Home / Spiffy's Blog / Danna Ingleton: Collecting and Sharing Insights on Human Rights, Climate, and More
Danna Ingleton: Collecting and Sharing Insights on Human Rights, Climate, and More

Danna Ingleton: Collecting and Sharing Insights on Human Rights, Climate, and More

Dec 30, 2024 Posted by: Sujit Kunte Canada,  Danna Ingleton,  SDG 10,  SDG 13,  SDG 16,  SDG 3,  SDG 4,  SDG 5,  SDG 6,  SDG 8

 

Ladderworks is a publishing platform of diverse picture books and online curriculum with the mission to empower over a million kids to become social entrepreneurs. Our current series features interviews by our interplanetary journalist Spiffy with inspiring Social Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builders, and Changemakers who are advancing the UN SDGs.

Spiffy here! I’m back with the scoop on the entrepreneurial leaders of Planet Earth. As the only interplanetary journalist stationed on this blue planet, I’m thrilled to present this galactic exclusive with Danna Ingleton, executive director, Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems (HURIDOCS). Let’s see what she is doing to make a positive impact in the world.

Spiffy: Welcome Danna. Let’s jump right in. Can you tell me what challenge are you addressing at HURIDOCS?

Danna: Thanks for having me, Spiffy. At HURIDOCS, we help people collect, process, and communicate important information about human rights, climate change, and more. We develop our own open-source software, enabling activists and change-makers to securely store their data and ensure it is usefully organized for advocacy or court cases. We even use machine learning to help them find important information faster! Our tool is called Uwazi, which means “openness” in Swahili, and we have more than 300 partners around the world.

Spiffy: Very interesting! What motivates you to do it?

Danna: My answer is really pretty simple: I believe that everyone has human rights! Unfortunately, some people don’t agree. They want to stop kids from going to school, tell women what to do with their bodies, pollute our environment, commit war crimes, and do other nasty things. If I can help people stand up and fight for their rights and for justice by teaching them the best ways to document what is happening to them—with the best that technology has to offer—then that is exactly what I will do!

Spiffy: What would you say is the impact of your work?

Danna: Imagine opening your school bag to find the pages of your homework books ripped out and messed up so you can’t find what you need to hand in. Or imagine losing a homework file because you didn’t label it correctly. What we do is help put everything in order so you can find the files and teach you how to keep it organized—but for us, those pages and files contain evidence of human rights violations. When people can find and share information more easily, it becomes easier to fight for their human rights.

Spiffy: Tell me about a recent milestone/initiative by you or your org. What impact does that make?

Danna: One of our coolest projects this year has been working with a network of organizations in Turkey that are helping children and young people gain full access to their economic, social, and cultural rights. This means telling the government that all children and young people in Turkey must be allowed to go to school, have access to food, health care, and a place to live, and so much more. We are helping these organizations collect examples where those rights haven’t been met to show those in power that they need to start doing things differently!

Spiffy: Is there anything else you would love to tell our audience?

Danna: There is so much I want to tell you, but I will focus on one thing: YOU have the power to make change. YOU have the power to influence governments, corporations, and big international bodies like the United Nations. If you think something is wrong or unjust, you have the right to speak out against it. And when you do, HURIDOCS will be there to support you!

Spiffy: Thanks for speaking with me today, Danna—it’s been an honor!

Danna Ingleton is the executive director of Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems (HURIDOCS). She previously worked for Amnesty International, the Red Cross, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). She is an experienced lawyer, research and policy advisor, and team leader with a demonstrated history of working in the non-governmental sector. Her expertise lies in supporting civil society at the intersection of technology and human rights. (Nominated by Ricki Meyer at Google.org. First published on the Ladderworks website on December 30, 2024.)

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect those of Ladderworks LLC.

© 2024 Ladderworks LLC. Edited by Sujit Kunte. Spiffy’s illustration by Shreyas Navare. For the Ladderworks digital curriculum to help K-3 kids advance the UN SDGs, visit Spiffy's Launchpad: Creative Entrepreneurship Workshops for K-3 Kids and their caregivers here.