Bitcoin and open protocols offer permissionless and freedom money that cannot simply be switched off.
RightsDevs empowers African developers to build and localise open-source tools at the intersection of Bitcoin, privacy and AI, engineered through a human rights lens and frameworks.
Bitcoin and open protocols offer permissionless and freedom money that cannot simply be switched off.
Financial and identity infrastructure are increasingly turned into tools of tracking by the state and businesses. Privacy has to be engineered in from the start, not bolted on afterwards.
Much of the software meant to protect human rights and civil liberties is built elsewhere, for other threat models, in other languages, and rarely audited by the people who depend on it day to day.
Authorities across the region increasingly deploy AI systems for predictive policing, mass identification, and automated censorship. The community must engineer AI tools that prioritize user privacy and accountability.
RightsDevs exists to grow that generation of developers: local, accountable, and fluent in both engineering and human rights.
Hands-on, intensive training in Bitcoin protocol mechanics, privacy-preserving techniques and localised open-source AI, aimed at developers who want to build for real communities, not hypothetical users.
Global human rights standards and civil liberties principles built directly into software architecture and data protection design, including the specific risks AI introduces: bias, surveillance and loss of consent.
A working bridge between software engineers, human rights defenders and civil society organisations, so the tools that get built solve problems people actually have.
By connecting open-source developers directly with human rights advocates and civil society organisations, RightsDevs makes sure the tools that get engineered actually protect privacy, secure communication and resist censorship on the ground, not just in theory.
Whether you are an open-source developer, a human rights organisation, or a mentor interested in our programmes, we would love to collaborate.
Contact Us: rightsdevs@proton.me