On Thursday, 7amleh - the Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media released its annual report, showcasing a summary of the center’s achievements in 2021. 7amleh released 12 publications, organised and participated in many local and international Palestinian rights advocacy campaigns, and delivered a number of capacity-building trainings for activists, univeristy students, and civil society organisations. In addition, 7amleh held its Fifth annual Palestinian Digital Activism Forum, and launched “7or,” the first digital platform to monitor, document and follow up on digital violations.
On Thursday, 3 February 2022, 7amleh - the Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media released its annual report, showcasing a summary of the center’s achievements in 2021. 7amleh released 12 publications, organised and participated in many local and international Palestinian rights advocacy campaigns, and delivered a number of capacity-building trainings for activists, univeristy students, and civil society organisations. In addition, 7amleh held its Fifth annual Palestinian Digital Activism Forum, and launched “7or,” the first digital platform to monitor, document and follow up on digital violations.
The center’s publications in 2021 include its annual Hashtag Palestine report, a report on “The Palestinian Public’s Perception of Civil Society Organisations,” a report documenting digital violations in May titled “The Attack on Palestinian Digital Rights,” and two versions of the center’s “Index of Racism and Incitement against Palestinians and Arabs”: one documenting incitement and racism in 2020, and another documenting the same phenomenas during the Israeli attack on Palestinians in May 2021. Furthermore, 7amleh released a report monitoring hate speech on social media titled “Hateful Network: Hate Speech on Palestinian Social Media Networks and its Impact on their Digital Rights,” and an investigative study employing new and unprecedented methods (in local research) to examine “The Reality of Privacy & Data Protection in Palestine.”
7amleh increased its advocacy work, in local, regional and international campaigns, in accordance with the rise in the attacks against Palestinians in the first half of the year. The center contributed to multiple reports and data collections submitted to different bodies in the United Nations and the European Union. 7amleh further continued its cooperation with social media companies to co-develop more equitable policies and end digital discrimination against Palestinians. The center was also active in multiple international campaigns to advocate businesses to implement human rights due diligence, especially regarding Palestinian digital rights, including campaigns directed towards Facebook, Google, PayPal, Stripe, Telegram and other companies whose policies continue to discriminate against Palestinians.
7amleh also participated in over 40 webinars in different conferences, sessions and online events, such as the Annual Stockholm Internet Forum, and the 10th RightsCon Conference, as well as 7amleh organised events on different topics.
In terms of 7amleh’s work on monitoring digital rights violations, the center launched “7or” the first Palestnian monitor to document digital rights violations. “7or” is the first online platform to monitor, document and follow up on digital violations against Palestinian content. Users of the platform can both report violations they face in the digital space, as well as view and extract data about monitored violations, for those interested.
7amleh further continued its work in raising awareness and capacity-building. The center launched two online courses on “Digital Safety and Parenting in the Digital Age” and “The Palestinian Narrative,” and held a study day on “The Digital Safety of Jerusalemite Youth and Children,” and another on “The Reality of Privacy and Data Protection.” 7amleh also launched a podcast on digital safety, and organised many workshops and trainings to raise digital awareness, as 6115 Palestinian received training in digital safety, digital activism, digital campaigns and Palestinian digital rights.
In 2021, the center was featured in over 400 media reports by a variety of outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, TIME Magazine, The Guardian, NBC News, Reuters, The Independent and other local and regional news agencies.
Check out the full report: Click here
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