Workshop on Strategic Use of Technology for Advocacy: Safe Impactful Online Campaigning,
Digital Storytelling, and use of Technology
Date: May 8, 2025 I Nairobi I Time: 8:00 a.m – 5:00 p.m Venue: Nairobi
Introduction
In an era where digital technologies are reshaping civic engagement, advocacy in civil society has evolved beyond traditional methods to encompass powerful online strategies. Civil society actors, human rights defenders, and grassroots advocates now operate in increasingly complex digital environments, where the ability to influence policy, raise public awareness, and mobilise communities hinges on their digital capacity. However, the proliferation of digital tools does not automatically translate into effective, secure, or strategic use. Many actors lack the necessary skills to navigate these technologies safely, especially in contexts marked by shrinking civic space, digital repression, and rising threats to online safety.
Kenya’s social justice advocates face a dual challenge: countering sophisticated misinformation and disinformation campaigns, while also confronting technology-facilitated violence and surveillance that disproportionately targets their communities. The urgency to build robust digital advocacy skills is heightened by these realities.
This workshop is grounded in the belief that empowering civil society with digital advocacy skills – tailored to their local realities and political environments – is key to sustaining democratic engagement and advancing human rights. Against this background, KICTANet in collaboration with the Association of Progressive Communications (APC) through the Our Voices our Future (OVOF) program, is hosting a one-day workshop on the strategic use of technology for impactful and effective advocacy.
Background
In today’s dynamic and digitally interconnected world, civil society actors, human rights defenders (HRDs), and citizen activists increasingly rely on digital technologies to amplify their voices, mobilise communities, and advocate for change. As digital spaces continue to expand, so too do the risks and challenges associated with online engagement – ranging from surveillance, censorship, and targeted harassment to the spread of misinformation and the erosion of digital rights.
A brief on Innovation and Technology for Civil Society by the APC underscores that effective digital advocacy requires more than technical proficiency. It demands a nuanced understanding of organisational context, political realities, and the broader socio-economic environment. Capacity building must therefore address not only online campaigning and digital security, but also the structural barriers such as the digital divide, restrictive intellectual property regimes, and rising content regulation that limit access and impact.
In Kenya, despite high mobile phone penetration, significant gaps persist in internet access, digital literacy, and online safety. Marginalised and underserved communities face compounded challenges, including affordability, infrastructure deficits, and heightened exposure to digital threats. Furthermore, one of the growing barriers to accessing online content that Kenyan CSOs and HRDs face is the restrictive intellectual property frameworks that limit the free flow of information. This highlights the urgent need for shared knowledge spaces and open access. Meanwhile, censorship and content regulation are on the rise globally, posing additional threats.
Moreover, technology is not neutral; it reflects and reinforces existing power dynamics. Big tech platforms and state actors often wield digital tools to shape narratives, advance their own agendas and suppress dissent . Civil society, while reliant on these platforms for outreach, must navigate issues of digital sovereignty, autonomy, and resilience in the face of external control. A more local display of power dynamics is the increase in state surveillance in Kenya, targeting online citizen activists and vocal human rights defenders. The country has witnessed a resurgence in abductions and disappearances, inextricably linked to surveillance of digital footprints and physical locations. To use technology meaningfully for advocacy, CSOs, HRDs and individual activists must also understand the broader political, social, and economic systems in which they are embedded.
Further the realities of the impact of extensive technology use on attention spans of individuals and information overload means that CSOs, HRDs, and individual activists must curate digital campaigns that are concise, visually engaging, and immediately relevant to their audience. These campaigns should deliver impactful messages within seconds, utilize storytelling techniques that create emotional connections, and include clear calls to action that can be completed with minimal friction.
Given these complexities, there is a critical need for targeted, context-sensitive training that equips advocates with both practical skills and strategic insight. This workshop is designed to address this gap by building a cadre of trainers who can cascade digital advocacy expertise throughout their networks, fostering a culture of safe, effective, and sustainable online engagement.
Objectives
- Equip participants with advanced digital advocacy skills for strategic online campaigning, digital storytelling, and technology-driven advocacy.
- Enhance participants’ capacity to identify and mitigate digital risks, including surveillance, censorship, and misinformation, while promoting digital safety and resilience.
- Foster critical understanding of digital power dynamics, enabling advocates to maintain autonomy and navigate challenges related to control, surveillance, and repression.
- Establish a peer learning and support network of digital advocacy trainers to ensure sustained knowledge transfer and community-level impact.
Session Format
One-day, in-person workshop featuring interactive presentations by subject-matter experts, high-level panel discussion featuring leading digital rights advocates and hands-on exercises and scenario-based group work.
Target Audience
- Human rights defenders
- Civil society organisations
- Citizen activists and community organisers engaged in digital advocacy
- Trainers and capacity builders within advocacy networks
Agenda
Date: May 8th 2025
Time: 8:00 a.m – 5:00 p.m
Venue: Nairobi
| Time | Session | Presenter/Moderator |
|---|---|---|
| 08:00–08:30 | ARRIVAL AND REGISTRATION | KICTANet |
| 08:30–08:50 | Welcome Remarks Workshop objectives and Participant Introductions | Workshop Moderator |
| 08:50–09:30 | Keynote Address: The Digital Advocacy Landscape in Kenya | Dr. Grace Githaiga |
| 09:30–10:30 | Panel: Power, Platforms & Policy – Exploring the intersection of digital technologies, power dynamics, and civic engagement in Kenya. Panellists will discuss surveillance, misinformation, and digital sovereignty. | Moderator: KICTANet
|
| 10:30–11:00 | TEA BREAK | |
| 11:00–12:00 | Presentation: Digital Storytelling for Social Change – Narrative power in advocacy, tools/platforms | TBD |
| 12:00–13:00 | Presentation: Misinformation, Disinformation & The Digital Media – Impacts on Marginalised Communities | Cherie Oyier |
| 13:00–14:00 | LUNCH BREAK | |
| 14:00–15:00 | Presentation: Digital Safety and Security in Advocacy – Tools and Tactics & Identifying digital threats, mitigation tools, and interactive security demo | TBD |
| 15:00–16:00 | Practice Lab: Designing Safe, Inclusive, and Impactful Digital Campaigns – Create a mini campaign or story relevant to your local context and the tools and tactics needed to safely implement | TBD |
| 16:00–16:15 | Building a Peer Network for Digital Advocacy: Establishing a community of practice, and planning ongoing collaboration | Workshop Moderator |
| 16:15–16:30 | Wrap-Up and Way Forward: Reflections, resources, cascading plans
Post-workshop evaluation form |
Workshop Moderator |
| 16:30–17:00 | HEALTH BREAK AND NETWORKING | |
