We are looking for five people to join a dynamic, passionate, and action-orientated development board. Across the world, authoritarianism is on the rise, civic space is shrinking, and foreign aid is being slashed. These are challenging times, but we are facing them head-on, and our first ever development board will be a key piece of our response. This is your chance to support an impactful organisation that ensures communities can thrive and continue their vital work challenging power.
Category: Blog
Open Briefing’s protection work honoured in Charity Hall of Fame
Open Briefing’s founder and CEO, Chris Abbott, has been named one of the inaugural inductees into the Charity Hall of Fame - a recognition of our collective work protecting activists and social movements under threat around the world. Chris has been recognised in the Social Pioneers category, which honours individuals who were the first to tackle an issue or bring about change in their field or community.
Prioritising wellbeing in environmental activism: lessons from a peer supporter
Open Briefing is delighted to feature a guest post by Shreya K.C, a youth advisor with the Iris Project. We were honoured to welcome Shreya onto our recent Peer Supporter training programme, which equips participants to take on an informal role championing the wellbeing and resilience of their co-workers and fellow activists. In this post, Shreya shares how the training enhances her role as a wellbeing focal point for the Iris Prize grantees.
A reposte to international relocation: Prioritising holistic security support for activists at risk
In this piece for Alliance magazine, our CEO explores the growing trend of international relocation as a response to serious threats against human rights defenders and other activists, and why it's not always the answer we assume it is. This article builds on findings from our earlier report, Rethinking International Relocation, which introduces the protection continuum and argues that when relocation becomes unavoidable, it's only the beginning of the journey.
Join our team as an office manager! (Maternity cover)
We are seeking an experienced office manager for maternity leave cover. You will play a key role in the smooth running of our organisation and helping our leadership team succeed. You will hold a central role within the organisation, supporting team members across all programmes. Working closely with the Senior Leadership Team, your role is diverse and often responsive to ever changing needs of the organisation.
Strengthening feminist activism: Holistic security in action
Feminist-led organisations have long been at the forefront of transformative change, championing human rights and social justice. Yet today, a toxic combination of democratic backsliding, rising authoritarianism, and political polarisation is closing the space for feminist-led activism at an alarming rate. In this increasingly repressive environment, an intersectional feminist organisation in Southeast Asia approached Open Briefing for support. The staff of this women-led human rights organisation faced escalating harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary arrests by police and state security forces.
Holistic security: A crucial investment in grassroots environmental action – Lessons from Mexico
Caminos de Agua is leading efforts to improve human health and community wellbeing in Mexico by ensuring access to clean water. Its participatory approach empowers communities across the country to take ownership of their water future. Operating in areas affected by territorial disputes between drug cartels and other non-state actors exposed the Caminos team to severe security threats, including harassment, physical assault, extortion, and death threats - especially when travelling through territories controlled by criminal groups. Recognising these dangers, Caminos partnered with Open Briefing to strengthen its security and resilience.
Embracing risk as a pathway to resilience: Lessons from West Africa
Activists and civil society organisations advocating for rights-based government policies face persistent threats from state authorities, particularly in the realm of national security. Surveillance, harassment, and intimidation are used to instil fear and silence critical voices. This relentless pressure erodes not just the resilience of individual activists and organisations, but the sustainability of entire movements. Open Briefing partnered with a women-led human rights organisation in West Africa that is frequently targeted by security services for scrutinising national security policy and exposing abuses of power.