Member in the Spotlight: SHARE Foundation

This is the 5th article of the series “EDRi member in the Spotlight“, in which our members have the opportunity to present themselves and their work in depth.

Today we get to know more about our Serbian member SHARE Foundation, which has been part of the EDRi network as a member since 2017.

SHARE Foundation Q&A

1. Who are you and what is your organisation’s goal and mission?

We are SHARE Foundation from Serbia, a non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting human rights and freedoms in the digital environment and promoting positive values of openness, decentralisation, free access to information, technology and knowledge.

2. How did it all begin, and how did your organisation develop its work?

After a series of huge SHARE conferences held in Belgrade and Beirut, each with more than 1000 participants, we decided that our activism and advocacy efforts needed to be established on an organisational level. In 2012, SHARE Foundation was born.

3. The biggest opportunity created by advancements in information and communication technology is…

Access to knowledge, free flow of information, and of course, cat memes!

4. The biggest threat created by advancements in information and communication technology is…

Mass surveillance of people’s lives and their monetisation by mega-corporations which use non-transparent algorithms.

5. Which are the biggest victories/successes/achievements of your organisation?

In late 2014, Government of Serbia proposed amendments to the Law on Games of Chance, which would introduce blocking and filtering of internet in Serbia. After a joint opposing effort to such measures from civil society, led by SHARE Foundation, the proposed provisions were dropped from the legislative procedure.

During the past years, SHARE Foundation has organised more than 20 events, published more than ten info-guides and numerous SHARE Lab investigative stories. We have also provided free legal and technical assistance to many online news portals and civil society media platforms.

In January 2017, SHARE Foundation received a certificate of gratitude.

6. If your organisation could now change one thing in your country, what would that be?

We would reduce the number of political trolls and bots on the internet – which is currently too damn high!

7. What is the biggest challenge your organisation is currently facing in your country?

The outdated Law on Protection of Personal Data. The process of reforming the law is taking almost a year and a half now, and we still have no information on when a new version of the draft law will be published.

8. How can one get in touch with you if they want to help as a volunteer, or donate to support your work?

You can reach us via Twitter and Facebook or visit our website shareconference.net, where you can find more info about our work. If you prefer email, you can contact us at info(at)sharedefense(dot)org.

Discover more about SHARE Foundation