2023 has been a transformative year for HURIDOCS, characterised both by internal and external developments that welcome us to a new chapter in our history. Not only did we embrace new leadership, saying farewell to beloved colleagues, but we also consolidated our commitment to new technologies to advance human rights.
HURIDOCS remains staunch in its commitment to leveraging technology to empower human rights defenders globally. With your continued support, we are confident in our ability to persevere and make meaningful strides toward a more just and equitable world.
You can learn more about our journey this past year in the HURIDOCS 2023 Annual Report.
Take a look at some of our activities and achievements during 2023:
HURIDOCS bid farewell and welcomed new leadership
HURIDOCS embraced Danna Ingleton as our new Executive Director. At the same time, we said goodbye to our former ED, Friedhelm Weinberg and the chair of HURIDOCS’ board, Gisella Reina.
HURIDOCS achieved a significant milestone in 2023 by securing one million dollars in grant funding from Google.org to integrate machine learning into Uwazi
Google’s philanthropic arm’s support will significantly advance our mission of promoting human rights worldwide with the responsible development and deployment of open technology. We embrace the promise of AI and machine learning and are thankful to Google for their generous support of our work.
HURIDOCS’ Programmes Team provided strategic and technical support to several new partners and we undertook 74 projects with 113 partners and worked actively with them in 49 countries
The Programmes Team supported human rights defenders with the creation of public and private databases, capacity building on the use of Uwazi and strategic support. These databases serve purposes such as monitoring and documenting human rights violations, attacks on journalists, collective memorialisation, and access to diverse human rights laws and decisions.
Our Tech Team continued to advance the capabilities of human rights defenders by streamlining our technological infrastructure and pioneering innovative solutions in 2023
The Tech Team consolidated the new Uwazi architecture, enhancing both front-end and back-end functionalities and introducing an improved testing strategy. In the realm of machine learning, several open-source models were released, and a prototype PDF to accessible HTML converter was developed. Additionally, our Infrastructure and Reliability Team revamped DevOps automation and improved system monitoring. These efforts lay the groundwork for advancements to come.
HURIDOCS continued with its legacy in documentation methodologies
HURIDOCS celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Events Standard Formats (ESF) with expert roundtable discussions on its evolution and future. Moreover, HURIDOCS introduced Rapid Response Documentation (RRD) principles to support human rights defenders in crisis situations, emphasising timely, systematic, and ethical documentation practices.
HURIDOCS continued to actively engage with the global human rights community by participating in numerous high-profile events
Events include the Martin Ennals Awards, and RightsCon 2023 in Costa Rica where HURIDOCS led one of the most popular sessions at the summit. HURIDOCS also participated in Team Community’s Global Gathering, the Expert Roundtable on Digital Human Rights Tracking Tools and Databases, the ‘Future of Speech Online’ event and more.
HURIDOCS continued to adapt to the dynamic funding environment for human rights while strengthening its financial stability
We continue to align our funding strategies with our overall organisational goals, standing as pillars of support, vigilance, and guidance for our partners.
As our team and our human rights documentation tools grow stronger, we remain dedicated to our vision of a world where human rights are protected, and the voices of the marginalised are heard, embracing the challenges and opportunities ahead.
We hope the coming years will be marked by kindness and the realisation of all human rights for humanity.