Deadline: March 2, 2022
Applications are open for the ARTICLE 19 Internet of Rights Fellowship 2022-2023. ARTICLE 19’s Team Digital is looking for public interest advocates to join the Internet of Rights (IoR) Fellowship as part of the individual fellows cohort. This is a 12-month fellowship, beginning in April 2022.
The general goals of the IoR Fellowship are:
- To protect and promote freedom of expression, freedom of association, privacy, and other human rights in key Internet technical standards and policy bodies.
- To bridge the knowledge gap in these bodies regarding human rights and their relevance to Internet infrastructure.
- To support sustained and effective participation of civil society advocates in Internet technical standards and policy bodies.
- To support and champion the consideration of underrepresented people and communities in decision-making processes within these bodies.
Fellowship Tracks
This year, A19 is soliciting applications for the following tracks:
- Censorship: This track focuses on technical standards and policies pertaining to internet infrastructure that improve resilience to censorship and the security of communications. The IoR fellow(s) may engage in technical discussions related to routing protocols that determine how data moves from source to destination within and across IP-enabled networks, contribute to networking protocols to address vulnerabilities exploited by censors, and or work with internet infrastructure providers such as internet registries to address content moderation issues at the DNS level. Fellows will participate in internet governance forums such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
- Connectivity: This track focuses on ensuring all people have choices in how they connect to the internet, particularly local communities dependent on last-mile networking technologies and infrastructure. The IoR fellow(s) may advocate for technical and policy frameworks that can support alternative internet operators such as community or non-profit services in multilateral forums, improve wireless networking standards to enable community networks, or protect human rights considerations in technical specifications of mobile networks. Fellows will participate in internet governance forums such as the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and the International Telecommunication Union Development Sector (ITU-D).
- Datafication: This track focuses on advocating for human rights in discussions of data-driven infrastructure technologies such as facial recognition, emotion recognition, and other biometric-based systems and the internet of things (IoT) and smart cities. The IoR fellow(s) may research and write case studies of data-driven infrastructure deployments in localized global south contexts or push back against wide scale deployment of biometric recognition systems, or engage in standard-setting around biometric technologies and smart cities. Fellows will participate in technical standards communities such as the IEEE, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the ITU Technical Sector (ITU-T), and oneM2M.
Eligibility
- Applicants from the global south, women, and other individuals that identify as part of underrepresented groups in Internet governance are especially encouraged to apply.
They are looking for the following qualities in fellows:
- Technical competence. While this may include knowledge of and experience in computer networking and protocols, systems design, and architecture, it is not necessary. They are looking for candidates who are capable of digesting complex or difficult concepts in technical policies or standards and explaining them to a wider audience.
- Some prior experience of participating in Internet governance bodies, and/or in-depth knowledge of the Internet governance processes and, where possible, specific standards or protocols that are relevant to the applicant’s workplan proposal.
- Strong research, writing, and speaking skills in English. The program will be conducted entirely in English.
- A clear commitment to protecting and promoting human rights and Internet freedom.
Application
Submit the following materials as a single .zip file to [email protected] by Wednesday, March 2:
- Curriculum vitae (CV)
- A statement of interest, indicating the following:
- How you intend to meet the goals of the Fellowship.
- A proposed 12-month workplan, including your key deliverables/outputs. (If you are selected, you will have the opportunity to revise this workplan; it is only requested at this stage to demonstrate your knowledge of the track you are applying for, internet governance, and human rights.)
- How you expect that these deliverables/outputs will create impact, in line with the goals of the fellowship and your selected track.
- How you expect that your project will help you sustain your participation in Internet governance beyond the life of the Fellowship.
- Contact information for two references.
For more information, visit ARTICLE 19 Internet of Rights Fellowship.
