Preparing for Ethiopian Elections: Community Meeting Key Takeaways

On Wednesday, Localization Lab held a community call to discuss internet shutdowns and circumvention technology as it relates to Ethiopia and its coming elections. More than twenty participants attended, including activists, human rights defenders, journalists, trainers, tool developers, and internet freedom advocates. The one-hour call covered topics like which tools to bypass censorship are known and popular in Ethiopia, what barriers are keeping users from accessing the tools and resources they need, and which languages, tools, and resources should localization efforts be prioritizing, among others.

Key Takeaways:

  • There is an important difference between total shutdowns and partial shutdowns. At various times and in various places, Ethiopia has experienced both. Circumvention tools may be helpful during partial shutdowns, in which certain websites or apps are blocked or censored, but cannot help in total shutdowns when data connectivity itself is cut off. In supporting preparation for shutdowns and other censorship events, it’s important to provide tools and resources that can help in either scenario.

  • Internet shutdowns are not always predictable in Ethiopia, in that they do not only occur around elections or other scheduled political events. In 2020, there was a nationwide shutdown amidst protests following the shooting death of singer and activist Hachalu Hundessa. This underscores the need for wider preparation.

Challenges to Accessing and Using Tools

  • Many individuals simply aren’t aware of the applications and resources available to deal with censorship or throttling. One opportunity area is in training and spreading broader awareness, both among human rights defenders and journalists as well as the greater public, about what tools are available and how they may help.

  • With relatively low media and technical literacy rates, it is important to make sure technical terms and concepts are clearly explained - preferably using supporting images. As an example, terms like VPN should be broken down for average users; it should not be assumed that they will understand and be comfortable with terms.

  • The cost of data in Ethiopia is already relatively high, and when using a VPN, that cost is increased and individuals have no interest in staying online for extended periods.

Language Needs

  • Amharic, Afaan Oromoo, and Tigrinya are all languages that would be useful for localization. Somali is also widely spoken, and so should be included in localization efforts designed to support communities in Ethiopia.

  • Participants also shared very useful feedback about the ways that some tools and resources had already been localized. Many individuals have become accustomed to using applications in English out of necessity and as a result, sometimes translation of technical terminology into a local language can be unclear and confusing. Maintaining original English terms along with  translations, may be an effective approach when localizing documentation and educational materials.

Available Tools and Resources

  • As to which tools people prefer, one participant noted that, “People use what is accessible, not what is safe.” Psiphon, for example, is widely used in Ethiopia because it is easy to use, available on the app stores they trust, there is no trial period before being required to register the app, and it’s free.

VPNs

Guides

Afaan Oromoo:

Amharic:

Committee to Protect Journalists:

English:

Somali:

Committee to Protect Journalists:

Outreach and Information Sharing

  • Major media in Ethiopia tends to center around Addis Ababa, both in content and reach, especially print media. Outside of the capital, communities rely upon radio, television, and social media for information. There is especially a culture of sharing images via social media.

  • Participants also pointed to the emergence of blogging as a growing medium for news and commentary in all parts of Ethiopia. Many are under-resourced, and may be writing and editing their own blogs, maintaining their own websites, and relying upon their own photography, without the support of any staff or being fact-checked. Additionally, many bloggers do not know about internet freedom technologies that may help them in their work. This is another instance where training programs and education campaigns could be useful.

Next Steps:

Localization Lab will be reaching out to participants on the call and other partners working in Ethiopia to see how the information shared at the community meeting can be applied to making information and resources available for Ethiopian users prior to the elections in June.

We welcome additional input and feedback especially about:

  • Existing resources about censorship and shutdowns or using VPNs that you find very helpful that can be localized for users in Ethiopia or are already available in one or more language spoken in Ethiopia;

  • Mobile and desktop VPNs or other digital safety tools that work well in an Ethiopian context. If you are a digital security trainer, what tools are you recommending?;

  • Specific language needs that were not mentioned in the key takeaways; and

  • Key ways to distribute information about how to prepare for censorship and shutdowns. For example: specific influential bloggers to reach out to, popular Facebook groups, Twitter hashtags, popular Telegram channels etc.

If you would to be a part of collaboration on this project and are not already in touch with Localization Lab, please email us at info@localizationlab.org.