#AmennySyria
Campaign Aims to Increase Awareness for Digital Security in Syria
A new awareness campaign aims to help at-risk Syrians adopt sound digital security practices. The online campaign, #AmennySyria, warns of the risks associated with online activity and provides tips on increasing personal digital security. The 8-week campaign was launched on July 1, 2014 by SalamaTech in conjunction with several partner organisations.
The campaign has already reached more than 480,000 people on Facebook alone.
Digital safety matters in Syria. Syrian netizens are being captured, tortured and killed because of their online activities. This threat comes not just from the Assad regime. Armed groups like Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are also capturing and torturing people to access their online accounts. When a Syrian human rights defender (HRD) is captured, his or her entire network including friends and family, are exposed.
Through the provision of daily interactive content including quizzes, Q&A, informative posts, tips, and weekly recaps, #AmennySyria aims to raise awareness among Syrians of digital threats. Creative visual banners anchor each of the campaign’s weekly themes to help Syrians better understand online risks.
Central to the #AmennySyria campaign is a Facebook event page where partner organisations are encouraging Syrians to join and learn about digital safety.
SalamaTech partners in the #AmennySyria initiative include:
- Cyber Arabs,
- Technicians for Freedom
- The Syrian Revolution Technical Guide,
- The Office for Security Counseling of the Syrian Revolution, and
- Orient News
The SalamaTech project, an initiative of The SecDev Foundation, is mandated to build the capacity of Syrian civil society to communicate safely online.
“When SalamaTech approached us about the Amenny campaign, I thought this would be just another campaign that needed some media coverage. Once the campaign was launched, I started to realize how important the topic is. Syrians breathe technology nowadays and to inform them about the hidden and mostly overlooked aspects of digital security seems to me vital. The way the campaign is structured and how it engages with its target audience is innovative. I am very happy we decided to join as partners. In fact, Radio Alaan is looking into creating a weekly technology show now to make sure we are on top of these important and relevant issues.”
, Radio Alaan FM
“The campaign is a beautiful and innovative idea. The way it delivers messages and shares ideas and information is excellent. The small polls are particularly intriguing. They open your eyes to little, but very important things that you normally overlook. As a human rights activist, I use digital technology on daily basis in my work. Digital security is so important to me and now I have learnt so much. I am sharing this with my colleagues and with activists working in other domains as well. It is so relevant to people like us who face massive risks everyday.”
, Human Rights Lawyer, Violations Documentations Centre of Syria.
