Towards a renewed strategy for the EDRi network

EDRi’s 2019-2024 Strategy – our first network-wide strategy – is coming to an end. It has served as a compass for our collective work for the last 5 years. In May this year, we started the process for our next directional document, to reflect our ambitions in uncertain times: EDRi Strategy 2025-2029.

The continuation of gained momentum

Our ending strategy was subject to a mid-term reviewin 2022. This reflection showed our advocacy as ‘remarkable’ – on a multitude of EU digital legislation. We noted this result was leveraged by major European-wide campaigns, increased and diversified press coverage as well as renewed efforts to convene in the digital rights space and beyond. Yet, the review also pointed out that our achievements remain “constrained by the enormous difference in capacities between civil society organisations and dominant [Big Tech] actors.”

Since 2022, as we celebrated 20 years of EDRi, we reflected on how our network’s focus is more relevant than ever. Our work is situated in and directly impacted by the global crises of our times. EDRi’s resilience lies in leveraging our 20-year experience to resist Big Tech power and state surveillance practices. During the past 20 years, our victories have increasingly been collective, our network being central to many coalitions counting over 400 groups and organisations in 2022 alone.

What work needs to happen now

As we embark on the new strategic planning process, the current and foreseeable world context is bleak. While much has been achieved during the previous mandate of the European Commission, the vast economic and political power of Big Tech remains unchallenged and can threaten the very essence of our institutions and infrastructures. The continuous rise of far-right parties and their ideology as well as the growing prioritisation of European defence in the current geopolitical context means that it is increasingly difficult to promote people-centred narratives and alternatives to surveillance, security-driven agendas.

We need an independent, vibrant not-for-profit network centring people, democracy and the planet, as we build our digital futures. This approach is urgent and needed to ensure that we can address the biggest challenges of our times and reject a dystopian society.

What does the process for a new strategy look like?

We kicked off the process in May with an EDRi task force of Board, staff and member representatives. At the General Assembly A 2024 we held a strategic workshop, reflecting on what issues are ahead of us, actions to achieve our ambitious goals, members’ needs, and our network health.

We have now scoped the various stakeholders’ needs for the strategy, which has allowed us to plan the research we need to conduct in the coming months. In the autumn, we will collectively make sense of the data so we can start drafting the strategy, ahead of the rounds of review. The strategy should be adopted at our 2025 General Assembly.

We look forward to engaging with our community, supporters, funders and other stakeholders in the coming months. If you want to engage in helping us understand better the context for people affected by technology and improve our work to promote and protect digital rights for all, do get in touch. We will also reach out to supporters and partners specifically.

Stay tuned and thank you for your support.