RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the findings of this report’s research, the following recommendations are offered to help stimulate strategies to better protect diaspora activists from transnational repression. In general, more work needs to be done to: 1. Build digital resilience, 2. Contain surveillance technology, 3. Take care of activist wellbeing, 4. Involve host societies. BUILDING DIGITAL RESILIENCE Efforts must be made to improve the digital resilience of activists and civil society. The research confirms the limited impact of singular training events. Trainings introduce activists to basic protections and tools, but they often fail to initiate a more substantial change in actual security behavior and practices. And at times, they risk confusing or even scaring participants. It is therefore necessary to explore additional forms of capacity building and education. Follow-up events to prior trainings can help consolidate knowledge and clarify questions which may have emerged during the first phase of practice. More promising still are initiatives of long-term partnership and mentoring to help organizations develop their own systematic approach to information security, provide ongoing context-specific advice, and respond to new or changing threats.116 This shift in focus also needs to be taken into account by donors in order to obtain more flexible core support, instead of project-based funding expecting specific quantifiable results. Research also shows that activists are often forced to decide on matters of digital security at an individual level, especially when not embedded in organizations or when pressured to act on short notice. Yet in such situations individuals can feel debilitated by the complex setup of digital technologies and the seemingly endless options of resourceful state and corporate actors to capture their data. It is therefore vital to reduce the uncertainty about the actual capabilities of adversaries so that activists can differentiate between legitimate and unfounded fears. In addition to creating networks of support and advice, accessible and context-specific educational resources should be developed to raise the general level of understanding of digital technologies and the risks associated with their use. 116 See, e.g., the Digital Integrity Fellowship of the Digital Defenders Program. https://manuals.digitaldefenders.org. 34