Call for volunteers and sponsors: Human Rights Navigator app
Updated: Dec 6, 2022
The Data Collaboration Alliance nonprofit is building a free and anonymous web application that will enable everyday people to assess risks to their human rights when traveling between domestic and international locations.
Political and legal landscapes are shifting and fragmenting and the ability of citizens, consultants, employers, and advocates to stay on top of human rights is becoming an increasing challenge.
In response, the Data Collaboration Alliance has started a new project to crowdsource a human rights dataset that will be used to power a free and anonymous web application that will enable people to assess risks when traveling between domestic and international locations.
Our plan is to launch the version 1.0 of the app with a focus on reproductive rights and then expand in future releases to add increase geographic coverage and rights categories.
To volunteer for the data crowdsourcing project, please visit the Collaboration Hub. For sponsorship enquires, please email chris@datacollaboration.org
Why reproductive rights?
Recent changes to reproductive rights in the US have become a highly-controversial topic that stand to impact millions of US citizens, making this a timely and important place to start.
Multiple news stories indicate the urgency of the issue:
Louisiana House removes murder charge for women from abortion bill
Interstate Travel Post-Roe Isn’t as Secure as You May Think
Flo Period-Tracking App Releases ‘Anonymous Mode,' but Users Should Still Be Cautious
Woman sues San Francisco after DNA from rape kit was used to arrest her
How expanding web of license plate readers could be ‘weaponized’ against abortion
Human Rights: DEFINITIONS AND CLASSIFICATIONS
Data privacy
No personalized information will be collected through the web app which will include recommendations for privacy-preserving browsers such as Firefox, Brave, or DuckDuckGo.
Data Stewardship for the crowdsourcing project is being managed by two of most repsected privacy professionals in North America:
The app will be built and hosted in the Collaboration Hub environment which is hosted on dataware platform technology provided by DCA technology partner Cinchy.
The development process will adhere the Zero-Copy Integration framework to ensure that the dataset crowdsourced for this app is never copied and can be fully-controlled and audited.
In line with this pioneering approach, this will hold true even if access grants are provided by the data stewards to power other apps in the future.
Features
Version 1.0 of the Human Rights Navigator app will support the following features and capabilities:
Select home and travel destination location
View reproductive rights at destination
Assess challenges to reproductive rights at destination
Print results as PDF
The research and data entry aspects of the project will employ our standard data collab process.
Use cases
There are many scenarios where people require a clear understanding of how travel will impact their human rights, for example:
Pregnant women travelling between US states for medical procedures
Agencies booking travel for vulnerable individuals / groups
HR teams planning employee travel and relocation
Companies planning new office or branch locations
How to volunteer
We're inviting individuals to help crowdsource the human rights dataset that will power the app with research support.
Here's how to add your name to the list of volunteers:
Visit the Collaboration Hub
Login with an existing email account e.g. Gmail, Outlook, Apple
Click the green 'Collab' button (top left corner)
Click the Human Rights Navigator tile
Click 'Join'
By joining, you are expressing interest in supporting this data collab in some capacity e.g. research / data entry. This will be followed-up with an email invitation to RSVP for a kick-off meeting.
How to sponsor
We're looking for in-kind sponsorships from nonprofits and charities who are interested in endorsing this project with their logo which will be displayed in the app. These organizations will also be invited to participate in the project leadership team as well as media and content activities.
We also invite monetary sponsorships from commercial organizations who see the value in aligning their brand with a free tool that will provide everyday people with the ability to navigate the ever-changing human rights landscape.
100% of funds will go to support the development of the app.
Email us to learn more: chris@datacollaboration.org
About the Data Collaboration Alliance
The Data Collaboration Alliance is a nonprofit that’s dedicated to establishing CONTROL as the foundation of digital innovation. Our approach of eliminating data silos and copies is similar to how most societies already protect the value of their currency, identity, and intellectual property - and it works for data, too.
In concert with our volunteers and partners, we build free apps powered by new technologies, standards, and methodologies that support an efficient, controlled, and collaborative approach. Our advisors include the Executive Director of the Mozilla Foundation and the ex-CIO of Dropbox.
Stay up-to-date with our progress by subscribing to our newsletter and podcast and by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter.