Speak Up Afrika was born out of a simple but urgent question: who gets to tell Africa’s digital stories—and who gets left out?

Across Eastern Africa, technology has become deeply woven into everyday life. We communicate, organize, learn, vote, and protest online. Yet as digital spaces expand, so do threats to freedom of expression, privacy, and access. Internet shutdowns during elections. Surveillance without accountability. Online harassment silencing activists and journalists. Decisions about technology made without the people most affected at the table.

And too often, these stories go unheard.

Why Speak Up Afrika Exists

Speak Up Afrika is a platform dedicated to amplifying voices at the intersection of technology, rights, and civic freedom. We exist to create space for conversations that are often pushed to the margins—stories from activists, technologists, journalists, and everyday citizens navigating the realities of digital life in Eastern Africa.

We believe that digital rights are human rights, and that protecting them requires public awareness, collective action, and honest dialogue.

What We Do

Through podcasts, articles, webinars, and community storytelling, Speak Up Afrika explores questions such as:

• Who controls digital infrastructure in Africa?
• How do surveillance technologies impact civic space?
• What happens when access to the internet is restricted or shut down?
• How can communities protect themselves online?
• What does tech accountability look like in African contexts?

Our content is grounded in real experiences—local voices, lived realities, and regional perspectives that are often missing from global tech conversations.

Centering Community Voices

At the heart of Speak Up Afrika is community. We actively invite people to share their stories, whether anonymously or openly. These stories help shape our work, guide our conversations, and ensure that advocacy remains rooted in lived experience rather than abstraction.

We are not here to speak for communities.
We are here to create space for communities to speak for themselves.

Looking Forward

As technology continues to shape civic life across the continent, the need for informed, inclusive, and courageous conversations will only grow. Speak Up Afrika aims to be a living platform—one that evolves with the challenges and opportunities of our digital future.

This is an invitation:

• To listen.
• To question.
• To participate.
• To speak up.

Because the future of digital justice in Africa must be shaped by African voices.