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Thank you for joining the Tech for Transparency Team and New Tactics for a conversation on Using Technology to Promote Transparency. There has been an expanding and increasingly global movement of technology and digital media projects aimed at promoting government transparency, accountability, and public participation in political processes.  In Kenya, Mzalendo seeks to make information more accessible from the proceedings of the country’s parliament. In Jordan, Ishki aims to involve citizens in developing solutions to civic problems. Vota Inteligente in Chile promotes government transparency by informing Chilean citizens about corruption and policy debates through the use of social media.  The Technology for Transparency Network, a project of Rising Voices, is documenting these transparency projects to gain a better understanding of their current impact, obstacles, and future potential.

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Thank you for joining New Tactics, MobileActive and other practitioners for an online dialogue on Using Mobile Phones for Citizen Media. Information is a powerful commodity for human rights defenders.  Receiving and sharing information is at the heart of human rights work.  Modern technology, such as the mobile phone, and the global distribution of the internet, provides new opportunities for citizens to actively participate in journalism.  The mobile phone is arguably the most accessible form of information communication technology and a popular tool for receiving and sharing information.

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Thank you for joining New Tactics, Jane Barry and other practitioners for an online dialogue on Being Well and Staying Safe: Resources for human rights defenders. Human rights work is a powerful and fulfilling vocation.  And it is equally hugely challenging for human rights practitioners.  The nature of this work exposes defenders to distressing and threatening situations.  The need to take care of one’s self is extremely important, as is the need to take care of, protect and support each other.  Human rights defenders cannot be well without being safe.  Likewise, they cannot truly be safe without being well.  

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Thank you for your participation in our dialogue on Front Line Watchdogs: Monitoring accountability for human rights. Front line watchdogs come in all shapes and sizes. They can be seen in courtrooms ensuring fair trials, accompanying threatened human rights defenders, holding vigil outside police stations to prevent torture, protecting election ballot results, testing for discrimination, monitoring development aid projects, investigating toxic waste from companies, etc., etc. 

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Thank you for joining the International Fellowship of Reconciliation's Women Peacemakers Program (IFOR/WPP) and New Tactics for this dialogue. In this dialogue, participants discussed the concept and practicalities of engaging men as gender-sensitive male allies in the peacemaking process. In thinking about overcoming violence and building peaceful communities, working with men and concepts of masculinity can help to challenge destructive, violent mindsets and institutions.

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In this dialogue, participants discussed the ways in which communities dealing with resource extraction can anticipate and prevent conflicts with commercial and governmental actors while empowering themselves in an increasingly globalized environment.  The goals of the dialogue were to evaluate tactics with which we turn the tables and shift the power back to the communities, and ensure that resource extraction benefits the community.

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Thank you for joining ESCR-Net and the New Tactics online community for a dialogue on Corporate Accountability Beyond Borders. While governments are the primary duty-bearers for upholding human rights, businesses can have disproportionate impacts on all human rights, in all economic sectors, everywhere—supporting or undercutting domestic government actions.

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Thank you for joining Christopher Wong, New York Law School Fellow, students from his Intellectual Property & Activism class and an amazing group of practitioners in the field for this dialogue on Improving Access to Health. Intellectual property (IP) laws have a significant impact upon global welfare.  In particular, IP law, as it relates to healthcare, is a substantial factor in determining the accessibility of essential medicines, treatments, and medical literature by those in need.  For example, patents on pharmaceuticals can lead to prices that are unaffordable by affected populations in developing countries, while copyright law may contribute to the inability of affected populations to access treatment information for basic ailments.

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Thank you for joining the New Tactics online community for a dialogue on Participatory Research for Action. Participatory action research is research which involves all relevant parties in actively examining together current action (which they experience as problematic) in order to change and improve it.  Those to be helped by the research process, determine the purposes and outcomes of their own inquiry. (Wadsworth, Y. 1998)

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Human rights work is a powerful and fulfilling vocation. And it is equally hugely challenging for human rights practitioners.  These practitioners are often exposed to distressing situations directly and indirectly. From those working directly with survivors of human rights abuses to those working indirectly on human rights abuse issues, the need for taking care of one’s self is extremely important.  We all know that the work is precious and valuable, and yes, we need to be strong, healthy and balanced to do it well -- but we take care of ourselves first and foremost because we are valuable.