Resources for the global digital safety training community.
About LevelUp
Credits Last Updated 2016-06
LevelUp is a living project intended to provide support to, and enable creation of resources and sharing of knowledge within, a growing network of individuals providing needed digital safety training and education to users of technology worldwide.
This resource is continually evolving, as is the community.
Join the community discussion by sending a subscription request levelup-subscribe@lists.riseup.net and stay updated with the latest on LevelUp, be informed of changes or improvements to the site, and interact with others in the training community.
Why LevelUp?
LevelUp emerged at a time when the demand for digital security trainers had far outstripped the supply - the most experienced digital safety trainers often were, and frequently continue to be, over-worked and under-resourced. Very few trainers had any kind of regular access to other trainers with whom they could share guidance or experience, or to educational resources and curricula that spoke specifically to their needs in the training room.
To address these challenges, LevelUp facilitates opportunities for peer-to-peer exchange both online and offline, engaging trainers and educators to collaboratively build shared values of what effective training looks like, how we can train effectively, and why we understand these practices to be effective.
How Does LevelUp Work?
Increased coordination among trainers improves the quality of training support that can be provided to journalists, human rights defenders, and other at-risk individuals needing it most, by creating space for trainers to develop shared standards, collaborative regional networks, and educational resources. LevelUp facilitates this through two key, mission-level mandates:
Support and promote the creation of training resources for trainers.
A critical gap addressed early on by LevelUp was the near-absence of written resources for trainers of digital safety, a scarcity amid an ever-growing body of exclusively end-user focused digital safety resources. Core to LevelUp is this website, which hosts a repository of training curriculum resources, created by trainers for trainers and shared under a Creative Commons license.
Facilitate and coordinate a global network.
The global LevelUp network is comprised of actively practicing digital safety trainers, as well as others who contribute effort towards the development of digital safety education, in more than 40 countries across Latin America, Asia, Eurasia, Africa, and the Middle East. This growing network regularly engages with the project through an active email list, thematic webinar events, online privacy and freedom of expression events, active participation in training-of-trainers (ToT) events, and content creation and localization sprints.
Where is LevelUp Headed?
By working to create a thriving global network of trainers, educators, and practitioners who are able to more widely share knowledge, experiences, and resources with other, LevelUp hopes to in turn foster a generation of users who are able to practice digital safety more effortlessly, holistically, and mindfully.