This year started with the stark understanding that digital isn’t just technology; it’s life, medium, innovation, and marketing. But who controls and benefits from this digital life? Whose stories remain untold? These questions shaped our journey. Our work revolves around enabling the poorest to access health recommendations without visiting doctors, delivering jobs to them, facilitating direct transactions, and ensuring fair returns to artisans. In our 21st year, we expanded to 26 states in India and the Digital Empowerment Foundation took its first steps on the ground in Africa! A Community Information Resource Centre was established in Muranga's County, Kenya. Recognizing the importance of digital communication infrastructure, DEF emerged to elevate stories from rural areas and place them atop the pyramid. The stories you see today are the stories of 30 million community members who have been touched through our efforts of digital inclusion and digital development. Read More

The Digital Didi programme was initiated to create awareness among adolescent girls and women in rural and semi-urban India about misconceptions and misinformation surrounding menstruation, and to communicate authentic information, facilitate access to sustainable menstrual products and better health infrastructure. Through the program, we have empowered 350 villages through menstrual health awareness, fostering 350 women entrepreneurs, and digitally training 35,000 women and adolescent girls for a brighter, inclusive future. Read More

DEF believes that Information is the most dynamic tool which propels empowerment of the marginalized sections of the Society. It is a great enabler for the educated as well as to act as a blocker due to which hindrance is caused in the participation rate of people in any of the development Intervention at the village level. Availing benefits of the government schemes is a part of our constitutional rights irrespective of caste, class and religion. The main problem is that people are hardly aware of the schemes and benefits run by the government. SoochnaPreneur program started in 2016 under which selected community members (women, PWDs and people from other disadvantaged groups) from rural areas were trained with necessary information and technology so that he or she can make them available to the needy mainly from rural areas. Their prime responsibility is to make information regarding various schemes and benefits available to the needy; in return, they are expected to charge a nominal amount to sustain their livelihood. We're happy to share that we established 151 new digital centers and 151 new SoochnaPreneurs were integrated into our digital ecosystem covering 26 states and 140 districts. Read More

DEF believes that Information is the most dynamic tool which propels empowerment of the marginalized sections of the Society. It is a great enabler for the educated as well as to act as a blocker due to which hindrance is caused in the participation rate of people in any of the development Intervention at the village level. Availing benefits of the government schemes is a part of our constitutional rights irrespective of caste, class and religion. The main problem is that people are hardly aware of the schemes and benefits run by the government. SoochnaPreneur program started in 2016 under which selected community members (women, PWDs and people from other disadvantaged groups) from rural areas were trained with necessary information and technology so that he or she can make them available to the needy mainly from rural areas. Their prime responsibility is to make information regarding various schemes and benefits available to the needy; in return, they are expected to charge a nominal amount to sustain their livelihood. We're happy to share that we established 151 new digital centers and 151 new SoochnaPreneurs were integrated into our digital ecosystem covering 26 states and 140 districts. Read More

“Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar: A Collaborative Effort at Democratizing the Data Protection Discourse in India”. The programme was implemented through a 5-day in-person residential workshop held at Asia Plateau, Panchgani, Maharashtra. Applicants who were employed/associated with digital media organisations (either full time or part-time), citizen journalists (bloggers, YouTubers, etc.), and freelance/independent journalists were eligible to apply. The programme was conceptualized with the aim of developing an understanding of the concepts of privacy, data protection, and online safety, to facilitate and enable the participants to make informed choices while pursuing journalism. It also aimed to build the capacities of journalists in understanding data protection legislations to pursue journalism in a safe and secure manner. Additionally, as journalists, along with human right defenders, are one of the targeted categories of violation of information and communication privacy, this training enabled them to better defend themselves. Read More

The Law for All Initiative at Ashoka successfully hosted the “digitALL: Access to Rights & Rights to Access” event on May 4, 2023, at the Bangalore International Center (BIC) in Domlur, Indiranagar. This event marked the celebration of 20 years of the Digital Empowerment Foundation’s (DEF) impactful work in bringing digital access and empowerment to marginalised communities in India. The event hosted a panel discussion on digital rights as human rights and how access to human rights is never enough, showcasing the stories of 30 million people through art installations and display of a Museum of Digital Society. The event also gave center-stage to our SoochnaPreneurs from various states were in conversation with Natasha Badhwar, where they shared their stories of empowerment and the kind of voices that need to be included into the mainstream narrative of digital development. Read More

We launched a comprehensive media information literacy toolkit which enhances critical interpretation and media literacy. It equips individuals with skills to navigate misinformation, online trolling, stereotypes, and prejudices online effectively. This toolkit is a part of Digital Empowerment Foundation’s Media and Information Literacy (MIL) initiatives to enable people to interpret and make informed judgments as users of information and media, as well as to become skillful creators and producers of information and media messages in their own right. We took this kit to various states, through our SoochnaPreneurs, where marginalised communities were able to gain understanding of critical digital literacy through interactive games, roleplay activities and training where they could share real-life examples of how their online vulnerabilities affected their socio-economic status. Read More

