By Enrique Piraces, Vice President, Human Rights Program I write to let you know that after much thought and consideration, I’m leaving my position as the vice president of the Benetech Human Rights Program. I’m excited for the next chapter in my career and eager to see the work that the Human Rights team will […]
The Benetech Human Rights team is happy to announce the release of version 5.1 of Martus , our secure, free, open source information management and data collection tool for human rights defenders, activists, journalists, researchers, and civil society practitioners. In this version of the Martus desktop app, we have implemented significant user interface and user experience improvements, along with highly requested features. With these updates, Martus users can now more easily organize, find, and report on the information they collect to advance their goals.
Today, International Human Rights Day, the Benetech Human Rights Program is delighted to announce the release of version 5 of the Martus app and the debut of the updated Martus Project website. With these updates, Benetech is taking a leap towards improving the usability of end-to-end, open source encryption and extending its benefits to rights defenders, activists, journalists, citizen reporters, and other organizations and individuals who rely on secure data collection.
While new technologies can play a critical role in defending human rights, they can also create unforeseen risks for human rights groups and activists. On October 30, 2014, Benetech Vice President of Human Rights Enrique Piracés joined fellow panelists Iain Levine, Deputy Executive Director at Human Rights Watch, Sam Gregory, Program Director at WITNESS, and Andrew Rasiej, Founder of Personal Democracy Media and the Personal Democracy Forum, in a discussion of key issues at the intersection of human rights and technology. You can watch the complete webcast on Livestream.
Legislative staffers appreciate hearing from Benetech in our role as a Silicon Valley technology-for-good pioneer. Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to join Benetech CEO Jim Fruchterman and VP of Human Rights Enrique Piracés in Washington, DC, for a series of meetings with Congressional staffers to present Benetech’s Human Rights Program and its role supporting the global human rights community. We also briefed members of the press who were interested to learn about our human rights work.
