What is this action?

• A collaborative campaign to reclaim information & communications technologies (ICTs) to end violence against women (VAW).
• A call to everyone - especially grrls and women - to take control of ICTs and consciously use it to change power relations between men and women.
• For 16 Days (Nov 25 - Dec 10), to enable users to employ ICTs for activism against VAW.

More information about the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence

Why "Take Back The Tech"?

• Creating digital spaces that protects everyone’s right to move freely, without harassment or threat to safety (echoing "Take Back The Night" campaigns).
• Realising our rights to shape, define, participate, use & share knowledge, information and ICTs.
• Addressing the intersections between communication rights and women’s human rights, especially violence against women.
• Recognising women’s historical and critical participation and contribution to the development of ICTs (e.g. Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper...)

What are the goals of this action?

• Build knowledge on how VAW is connected with ICTs, based on diverse experiences and realities.
• Support and promote local actions, priorities and advocacy issues on VAW & ICTs in different spaces and contexts.
• Collaboratively create strategies on using ICTs tactically to counter VAW.
• Changing the landscape, potential & paradigm of ICTs through active participation.
• To facilitate movement building on the human rights of women in relation to the field of ICTs.

Who to speak to?

• Web communities and users
• Advocates against VAW
• Women's rights defenders
• People who profit from VAW
• Media, information & news providers
• Policy and law makers

Who will take action?

• Ordinary ICTs users - grrl, woman, female ICTs users
• ICTs developers
• Information provider & disseminator
• Content creators
• Knowledge builders

Basically anyone who from librarians, lecturers, writers, techies, geek grrls, bloggers, emailers, SMSers, trainers, storytellers, poets, writers, web managers, theorists, graffiti artists, photographers....

What resources are available?

• Information about VAW & ICTs
• ICT tips and tools to counter VAW online
• Space for discussion and exchange to build knowledge & discourse
• Platform for your ideas and campaign actions
• Links to other spaces, people, info & strategies

How can you take back the tech? (some suggestions)

• Put up a campaign banner on your site.
• Come up with ideas for action that can be taken in the 16 days.
• Think of networks or initiatives or online communities you know that will take on the campaign and localise this!
• Share video clips, audio files, images, graphics, doodles & other kinds of content.
• Submit tools or write guides that you think are useful.
• Translate resources into your own languages
• Write, blog, talk, document – join ka-BLOG! or create your own blogging community and tactics.
• Discuss & build knowledge on this issue from your experiences and strategies dealing with VAW online.
• Make your own campaign icons. Create new imagery

Or start a local campaign!

• Brainstorm with a few people whom you think might be interested to raise this issue in your town, community, country or region
• What are the urgent issues in terms of VAW & ICTs?
• What’s the one change you’d like to see happen, and how can the campaign help achieve that?
• Think of simple, creative & concrete actions, or just get a few people together to take daily actions collectively
• Don't forget to share your campaign :)

Questions to initiate action

• What are your thoughts of this action?
• Can you take part in it?
• What do you need to take back control of ICTs? (access? community? information? strategies?)
• What do you see is missing?
• How can you take back the tech?
• What can you do online? What spaces do you have access to?
• How do you use technology now?
• What tactics can you implement for 16 Days to highlight the connection between ICTs and VAW?

next: campaign toolbox - images, tagging & other useful stuff to help build your campaign!