Deadline: 31-May-23
WACSI, in partnership with MOTT Foundation inviting applications from civil society organisations (CSOs) in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal for participation in a 5-day digital security and resilience training that will help them respond effectively to the ever-evolving digital security challenges CSOs face in West Africa.
WACSI, in partnership with the MOTT Foundation is implementing a 2-year project titled Digital Security Capacity Strengthening and Outreach Project. As part of this project WACSI has published a recent research report titled Landscape Mapping of Civil Society Digital Security in West Africa. The report reveals that significant percentage of CSOs in West Africa face a growing number of digital security threats and attacks, and this, multiple times a year. However, there is a lack of awareness and preparedness among CSOs, as many do not implement basic security measures or allocate resources for information security. The study emphasises the urgent need for digital security education and collaboration with government and organisations to protect CSOs’ digital tools and data. The report highlights the importance of robust digital security laws and policies, as well as the need for harmonisation across West Africa.
Timeframe
- The training and action planning phase of this project spans the period June 2023 – July 2024
- Below is an outline of key steps involved in this phase of the project, before and after the training.
- Selection of to Participating Organisations (June 2023)
- Organisational Security Assessment (July – Aug 2023)
- Learning needs assessment (Aug 2023)
- In-country training (Sep – Oct 2023)
- Action Planning and Community Outreach Proposals (Oct – Jan 2024)
- Community Outreach and Citizens’ engagement (Mar– Jun 2024)
- Documentation of change stories (Apr – May 2024)
Target audience
The training will target a total of forty (40) Civil Society Organisations, consisting of ten (10) from each target country, namely: Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal. Each organisation will be expected to send two (2) representatives.
Eligibility Criteria for Selection
- The organisation must be a civil society organisation and must operate in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, or Senegal.
- The organisation must be willing to nominate and commit two (2) key staff members to participate in the training programme. These representatives should be responsible for implementing digital security measures within the organisation and advocating for digital security issues.
- The organisation must be willing to make a long-term commitment to digital security beyond the training programme. This involves the implementation of an action plan to enhance digital resilience within the organisation and contribute to community outreach efforts.
- The organisation should demonstrate a clear need for digital security measures due to previous incidents, vulnerabilities, risks faced in their digital operations, or alignment with their organisational mission. This could include instances of digital security threats, attacks, breaches, or capacity or commitment to join community outreach and advocacy efforts on the issue. Note: Meeting all the selection criteria does not guarantee selection, as the final decision will be based on the overall suitability and diversity of the selected organisations.
For more information, visit WACSI.