Digital Security

A specialized workshop in Saida aimed at countering digital surveillance and targeting during the aggression on Lebanon, organized across two tracks: Field Journalism: Training 15 young, independent journalists on secure documentation tools and digital protection, complete with secure storage solutions. Training of Trainers (ToT): Equipping tech practitioners to train the community, support open-source software, and foster critical digital thinking.

Digital Security and Digital Rights Workshop in the Face of Aggression Taking place in Saida, Lebanon, in collaboration with ADEF & Sikka, this collaborative workshop serves as a gathering space to address mounting digital threats and security risks amid ongoing aggression and rapid technological shifts. The program counters surveillance and digital targeting while safeguarding institutional knowledge through two parallel tracks that connect field practices with critical technical solutions. 1. Core Training Tracks Track 1: Digital Security and Field Journalism Target Audience: 15 journalists covering the war in Lebanon and its southern region, prioritizing youth, freelancers, and independent platforms lacking the resources of major media outlets. Scope & Inclusivity: "Journalist" is broadly defined to include anyone actively engaged in reporting and media work, regardless of formal qualifications or professional status. Objectives: Equip journalists with digital protection tools to shield them from targeting while documenting attacks. Provide analytical frameworks to help reporters cover technical and digital issues more effectively. Supply tangible technical resources to bolster security and privacy (e.g., VPN subscriptions and secure storage solutions). Track 2: Training of Trainers (ToT) in Digital Security Target Audience: Young tech practitioners—developers, designers, sysadmins, and data researchers—operating at the intersection of technology, independent media, human rights, and advocacy. Scope & Inclusivity: "Tech practitioner" applies to anyone actively engaged with technology, without requiring a computer science degree. Objectives: Build capacity for participants to facilitate trainings and respond dynamically to community digital defense needs. Advocate for and advance Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS). Cultivate critical tech literacy to counter digital surveillance and leverage existing community expertise in defense of digital rights. 2. Pedagogical Framework: Building on Existing Knowledge The workshop moves away from starting from scratch, grounding its training methodology in cumulative knowledge through three core principles: Grounded in Field Experience: Moving past dry theory to center the lived, on-the-ground experiences of journalists and tech practitioners responding to current digital shifts. Practitioner-Led Facilitation: Led by active trainers immersed in the local context across Lebanon and the wider Arab region, operating where technology, activism, and journalism meet. Sustainable Knowledge Sharing: Creating an organic, long-term learning ecosystem that opens new avenues and opportunities for an emerging generation of Arab journalists and tech practitioners.