Politics, Tech, and Rights
Addressing fair labor practices, content moderation challenges, Gender-Based Violence’s impact on women’s political participation, and empowering women in digital spaces
PROJECT ETHER
Ethical Tech Ecosystem for Human Rights (ETHER), is a program that aligns with Siasa Place’s strategic focus on youth employment, engagement and technology’s political implications. The overarching aim of the project is to foster a safe, empowering and human right-complaint labor market within Kenya’s tech and related industries.
Siasa Place has been an advocate for fair labor practices in the gig economy and platform work. Supported by the Ford Foundation, we are in the process of advocating for the recognition of digital labour as work and all the benefits that a worker should have access to. We have also shone a spotlight on the challenges of content moderation in Kenya; and are advocating for enactment of regulations that can ensure big tech companies respect, protect and promote human rights.
Binti Na Siasa
Women active in politics or female political aspirants continue to be challenged by the lack of implementation of gender quotas, despite its stipulation in the constitution under Articles 27 (8) and 81 (b). The missing voices of Kenyan female voices at national level, therefore, trickles down to the county and grassroots levels. We advocate for political parties that are gender responsive and supportive of the women agenda.
WOMEN AT WEB
With increased internet penetration, there are more Kenyans engaging online on diverse issues, however little is being done to increase women’s participation on online platforms, or ensuring that those engaging are safe and making an impact in their fields of expertise. A workshop that was exclusively for women with intermediary knowledge of social media usage was held in Nairobi on August 31st 2018, and focused on Digital Literacy, Content Creation, Digital Storytelling, Understanding Digital Ecosystem, Citizen Journalism and Security online. A total of 40 women were trained during this workshop.
Haki Mashinani
Siasa Place focuses on meaningful youth engagement in civic processes and utilizes digital platforms to disseminate information through unconventional methods targeting the majority populace. In collaboration with three County-Base Organizations, the HAKI MASHINANI project addresses environmental, governance issues affecting youth as well as and women empowerment in Kericho, Homa Bay, and Siaya Counties.
TrustLab
TrustLab project, a collaboration between Deutsche Welle Akademie (DW), Code for Africa (CfA), and Siasa Place (SP), is working to empower grassroots organizations in six counties namely; Mombasa, Lamu, Nakuru, Nairobi, Homabay and Busia to Identify and combat digital threats that could potentially undermine democracy at county and national levels.