Session
EngageMedia
Khairil Zhafri, EngageMedia Afra Suci Ramadhon, Digital Defenders Partnership Shataakshi Verma, Reporters Without Borders
Khairil Zhafri, EngageMedia Afra Suci Ramadhon, Digital Defenders Partnership Shataakshi Verma, Reporters Without Borders
Organization's Website
Speakers
Khairil Zhafri, EngageMedia
Afra Suci Ramadhon, Digital Defenders Partnership
Shataakshi Verma, Reporters Without Borders
Onsite Moderator
Khairil Zhafri
Rapporteur
Khairil Zhafri
SDGs
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
9.c
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships for the Goals
17.16
Targets: SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) - DRAPAC VPN directly strengthens access to information and protects fundamental freedoms by providing secure, censorship-resistant internet access for human rights defenders. This supports target 16.10 to ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms. SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) - Our multi-stakeholder partnership model demonstrates effective cooperation between civil society organizations across borders. The DRAPAC VPN Project exemplifies target 17.16 by enhancing multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources. SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) - By providing reliable, resilient digital infrastructure that increases access to information technology, DRAPAC VPN contributes to target 9.c to significantly increase access to information and communications technology. Our project addresses these goals by building technological infrastructure that enables continued activism and advocacy work in restrictive environments, fostering stronger civil society partnerships, and ensuring access to information remains possible even under censorship regimes.
9.c
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships for the Goals
17.16
Targets: SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) - DRAPAC VPN directly strengthens access to information and protects fundamental freedoms by providing secure, censorship-resistant internet access for human rights defenders. This supports target 16.10 to ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms. SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) - Our multi-stakeholder partnership model demonstrates effective cooperation between civil society organizations across borders. The DRAPAC VPN Project exemplifies target 17.16 by enhancing multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources. SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) - By providing reliable, resilient digital infrastructure that increases access to information technology, DRAPAC VPN contributes to target 9.c to significantly increase access to information and communications technology. Our project addresses these goals by building technological infrastructure that enables continued activism and advocacy work in restrictive environments, fostering stronger civil society partnerships, and ensuring access to information remains possible even under censorship regimes.
Format
This lightning talk will follow a concise, focused format appropriate for the brief time allotment. The presentation will include:
- A brief introduction to the digital threats facing human rights defenders in Asia-Pacific (3-4 minute)
- An overview of the DRAPAC VPN Project's technical architecture and security features (6 minutes)
- A demonstration of how the decentralized partnership model works across organizations (8-10 minute)
- Visual representation of impact data showing usage patterns across the region (6 minute)
- Concluding remarks on scaling possibilities and calls for collaboration (3-4 minute)
The presenter will use minimal text on slides, favoring visual representations and diagrams to maximize understanding across language barriers. The lightning talk format allows for quick delivery of essential information while still providing actionable insights for participants interested in similar human rights technology initiatives.
Duration (minutes)
30
Description
DRAPAC VPN Project offers a decentralized solution protecting human rights defenders across Asia-Pacific from increasing digital surveillance and online censorship. This lightning talk will showcase how a coalition of trusted human rights organizations collaboratively maintains a distributed VPN infrastructure based on the Shadowsocks protocol, effectively disguising VPN traffic as regular internet activity. We'll demonstrate how this approach builds digital resilience for activists, independent journalists, and researchers working in restrictive environments where internet freedom continues to deteriorate. The project directly addresses IGF 2025's focus on managing cybersecurity threats, infrastructure resilience, and protection of Internet critical infrastructure in crisis situations by providing a practical, community-driven solution for maintaining secure communications channels. Our partnership model between EngageMedia, Reporters Without Borders, eQualitie, Digital Defenders Partnership, and SAFEnet represents an innovative approach to digital cooperation in service of human rights. Background materials available at https://drap.ac/vpn.
To facilitate interaction between onsite and online participants, we'll implement a real-time collaborative digital whiteboard where both groups can contribute questions and reflections throughout the presentation. Our moderator will actively bridge the physical and virtual spaces by regularly checking the shared board and ensuring voices from both environments are amplified equally during the Q&A period. We'll design the session for hybrid engagement by: - Preparing concise, visually compelling slides optimized for both in-room and remote viewing - Creating a parallel Signal group that attendees can join via QR code for instant feedback and questions - Ensuring all demonstrations of the DRAPAC VPN infrastructure are screen-shared with high-resolution capture for remote participants Complementary tools we'll employ include: - Mentimeter for live polling on digital rights challenges faced by participants in their regions - A dedicated Telegram channel where participants can continue the conversation and connect with DRAPAC VPN partners after the session - A streamlined web interface where interested parties can express interest in joining the partnership during or after the session This hybrid approach ensures meaningful participation regardless of whether attendees join physically or virtually from anywhere in the world, particularly important for human rights defenders who may face travel restrictions.
To facilitate interaction between onsite and online participants, we'll implement a real-time collaborative digital whiteboard where both groups can contribute questions and reflections throughout the presentation. Our moderator will actively bridge the physical and virtual spaces by regularly checking the shared board and ensuring voices from both environments are amplified equally during the Q&A period. We'll design the session for hybrid engagement by: - Preparing concise, visually compelling slides optimized for both in-room and remote viewing - Creating a parallel Signal group that attendees can join via QR code for instant feedback and questions - Ensuring all demonstrations of the DRAPAC VPN infrastructure are screen-shared with high-resolution capture for remote participants Complementary tools we'll employ include: - Mentimeter for live polling on digital rights challenges faced by participants in their regions - A dedicated Telegram channel where participants can continue the conversation and connect with DRAPAC VPN partners after the session - A streamlined web interface where interested parties can express interest in joining the partnership during or after the session This hybrid approach ensures meaningful participation regardless of whether attendees join physically or virtually from anywhere in the world, particularly important for human rights defenders who may face travel restrictions.