Al Araby Features SalamaTech’s Launch of “Be Heard” Online Portal

This article contains edited excerpts of the original article. For the original Arabic article click here.

SalamaTech’s own Basel Mattar was featured on Al Araby – an Arabic news and current affairs website – to promote the launch of SalamaTech’s latest initiative, the Be Heard e-learning portal. Be Heard is an online portal that provides Syrian civilian actors with step-by-step guidance on how to make their voices heard – safely and effectively.

As Mattar explains to Al Araby:

“Every human has the right to freely and safely connect to the internet without being subjected to the risk of arrest, torture or murder. This is a right guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but which is not respected by many repressive regimes. Instead, they use the internet as a tool to not only monitor, disrupt, and prevent the activities of civil society, but also to target political and human rights activists. Repressive regimes and militant groups, such as the Islamic State, clamp down on these activists through online surveillance to stifle and suppress opposing points of view.”

“Syrian non-violent activists are struggling to have their voices heard by the world against the backdrop of a violent and oppressive Syrian landscape. These non-violent activists are constrained by limited resources and a lack of know-how to safely and effectively be heard by global audiences. Civil and peaceful movements suffer from a lack of media coverage. Be Heard – a multimedia platform of simple how-tos and trainer materials on topics such as using Facebook and YouTube safely and effectively – is designed to help activists bridge this gap.”

“At the same time, these activists face grave risks for speaking out, putting their personal safety, as well as of those with whom they communicate, in jeopardy every time they use the internet. The SalamaTech project seeks to limit these threats.”

Since 2012, SalamaTech has helped millions of Syrian non-violent citizens stay safe online, through the provision of customized, easy-to-use digital safety guidance, tools, training, emergency support, real-time remediation and one-on-one technical assistance.