet Censorship with OONI tools and Open Data”. In our course, you’ll learn how to use the OONI Probe software to monitor internet censorship and hold those in power to account.
Sign up: https://advocacyassembly.org/en/courses/63/#/chapter/1/lesson/1
