Are you a tech geek, grassroots initiative, student, independent researcher, or civil society organization looking to fund your digital rights project? SMEX has relaunched its Digital Rights Fund for 2026 and is now accepting proposals.
This year has tested the endurance of digital rights within our context: from the militarization of tech, technology’s impact on the environment, and the growing inequalities within digital labor.
SMEX is committed to safeguarding and advancing digital rights in the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region. This is the moment to come together and reimagine how innovation and critical thinking can strengthen our digital rights work.
At a moment where the political climate remains idle, we want to reinforce our mission and test new ideas and approaches into looking at digital rights, while continuing the support and protection of vulnerable groups.
Our goal is to ensure that vital, community-driven grassroots work not only survives these pressures but continues to push the digital rights movement forward with the same resilience and hope we observed during our annual Bread&Net gathering in 2025.
We don’t see this open call as a traditional sub-granting model. We not only want to work with you, we want to establish a partnership with you. We want to host your ideas, incubate them, strengthen them, and stand with you as partners in building a safer digital environment.
Since 2024, we have funded 15 initiatives related to a wide range of issues intersecting with digital rights. Our subgrantees offered digital safety and security training sessions, public awareness campaigns, toolkits, helpdesks, and produced research under the Digital Rights Fund.
However, we are keen on encouraging bold and innovative ideas that address issues within digital rights while challenging traditional models of advocacy; we want to hear new ideas that inspire, and move our work forward.
To keep the momentum going, we are providing grants up to $15,000 for small grassroots initiatives to help sustain movement-building.
Take a look at some of the work we’ve funded in 2024 in our Annual Activity Report.
Our thematic focus this year includes but is not limited to: digital labor, surveillance and spyware, the militarization of AI, digital sovereignty, and mapping digital rights violations.
Additional topics may be considered if they demonstrate a strong intersection with digital rights.
If you have an idea you’ve been waiting to test, a concept that could shift public understanding of certain issues in digital rights, or a new approach in the field, this is the grant you should be applying for.
We accept and encourage individuals from these categories to apply:
- Individuals from relevant professions such as researchers, policy or media advocates, influencers
- Students in the field of digital rights
- Informal groups and grassroots initiatives
- Formal non-profit and civil society organizations
- Previous DRF partners
Proposals must target initiatives in the following countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt*, Sudan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Libya, and South Sudan.
* Subject to specific eligibility conditions
Our call for proposals and other details are now available on our website!
The call opens on December 20, 2025 and ends by January 31, 2026.
