Pollicy

Planning a continental data festival takes serious coordination! Now, doing it in a country you’ve never worked in before? That takes things to a whole different level. We sat down with this years' #DataTamashaAfrica26 Chair Doreen Kushemererwa for a sneak peek and a behind the scenes of planning. @dLabTz Read the full story here 👉🏾medium.com/p/title-behind…

We put out a call for African feminist and women's rights organisations to join a #digitalsafety audit and training initiative. We expected interest. We didn't expect this. Over 125 applications. 20 countries. Organisations doing work that puts them squarely in the path of digital threats, most of whom had never had formal digital safety training in their lives. We could only pick 15. Read more 👉🏾 bit.ly/TheWaitlistAud… #FeministTech

Registration for #DataTamashaAfrica26 is officially closed. The agenda is shaping up to be one of our most exciting yet, five tracks, real conversations, and the kind of sessions that actually move conversations along. Here are the conversations & experiences waiting for you in Zanzibar: 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠 1: 𝘿𝙖𝙩𝙖, 𝘼𝙄 𝙂𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚. 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠 2: 𝙎𝙖𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙅𝙤𝙮𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝘿𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙁𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨. 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠 3: 𝙁𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙄𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙮. 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠 4: 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣, 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙮 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠 5: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝘿𝙖𝙩𝙖 𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙪𝙢 If you are registered, the countdown is on. We look forward to seeing you there 👉🏾datafest.africa/about #JengaNaData

A couple of weeks ago we spent a Sunday afternoon on a football pitch with 150+ domestic workers at a wellness derby organised by DPAK and Nestara Kenya for International Domestic Workers Day. Alongside the football and the rights and financial literacy stations, we ran a Digital Safety Clinic, sitting one-on-one with domestic workers on the basics of #onlinesafety What we heard surprised us more than we expected. Read more 👉🏾 medium.com/p/5135b4f1d24e

We're heading to #DataTamasha2026! 🎉 The #DDISAFund team will be in Zanzibar 🇹🇿 (19–21 Aug) to connect with Africa's data, tech & civil society community. See you there! 🫱🏿‍🫲🏾 📩 Stay updated: buff.ly/KvTXzAI 📈 Learn more: datafest.africa

🚨 Brand new research just dropped: How deepfakes and AI-generated disinformation are targeting women in politics across Africa. We spent the 2025 and 2026 election cycles looking closely at Uganda, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Côte d'Ivoire, tracking how this shows up on the ground & what needs to change to stop it. Huge thanks to our partners who made this possible and walked with us every step of the way @wougnet @PROTEGEQV @LEADAFRICAINES @ZainaFoundation Grab the full report 👉🏾 bit.ly/RoleofDeepfakes

In exactly 30 days, Zanzibar becomes the place where Africa's builders, thinkers, creatives, and community leaders share the same room to show the world what building with data actually looks like. The sessions are coming together, the Afrofeminist Data Museum is being built, and the energy is already something else. Get the full picture at datafest.africa #JengaNaData #DataTamashaAfrica26

Before we land in Zanzibar, #DataTamashaAfrica26 is coming to Nairobi first. 🇰🇪 A one-day community baraza in partnership with @datainnovators. The kind of gathering where every voice is actually in the conversation. 📅 6th August 2026 📍 Aga Khan University, Nairobi Learn more & register now datafest.africa

"We have learned so many things, including how to access our emails. I found out I had been receiving so many emails, and I had no idea, because I did not know how to access my email." — Aisha Lukwago. Through our Her Voice Leads project with @VukaHerAfrica we're helping women Local Council leaders build the digital skills and confidence they need to lead safely online. Take a peek at the video below to hear more from the women, in their own words. @NdagireLaila #DigitalLiteracy

Online violence against women in politics isn't random. It's organized and designed to make leadership too costly for the women coming up behind us. @BrendaNamata1 reflects on the 5th #NalafemSummit2026 and what it'll take to actually back women in power. Read it here 👉🏾 bit.ly/4vmJdsE #WomenInPolitics

We asked our team what they are most excited about at #DataTamashaAfrica26. And their responses? You just have to watch to find out... Registrations are still open but only for a short while. Secure yourself a spot before August sneaks up on you register.datafest.africa 🗓️19–21 August 2026 📍 Hotel Verde, Zanzibar #JengaNaData @dLabTz

Pollicy is hiring its next Executive Director, Africa. Ten years of treating murals, games and zines as real research. Now we're looking for someone ready to lead that work forward, across Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, Senegal, Cameroon and beyond. Full time, 4 days a week, remote friendly within Africa. Learn more & apply here: forms.gle/KpBuLVkaML5Vcr…

Women in politics and WHRDs are dealing #TFGBV which is meant to intimidate and silence them. We spoke to 30women across Tanzania and Côte d'Ivoire and built a chatbot around what they actually asked for. Read the Full study: bit.ly/DigitalSupport… #VoteWomen

Digital spaces carry the weight of colonial data systems and algorithms that decide whose voice gets heard. Session 1 of our Afro-feminist Masterclass in collaboration with @article19wafric breaks down why, and gives you real digital skills to use right after. 🗓️ Wednesday, July 15th 2026 ⏰ 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM EAT 📍Register on Zoom: bit.ly/AfrofeministAp…

Pollicy joins the 5th #NalafemSummit2026 in Nairobi Kenya, under the theme, Power meets capital. This year's summit centers feminist wealth and ethical political leadership. Conversations will dig into backing women's political power, protecting women facing #tfgbv and political violence, and advancing gender digital justice. We are so glad to be part of these important conversations!

At Pollicy, we use zines as a creative outlet and also as research outputs. Zines let us hold self expression, storytelling, and feminist knowledge in one place, outside the usual academic formats. This clip breaks down what zines are and how you can use them: as art, as protest, as personal reflection, as documentation and more! Watch the clip to earn more👇🏾 #ZineMaking

Last week, #DataTamashaAfrica26 hit its first major milestone. Hon. Mudrik Soraga, Zanzibar's Minister of Communication, Information Technology and Innovation, opened festival preparations in Zanzibar with one clear message that data literacy needs to be built for everyone. That is what we are showing up for in August. Learn more: datafest.africa

⏰ Tick Tock, only 50 days to go to #DataTamashaAfrica26 Registrations are open and completely FREE, in person in Zanzibar or virtually. Your spot is waiting, don't miss it 👉🏾 register.datafest.africa #JengaNaData

Our new board had their first sit down in May, and it was exactly the kind of meeting they had hoped for. Substantive, warm, and full of the kind of thinking that only happens when the right people are in the room. Get to know the women now steering Pollicy forward 👉🏾 @pollicy/a-new-chapter-welcoming-our-new-board-02c7635d01d7" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">medium.com/@pollicy/a-new…

There is something about seeing a place with your own eyes that no amount of planning can replace. Our #DataTamashaAfrica26 Chair recently made the trip to Zanzibar, and what was meant to be a site visit turned into something more. A quiet confirmation that this is exactly where #DTA2026 belongs. Zanzibar has always been a place where people, ideas, history and cultures meet. And this August, we get to add our own chapter to that story. Come and be part of our story. @dLabTz In-person & virtual registration is still open 👉🏾register.datafest.africa