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Context
Digital Democracy helps empower marginalized communities using technology to defend their rights. We attended their board retreat in Guyana as an advisor to provide strategic insight on using hackathons and technology contractors to build their product vision. We also documented the work of their partners, who are using drones and mobile phones to monitor the environment and document illegal resource extraction.
Engagement
Our experience at HackTheRainforest last year gave a good background on Digidem’s work in the Amazon region, but traveling to a remote indigenous community made it really sink in. The Wapichan people are doing incredible work mapping their territory, documenting their traditional and active uses to support a land title extension negotiation with their government, and ensuring careful management and protection of some of the most biodiverse places on Earth.
We helped with repairing their drone, making adjustments and calibrations to the autopilot, and provided some background on how various sensors are used to keep it aloft. We look forward to continuing to help Digidem in the future in a strategic and technical advisory capacity.
Further Reading
- Articles in Quartz about recent work by the South Rupununi Tushao’s Council
- Talk by Dd founder Emily Jacobi at Personal Democracy Forum