Digital Democracy Now is a 501(c)3 organization registered in Rhode Island, and is in consultative status with the UN’s ECOSOC since 2016. We work on the intersection between human rights, development and technology.
Our mission is To empower marginalized communities through digital inclusion, ethical technology, and sustainable skills development. We bridge gaps in education and opportunity by promoting open-source solutions, defending digital rights, and fostering collaborative networks—ensuring technology serves as a force for equity and long-term resilience.”
Our Vision
“A world where technology bridges divides—not deepens them. We envision marginalized communities harnessing digital tools to shape their own futures, with equal access to knowledge, economic opportunity, and the rights that safeguard their dignity.”
Core Values:
- Equity First
- We prioritize those excluded from digital systems, ensuring technology serves the many, not the few.
- Openness as Freedom
- Championing FOSS and transparent knowledge-sharing to break dependency cycles.
- Community-Led Change
- Solutions are co-created, not imposed. Local voices drive our strategies.
- Ethics Beyond Tech
- Human rights and dignity guide our use of emerging technologies.
- Sustainable Empowerment
- We build skills and tools that endure, reducing long-term reliance on external aid.
- Courageous Advocacy
- Unafraid to challenge systems that exploit or exclude marginalized groups.
Objectives
- Empowering marginalized communities through skills & technology
- Advancing digital rights & ethical technology
- Defend freedom of expression, privacy, and equitable access to digital tools.
- Ensure emerging technologies uphold ethical standards (e.g., “ICT for Good”).
- Expanding access to sustainable technology (FOSS)
- Increase awareness and adoption of free/open-source software (FOSS) to reduce financial barriers for nonprofits and under-resourced schools.
- Demonstrate how FOSS and ICT tools can enhance long-term community resilience.
- Strengthening networks & knowledge-sharing
- Partner with NGOs to improve collaboration, peer-to-peer learning, and local capacity-building.
- Train community-based tech educators to sustain grassroots digital empowerment.
- Building an inclusive knowledge economy
- Highlight ICT’s role in fostering innovation and community-led development.
- Facilitate digital skill-sharing to bridge gaps in marginalized areas.