The Civil Society Alliance for Digital Empowerment (CADE) announces the three winning organisations of the AI Artivism contest, spotlighting powerful, community-driven visions for our digital future. 

To support civil society organisations in digital governance, advocacy and positive narratives, CADE invited submissions of AI-driven artwork.  The three winning organisations will support the development of the Forus' #Let'sTalkDigital campaign which emphasizes the interconnection between civic space and digital space and creates spaces for conversations around digital issues with various multimedia formats. 

Submissions from across the globe reflected the themes central to the #Let'sTalkDigital campaign, such as the importance of digital rights for civic engagement, the role of civil society in digital governance, and the intersection of digitalisation with human rights, social justice and identity. Artworks explored issues such as the importance of global, intersectional and intergenerational collaborations, digital technology and the “self”, as well as representation of indigenous peoples in AI spaces. 

Today, the consortium is thrilled to announce the three winning organisations whose works will greatly contribute to the role of civil society and grassroots in internet governance.  

Meet the winners!  

Fundación KISTH (Ecuador) - Digital Rights through ancestral wisdom and innovation  

Fundación KISTH was honored for their blend of indigenous knowledge and digital empowerment, showcased through a powerful video bringing their AI-based art to life. Their submission explored digital rights through the lens of identity, connectivity and intercultural justice.  

Fundación KISTH leads projects such as “One Dollar Wifi” and “Digital Empowerment for Indigenous Youth”, creating real-life impact in the communities including them in the tech discourse.  Their work therefore aligns with CADE’s vision of a plural, inclusive internet governance landscape.  

 
At KISTH Foundation, Érika Tenezaca, Marketing and Communication Coordinator, supported in designing a winning proposal for this contest.  

“Our goal was clear: to show that Kichwa communities are also thinking and creating with new technologies, without turning away from our roots,” she says. 
 

As an Indigenous filmmaker and communicator, she believes that working with artificial intelligence “is not about distancing ourselves from the ancestral, but about finding new ways to preserve and share our music, dance, memory, and knowledge”. 
 

This recognition is not just a joy—it’s a chance to say: “Kichwa women are also doing science, we are also creating art, we are also transforming the world.” 

Sarita Guamán with her illustration for the competition illustrated by hand the “connection between the ancestral and the contemporary”. 

“My motivation was to create a piece of work that engages us in dialogue and invites us to imagine a future where technology strengthens our memory, creativity and knowledge instead of erasing them. This recognition encourages me to continue dreaming and working so that indigenous children find in art and technology ways to grow from their identity,” she says. 

Jessica Morales, CEO of Fundación KISTH and in charge of projects focused on technology and cybersecurity, shares how with over a decade in tech and cybersecurity, she has long seen how "indigenous communities are isolated in terms of accessibility to computing devices and accessibility in terms of connectivity and digital literacy programmes from a local and community context, which makes us a target for cyber fraud or data manipulation without even having secure connectivity.” 

“Now with AI, the gap is widening and requires new skills: not just technical, but human, intercultural and collaborative,” she says. 

“It is no longer enough to be an expert in a single area; we need critical thinking, data literacy and AI with a territorial approach, the ability to lead engineers, community leaders, sociologists, ethical hackers. We need to incorporate indigenous knowledge in predictive models: observation of the environment, collective listening, oral memory, multilingual patterns of our mother tongue, because if we do not design from our realities, others will do it for us,” Jessica adds. 

That is why at KISTH, their activism is based on a technical and human approach in a community context.  

For Saya Pastillo as coordinator of human talent and activist of technological projects in KISTH foundation, this recognition reflects the vision that KISTH shares in the foundation: “to demonstrate that indigenous peoples not only preserve our roots, but that we are also creating the future with technology”. 

“At KISTH we develop technological projects that do not seek to impose, but rather to dialogue with ancestral knowledge,” she explains. “For us, talking about technology is not just about machines or programmes, it is about tools that can help us to strengthen our languages, our memories and our ways of life”. 

“This award shows that indigenous peoples and nationalities are not on the margins of the digital era, but that we are active, innovative actors, capable of contributing to technological development from our own perspectives. It inspires us to continue working to open more paths, so that more and more indigenous youth can discover that in science, in digital art, in cybersecurity, in connectivity, there is room for them and for their dreams.” 

REPONGAC (Central Africa) - Rooting AI in ethics and local knowledge  

Selected for their thoughtful integration of local languages, natural systems and ethical AI principles, REPONGAC – a network of 10 national NGO platforms across Central Africa – offers a visionary model of what inclusive AI governance could look like. Representing over 1.200 CSOs across the region, REPONGAC has for long been a champion for sustainable development, civic space and human rights advocacy.  

The work submitted emphasized the need for African civil society to co-lead the future of AI, ensuring that systems efficiently reflect local needs and cultural realities. From contributing to the Civil Society Manifesto for Ethical AI to pushing for AI capacity-strengthening in local languages, REPONGAC stands at the forefront of a decolonial digital movement.  

HopeRise Foundation Nepal (Nepal) - Unlocking the “human” face of AI 

HopeRise was selected for their striking visual narrative captioned “Empowering Civil Society in the Digital World” - an AI-generated work of art where diverse human figures stand before a locked digital gate symbolizing both challenge and hope.  

With 80% of their leadership constituted of women, HopeRise works on education, healthcare and community development in Nepal. Their submission was remarkable for being centered on human dignity rather than on a more technical show, demonstrating how civil society is not a passive watcher but an active agent working collaboratively to unlock digital justice.  

“At HopeRise Foundation Nepal, we believe that digital spaces must be inclusive, just, and empowering for all. Through our AI-driven art project, we are amplifying the voices of communities that have beeen marginalised in Nepal and raising awareness about the urgent need for digital rights. This initiative is not only timely but essential to spark positive change in Nepal’s evolving digital landscape. Being recognised through this platform strengthens our commitment to using technology and creativity for social justice,” says Anish Karki from HopeRise Foundation Nepal. 

“Winning this competition has opened up a new opportunity for us to take our message further. We are planning to organize small exhibitions in schools and community halls where people can see the artwork and talk about digital issues. We also want to involve young people and artists in continuing the #Let’sTalkDigital campaign locally. Our goal is to build a network of changemakers who use both art and activism to speak up for digital justice." 

What happens Now? 

The 3 winning organisations will now serve as community mobilizers for the Let’s Talk Digital campaign and support the development of AI generated works around digital rights. 

CADE is a project co-funded by the European Union.