Building trust takes time. Activist technologists Natasha Msonza and Tawanda Mugari know that better than most. The co-founders of Digital Society of Africa (DSA)—formerly “Digital Society Zimbabwe”—have spent the past decade working to strengthen the digital resilience of frontline defenders and human rights organizations across Southern Africa.
In a region in which digital security trainers must risk their own safety to build the capabilities of those fighting to secure human rights and advance social justice, these efforts could not be more vital—or brave. By safeguarding the information security of local civil society organizations, DSA is helping to ensure that essential social justice work continues in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, and Swaziland. And by demystifying digital security practices, the grassroots organization is helping everyday people in these countries protect themselves from previously unknown online risks.
At the end of July, DSA will host ConnectCon 2024—the organization’s second annual convening of regional network members and strategic guests (including local funders and subject-matter experts) designed to promote practitioner upskilling and cultivate community development. Building on the success of ConnectCon 2023, this year’s event will see more than 70 individuals from 12 countries gather in Johannesburg, South Africa, for three days of intervisioning a future in which regional digital security resilience remains robust for years to come. Though the road to ConnectCon 2024 was far from promised, it has been the journey of a lifetime for Msonza and Mugari. And as DSA’s network continues to expand, their organization’s collective impact is only just beginning.
Origin of Digital Society Zimbabwe & the Safe Sisters Project
Back in 2013, few options existed for individuals and organizations in Southern Africa looking to elevate their digital security proficiency. Yet at the time, autocratic regimes in the region had already begun to silence their critics and activists through the implementation of aggressive online restrictions like network interference, throttling, surveillance, and platform takedowns. In response to these increased threats, the Information Safety & Capacity (ISC) Project hosted a multi-year “Training of Trainers” designed to boost local digital security resilience by having newly capacitated trainers provide local digital security support to USAID-funded projects via security audits, trainings, and direct technical fixes. Msonza and Mugari both participated in the rigorous program alongside eight other trainees.
By the conclusion of the project in 2015, only three trainees remained—two of which were Msonza and Mugari. Together, the three graduates founded Digital Society Zimbabwe (DSZ). Energized by what they had learned at ISC, members of the upstart organization quickly sought to put their newfound skills to work by offering free digital security trainings in an effort to eliminate the need for foreign trainers to parachute into the country and engage in well-intentioned efforts that nonetheless lacked critical context and routinely encountered cultural and language barriers. DSZ’s services found an immediate audience in Harare and beyond, and the team soon began to receive small grants to directly support civil society organizations across Zimbabwe. Within a few years, however, the third founder of DSZ withdrew to pursue other interests, leaving Msonza and Mugari to chart a path forward for the organization through an uncertain, and at times unsafe, space. Undaunted, the two stepped forward and never looked back.
By safeguarding the information security of local civil society organizations, DSA is helping to ensure that essential social justice work continues in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, and Swaziland.
As online threats continued to spread throughout Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa, so did DSZ’s work. Msonza co-founded the Safe Sisters Project in 2017 to provide localized support for groups acutely affected by technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including disabled communities, sexual and gender minorities, journalists, and human rights defenders. Safe Sisters’s intersectional approach to digital security—which has now been experienced by more than 135 fellows across East and Southern Africa—includes intensive, iterative trainings designed to empower women and expand their digital resilience and capacity. To date, Msonza remains one of the group’s primary trainers—responsible for curriculum development, mentorship, and identification of post-graduation opportunities for fellows who complete the course.
Digital Society of Africa’s Six-Country Expansion
By 2020, demand for digital security support from DSZ became so great the organization could no longer remain focused on just a single country. Digital Society Zimbabwe became Digital Society of Africa (DSA): a distributed network of technologists and consultants spread out across Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, and South Africa.
Caption: DSA CEO Natasha Msonza addressing ConnectCon 2023 participants.
That same year, the Open Society Foundations (OSF) awarded DSA with a major grant to reinforce the digital resilience of environmental activists and human rights defenders in South Africa. Ten new digital security trainers were trained alongside 21 organizations receiving support from OSF. Two years later, DSA launched a six-country Training of Trainers project as part of the Ford Foundation’s Weaving Resilience program. A set of ten enrollees from each country joined the sessions, which ultimately produced 35 graduates prepared to bolster the digital security and capacity of social justice and civil society organizations in the wake of COVID-19.
One year later, Open Technology Fund (OTF) provided support for DSA’s ConnectCon 2023—the first annual convening in which members of the DSA network gathered to cultivate community development and elevate digital security skills. Thirty-five regional network members, and 50 total participants, took part in the inaugural event centered on intervisioning and upskilling. Although ConnectCon 2023 was DSA’s first organization-wide collaboration with OTF, Msonza and Mugari previously received support for their efforts in rural Zimbabwe through the now-sunset Digital Integrity Fellowship Program.
Caption: Video of ConnectCon 2023
At ConnectCon 2024, DSA’s founders are eager to build on the success of last year’s event. “This year’s ConnectCon is even bigger, with over 70 participants, including individuals who work in the internet governance and digital rights spaces,” says Msonza. “Having them attend is critical, as they bring diverse and essential perspectives that enrich our understanding and approach to digital security—ensuring our strategies are both comprehensive and grounded in real-world experiences.”
Mugari agrees: “ConnectCon is also a place where we come together as a DSA family—fostering a safe environment for everyone to relax and have fun. By creating this sense of belonging, our community can leave behind our hectic work schedules and stressors, and enter a space that recharges us as we learn and grow together. The atmosphere is filled with love, determination, and purpose.”
Looking to the Future
Ten years in, DSA is stronger—and more impactful—than ever. With over 30 network members operating in six Southern African countries, the distributed team has completed 75+ security audits and supported more than 145 organizations in need. And these services—which include organization-wide security audits, risk assessments, trainings, security accompaniments, security policy formulation, and tech support—have never been more vital.
Caption: Participants at ConnectCon 2023 holding the flags of the six countries in which DSA operates.
In fighting to counter state-operated surveillance and censorship, DSA members work at great personal risk of arrest, detention, harassment, or worse. Yet they continue to offer their free services and defend defenders as a unique form of activism that empowers others to do their essential work in the region. Each security audit or training performed by DSA is another step forward against the growing tide of autocratic oppression and injustice on the continent.
At root then, DSA’s expert network of trainers is shaping local digital security solutions for those who need them most. With a holistic approach that consistently adapts to grow capabilities across the region, the organization is committed to shaping a future in which local practitioner skills remain at the cutting edge for years to come. And with a digital security curriculum pilot program in the works, DSA’s founders are already seeking out new ways to broaden their organization’s impact and plant seeds of digital resilience. Because they know that building trust takes time. Ten years in, Msonza and Mugari’s journey of empowerment is still—somehow—only just beginning.
Interested in building with DSA? Check out https://digitalsociety.africa to learn more.
About the program: ConnectCon 2024 is supported by OTF’s Internet Freedom Fund (IFF); the organization’s primary way to support projects and people working on open and accessible technology-focused projects that promote human rights, internet freedom, and open societies. The IFF accepts applications on a rolling basis through a two-step process. Applications are first submitted as concept notes. Upon positive review of an application, OTF then invites applicants to submit a full proposal. Click here to learn more and begin the application process.