We launched the ‘Digital Swaraj Fellowship’, a one-year experiential leadership journey to bring about digital transformation at the grassroots as an opportunity for India’s youth to contribute to society as a digital change leader. After the induction of 9 fellows from across India, they were enabled with hands-on exposure to the rural digital landscape and have been working on innovative solutions to bring digital access to the underserved, unconnected and marginalised communities. Read More

The Digital Empowerment Foundation has embarked on its inaugural venture in Africa, establishing a Community Information Resource Centre in Muranga County, Kenya, in collaboration with CWE-TECH. The initiative focuses on digitally empowering women and girls in rural Africa, specifically training young women in wireless technology to become barefoot wireless engineers. The primary objective is to bridge the gender digital divide in remote areas of Kenya. This groundbreaking effort signifies a commitment to fostering technological skills among women and girls, ensuring their active participation in the digital landscape. The initiative holds the promise of transforming communities and advancing gender inclusivity in the realm of technology. Read More

The Festival of Digital Swaraj, held at Heritage House in Mysore on the 23rd and 24th of September, 2023, marked a significant milestone in the journey towards Digital Swaraj—a movement dedicated to creating a digital revolution that ensures equitable access to technology and leaves no one behind. This two-day event celebrated the convergence of technology, culture, and social impact, with a range of activities and initiatives that showcased the vibrant spirit of Mysore and India’s digital transformation. The festival kicked off with a vibrant crafts mela, where local artists and enterprises came together to celebrate the rich arts and cultural heritage of the Mysore artisanal community. Digikargha, an experiential handloom space, was unveiled with the aim of connecting artisans, weavers, and designers and we also launched the Museum of Digital Society—an interactive space that showcased the 20-year journey of empowering communities across India. Read More

We also expanded our research and advocacy efforts by publishing and releasing two books 'Truth and Deception in the Digital Age' edited by Osama Manzar and Dushyant Arora 'Conversations on Data Justice in India' written by Osama Manzar, Jenny Sulfath and Ananthu RA and in-depth research narratives on Aadhaar-Based Service Delivery and the profound impact of internet shutdowns in the Indian state of Manipur. Read More

In November, we conducted two major international events: Digital Citizen Summit 2023 and Community Network Xchange 2023. Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), in partnership with Center for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP), T-Hub and Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad organized the 5th Digital Citizens Summit (DCS) on 2nd, 3rd and 4th November 2023, at T-Hub, Hyderabad. This year’s Summit focused on addressing crucial topics related to internet governance, human rights, and the future of the internet. This year, we are proud to have collaborated with the Government of Telangana. The global multistakeholder Summit with the theme being, "Commoning the Internet for a Vibrant Democracy", brought together diverse voices and perspectives of tech- and social innovation experts, academicians, practitioners, Civil Society Organizations, and stakeholders from the government who are working towards building inclusive, sustainable, and contextual models and solutions of digital technology and social innovation, and envisaging an equal Digital Future for all. Read More

Community Network Xchange (CNX) entered its seventh year in 2023. CNX Asia Pacific was first organized in 2017, with a focus on bringing together community network practitioners and enthusiasts of community-driven Internet connectivity to exchange ideas and serve as catalysts for the grassroots connectivity movement. Furthermore, CNX 2023 focused on addressing last-mile accessibility, connectivity, and services for indigenous, tribal, hilly, and mountain communities. The event showcased the stories, challenges, and successes of diverse community networks from different parts of the world. Through these events, the intention was to bridge the network divide in hilly, tribal, indigenous, and mountain communities and connect communities that had remained unconnected. This involved promoting different variations of community networks, highlighting the role of women in community networks, and exploring the involvement of telecom service providers and ISPs in extending connectivity to the last mile. Read More

In our strive to understand the relationship between environmental justice and digital justice, DEF, in partnership with Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Council for Social & Digital Development (CSDD), organisaed two national and international-level workshop on ‘Tackling Harms of Digital Tech on Environment and Climate’ aimed at addressing the intricate relationship between digital technology, environmental sustainability, and human rights. In today’s interconnected world, digital technology plays a pivotal role in almost every aspect of our lives, but it also presents challenges in terms of its impact on the environment. This workshop is dedicated to prioritise issues, challenges, needs and to finding innovative solutions that can help strike a balance between fulfilling our digital needs and rights while upholding environmental rights and justice. The rapid advancement of digital technologies has revolutionized our world, providing unprecedented access to information, communication, and services. However, this progress has come at a cost. This workshop served as a platform for introducing concepts, issues, priorities, strategies, initiatives in tackling digital harm on environment and climate change at various levels and and through approaches, including adoption, implementation and promotion of circular economy principles in the digital device space in India and South Asia. Read More

“Yes, We Can!” Say the Amrapari women of Char Chapori

Community Network Reaching the Everest

Connecting the Indigenous Communities of Tea Estates of Assam

We are expanding our reach to serve the most marginalized communities across India. Donate to our Digital Daan initiative and help us expand to unreached and unconnected communities.

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