About ReCIPE

ReCIPE stands for “Recentering the Civic Internet through Partner Engagement".

This project focuses on 10 countries where the digital rights situation is most at risk: Bolivia, Cambodia, El Salvador, Kenya, Palestine, Senegal, Somalia, Tunisia, Uganda and Vietnam. The combined populations of these countries is approximately 282 million, with 127 million active internet users.

There is a lack of investment in organisations in these countries to work against digital security and safety risks.

This project will give our partner organisations the resources to do so. It will support them in raising the voices of the communities they represent to contribute to a more accountable and meaningfully regulated digital ecosystem. It will also focus on women and girls having access and digital literacy to participate in political and social life.

Why this project matters:

Internet freedom declined for the 13th consecutive year in 2023. That’s according to the latest Freedom House report. This report found that attacks on free expression grew more common around the world. In a record 55 of the 70 countries covered by Freedom on the Net, people faced legal action for expressing themselves online. People were physically assaulted or killed for their online commentary in 41 countries. The report also found that artificial intelligence (AI) has allowed some governments to enhance online censorship, surveillance, and the spread of disinformation. In many cases, an overreliance on self-regulation by private companies has left people’s rights exposed to a variety of threats in the digital age.

People are frequently targeted based on characteristics like race, gender, age, sexuality, ability, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, faith, nationality, and political affiliation; with women (including transwomen) being targeted most. In many ways, digital technologies are replicating – and sometimes exacerbating – the inequalities and repression experienced in people’s physical lives.

The question for organisations like Oxfam is not whether to accept or embrace digital technologies and subsequent innovations, but how we will assess and confront their implications for humanity, and what guardrails we will fight to achieve adequate protections, assurances and accountability for everyone’s rights in a digital age. 

The urgency of protecting and promoting rights in the digital age cannot be overlooked, to ensure that technological innovation and change do not overtake our ability to chart a just and equitable future.