The Open Empowerment Initiative (OEI) is a partnership between The SecDev Foundation (Canada) and the Igarapé Institute (Brazil). Its mission is to investigate how cyberspace is shaping citizen action and state-society relations in Latin America.
About the Igarapé Institute
The Igarapé Institute is a southern think tank focused on promoting evidence-based alternatives on drug policy, violence reduction and international cooperation in Brazil, but also across Latin America and around the world. The Institute focuses on generating informed debate through research on emerging issues spanning the security-development continuum. The Institute has an international profile having undertaken intensive policy and field-based assessments in partnership with the Brazilian, Canadian, Norwegian, Swiss and UK governments, Google Ideas, the Bernard Van Leer Foundation, Open Society Institute (OSI), International Development Research Center (IDRC), and various multilateral, bilateral and private sector groups. For more information visit www.igarape.org.br.
About the SecDev Foundation
The SecDev Foundation supports research and programming at the cross-roads of global security and development. We work with local stakeholders in countries and regions at risk, in Asia, Africa, Eurasia, the Middle East and Latin America. We leverage advanced cyber analytics to extend and empower local knowledge and resilience in the face of emerging risks. We engage across three areas: cyber-empowerment; emerging sources of security and resilience; and armed violence prevention and reduction. The Foundation is a Canadian-based, not-for-profit organization, whose work is supported by the International Development Research Centre, The US State Department’s Bureau for Democracy, Rights and Labor, The Open Societies Foundation, Freedom House, and the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies.
International Development Research Center
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is a Canadian Crown corporation established by an act of Parliament in 1970 to help developing countries find solutions to their problems. Most of IDRC’s funding comes from annual appropriations from Canada’s Parliament. IDRC also receives funds from other sources, such as foundations and other Canadian and international organizations that support international development or fund research. IDRC funds researchers in the developing world so they can build healthier, more prosperous societies.
