What we do
Team CommUNITY (TCU) is a community-based membership network that brings together digital defenders from across the globe fighting surveillance, censorship, and other issues sitting at the intersection of human rights and technology.
Our mission is to foster and nurture healthy and resilient digital rights networks so they can better achieve digital rights and Internet freedoms for all.
We do this by offering services and creating community spaces that further members’ work and wellbeing, while enhancing collaboration and solidarity in the wider digital rights field.
Cubans connecting to the Internet
“We are currently conducting research on the internet freedom ecosystem and overwhelmingly, people who we surveyed and interviewed indicated that the spaces they felt the safest to collaborate and work together are Team CommUNITY’s events, especially the in-person gathering. The lack of it has had a real negative impact on the work of digital rights and digital security networks throughout the world.”
Our Programming
2. Community Building & Events
Weekly Town Halls, Regional Meetups, and Mattermost
Our virtual Mattermost is home to over 2,000+ digital rights defenders and several projects and groups. We host weekly town halls, bimonthly regional meetups, and other diverse events, where you can meet digital rights defenders from all over the world. In addition, TCU staff regularly provides networking support to individuals and organizations, helping them connect with the right people, resources, and help. Check our upcoming events!
Concierge Services
On a daily basis, our community managers receive requests from diverse members asking for help with specific and unique challenges they are facing. We connect them to the people, resources, tools, or opportunities they need.
Sample of requests range from at-risk groups looking to connect to rapid response networks; toolmakers looking to connect with on-the-ground users; grassroots organizations seeking help with community dynamics; and much more!
3. Information Services
Weekly Digital Rights Newsletter
TCU’s newsletter provides weekly updates on community news, job and grant opportunities, educational resources, and developments in the greater world that affect digital rights.
Digital Rights Job Board
TCU runs one of the most popular job board in the digital rights field, used by 4,000-5,000 people a month.
Special Initiative
VPN Community Initiative
Through gatherings, events and community management, this initiative brings together diverse professionals and organizations to collaboratively work on challenges in the VPN ecosystem.
We believe those experiencing the most acute forms of digital repression bring unique expertise that enhance strategies, approaches and solutions coming from the field. Our programs can be divided into three areas:
1. Capacity Building and Mentorship
We fund the travel and security of low-resourced, at-risk communities to attend the Global Gathering, as well as the tools needed to make them feel safe and supported, including holistic security and safety protocols and processes, and customized visa support.
Our onboarding ramps, fellowship, and mentorship programs have been critical to those on the ground, helping them enter the field, and obtain the resources they need to address their challenges. We have also provided support services that reflects the current needs of defenders. As an example, during the pandemic, we launched a psychosocial program that provided over 120+ defenders with one-to-one and group therapy.
“The CommUNITY Team cultivate communities with care. They have been essential in the Internet Freedom space to grow, connect and support a diverse network of human rights defenders, and the people that support them.”
Service Branch:
Hire us!
We provide organizations with consultation services in the areas we know really well:
Global community building and engagement. (workshops, trainings, strategy, etc)
Team building workshops / Allyship Training
Psychosocial processing circles lead by mental health professionals
Event design and management
Security and safety protocols for events and organizations
Open space facilitation
Digital strategy, campaigns, and communications
Make sure to check out our full list of services! All monies collected go to our Equity Fund.
“Team CommUNITY’s facilitation strategies has made it possible for experts and activists from all over the world to contribute towards a common goal. Their work in the digital rights communities have been instrumental in advancing human rights in and through online spaces.”
The Digital Rights Community
We have the rare experience of working with one of the most global communities in the world, because digital rights affect everyone, everywhere. What bonds us together is our desire for an internet that is accessible, affordable and open to everyone, free from surveillance and censorship. We work with people from every academic discipline and across all professional fields. This includes grassroots activists, journalists, human rights defenders, open source technologists, privacy and security advocates, researchers, and many more.
TCU community spaces bring together over 2,000+ FLOSS technologists, grassroots activists, researchers, journalists and human rights defenders from over 130+ countries.
“Team CommUNITY have been foundational forces to grow the Internet Freedom and digital rights space. They serve communities with humbleness and care, thoughtfulness and leadership, and are brilliant at centering and amplifying voices that need to be heard. Most importantly, they’re not afraid of a challenge, and continue to pave the way in shaping radical discourse and community-building.”
Notably, we were named in Mozilla’s 2020 Internet Health Report as one of the Internet’s healthy moments
during the height of the pandemic! This was because of how we quickly mobilized to provide digital rights defenders with the services, support and safe spaces they needed to better navigate new challenges.
Our Home
Team CommUNITY is proudly housed at ARTICLE 19, an independent human rights organization. With an extensive global network of offices, and over 100 partners in 60 countries, ARTICLE 19 works to protect and promote the twin rights to freedom of expression and freedom of information across the globe.