Our mission
The Greater Internet Freedom (GIF) project, a four-year USAID-funded initiative, run by Internews with a budget surpassing $22 million, stands as the largest global effort dedicated to advancing Internet freedom. Since our launch in 2020, we have been a catalyst for change, nurturing digital security and digital rights in some of the most disconnected regions.
An Internet that, by extension, protects the individuals, civil society organizations, media outlets and vulnerable groups who rely on it to realize fundamental freedoms. Through its dual objective of enhancing digital security for civil society and media and increasing citizen engagement in Internet government, GIF considers and supports a diverse range of elements that impact Internet freedoms.
The core of GIF’s approach is centering regional and local organizations at the forefront of this work. By enabling local and regional partners to lead this work, GIF supports local actors to build stronger trusted networks with peer organizations in their regions and around the world, gain technical expertise from expert international organizations and share lessons learned.
Digital security
We support and empower the existing global community of civil society organizations and at-risk and vulnerable groups so they can do their own work safely and effectively despite the ever-growing risks they face. We do this by providing locally relevant trainings, supporting local digital security trainers and organizational security auditors with cutting edge cybersecurity expertise, building rapid response capabilities at the regional level, and increasing the baseline digital safety infrastructure of our partner organizations.
Enhanced Digital Security for Civil Society and Media
Digital rights
We increase citizen engagement in Internet governance by integrating digital rights discussions into overall human rights agendas at the local and regional levels, and by supporting local stakeholders to shape global and regional Internet governance agendas to be responsive to local needs. We do this by through research informed advocacy and corporate accountability efforts, engaging in international standard setting bodies, partnering with local academic institutions and leading digital rights schools, and advocating for regulatory reform.
Increased Citizen Engagement in Internet Governance
