Our goal with this project is to make Tor more accessible, usable, and well-known among the target audience. Impacts include:

• Increased opportunity for civil society groups, activists, human rights defenders, and journalists in DRG spaces to participate in political and civic conversation: When the target communities are able to safely protect themselves from government surveillance and easily route around censorship, they are empowered to share information, participate in conversations, and do their work with increased protection.
• Increased safety for target audience: Staying safe in the face of surveillance online can be confusing. There are many services—some safer than others. Localizing accurate information about Tor helps people choose the right tool that fits their safety and privacy needs instead of choosing an unvetted and potentially malicious free VPN.
• Increased capacity for the Tor Project to offer localized support: The impact of localizing into Arabic, Chinese, and Swahili will live far beyond the lifespan of the project, as all deliverables will become integrated into our training materials. They will also be distributed to our training partners, who train others on Tor, which increases the ripple effect of this work.

Objective 1: Localize existing tools and support documentation so that human rights defenders in key areas can more easily use Tor.  

• Activity 1.1: Localize tools and materials into Arabic, Chinese, & Swahili

  • Localize the following tools: Tor Browser, GetTor (used to deliver Tor Browser when torproject.org is censored), OnionShare (Tor-based file-sharing tool), and OnionSproutBot (Telegram bot tool that helps users circumvent censorship).
  • Localize the following materials: the Tor Browser manual, the Tor Project’s main website (torproject.org), censorship circumvention portals (gettor and bridges.torproject.org) and our support and training documentation portals (support and community.torproject.org).

• Activity 1.2: Localize distribution campaign content into Arabic, Chinese, & Swahili. This activity will be completed after Activity 2.1.

  • Localize the following content: Three video scripts per language demonstrating how to use (1) Tor Browser, (2) Tor bridges (2) OnionShare. Content for social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and the Tor Forum.

Objective 2: Connect target audiences with resources to use Tor in their language.

• Activity 2.1: Create social media content and tool demonstration videos in Arabic, Chinese, & Swahili

  • Write a script and social media copy: Three video scripts per language demonstrating how to use (1) Tor Browser, (2) Tor bridges (2) OnionShare. Content for social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and the Tor Forum.
    • Coordinate localization of copy: Localization completed as part of Activity 1.2.
    • Create video and social assets: Use Loom (or a similar tool) to record three demonstration videos per language. Edit video and produce social assets.

• Activity 2.2: Distribute content to target audiences

  • Share on social media channels: Tor social profiles have hundreds of thousands of followers. We have shared successful localized videos in the past. Our “How Tor Works” video is on YouTube and localized into Persian (16,365 views) and Arabic (7,319 views).
  • Share with community networks: Staff working on this project are well connected to groups and individuals doing civil society work in regions where these languages are spoken as a part of our User Research and Training program.
  • Integrate into upcoming training plans with the community: We will add these materials into our lesson plans so that they continue to be distributed over time.

Objective 3: Educate IRI and allies on new Tor resources.

• Activity 3.1 Demonstration of the tool at IRI event
  • Create a recording of demonstration: We will record a custom video to highlight work completed in this project and demonstrate newly available resources for the IRI audience.