Launching the zine from our ‘Deep Dive Week’

Ledys Sanjuan MejÍa

We took time out in August to engage in our first Deep Dive Week. This zine reflects on how that went, and showcases the results of our creative collaborations.

Learning from co-leadership

Laura Guzman
Paola Mosso
Gillian Williams
Julia Keseru

Reflections on how we developed our shared leadership model.

An evolving commitment to feminist digital infrastructures

Paola Mosso

In our time of climate emergency and growing efforts to erode democratic relationships and information ecosystems, perspectives around equity, enjoyment and care help us reimagine futures that nurture and regenerate relationships and natural ecosystems.

Innovation is not for free

Julia Keseru

How can we continue experimenting with technology’s liberatory potential, without sacrificing too much?

How can the digital rights community support Climate Justice?

Barbara Paes
Sara Baker

After publishing our report exploring the intersections of digital rights, tech and climate justice, we wanted to make space to collectively imagine what it would look like to turn our research findings into action.

Technology in the service of justice

Julia Keseru

How The Engine Room aspires to approach our own technical choices with an explicit focus on justice and anti-oppression.

Navigating the current digital emergency

Zara Rahman

We’re seeing that many civil society organisations, particularly those working in service provision or public-facing roles, must reimagine their programmatic objectives and goals quickly.

Civil society actions & dreaming big in the face of Covid-19

Zara Rahman

How authoritarian power grabs, expanding surveillance structures, deadly mis/disinformation and sketchy public-private partnerships are important for the future of civil society’s work at the intersection of data, technology and human rights.

Deconstructing knowledge and power in our work

Hlompho Mokoena

At The Engine Room we see decolonising as not only a process of freeing our minds from colonialism but also as a lens to reflect on our work, power and methodologies. Here are some of the ways we seek to commit to this in our work.

Understanding people before creating new tech

Barbara Paes

Using data and technology in social justice work is about understanding the lives of the people you’re working with and then figuring out what type of work you can do to best serve those communities.

Building trust while working remotely

Sara Baker

With a team of 17 people working from 12 countries, we’ve been honing what works, and what doesn’t, for nine years of being a virtual workplace.

NGOs embrace GDPR, but will it be used against them?

Guest author

GDPR compliance is an integral part of organisational resilience, and it requires resources and attention from NGO leaders, foundations and regulators to defend their organisations against attempts by governments and corporations to misuse the GDPR against them.

Tech Bias, People Bias

Zara Rahman

Though we’re increasingly focusing on the biases within technology, we shouldn’t turn away from the human decisions that put them there. 

Unpacking ‘informed consent’

Madeleine Maxwell

Just because someone has signed a form, does that mean they truly understand everything they are agreeing to?

Making the most of a remote and diverse team

Zara Rahman

At The Engine Room, we’ve valued diversity for a long time. Having a team whose life experiences and perspectives vary greatly makes us better able to respond to complex situations and complement each other’s approach (and it makes our conversations much more interesting!). But developing ways of working that make the most of a diverse […]

Stop assuming, start questioning

Nonso Jideofor

One way to hit the needed balance of ambition and practicality is by starting with the basics: understanding and defining the problem you want to address.

Share more, build less

Guest author

We see a lot of organisations looking for support with a technology project. The majority we see fall short of addressing project needs and don’t tap into the power of sharing and collaborating.