Learning from HRDs: From Crisis to Response, from Trauma to Recovery

What strategies do we employ and what resources do we wish were there when human rights defenders (HRDs) inevitably are faced with crises designed to overwhelm and demoralize them?

Ali Gharavi will share his experience when a simple workshop on stress management and information security for HRDs turned into a 4-months long crisis of imprisonment, false charges and subsequent court battles that still continue.

Ali Gharavi has been a leader in facilitation, mentoring, and strategic accompaniment of Human Rights Defenders' organizations for more than 18 years, and is co-author of Holistic Security – A manual for Human Rights Defenders. Ali has played a key role in designing the Digital Integrity Fellow program (DIF) at HIVOS which entails long-term, multidisciplinary accompaniment of HRD organizations to ensure their sustainability and strategic success.

Ali has facilitated, trained, and consulted over 200 HRD projects, organizations, and foundations and has worked in this capacity in over 50 countries.

In 2018, Ali was awarded a "Digital Defenders' Heroes Award" at RightsCon 2018.