7 February, 2019
The Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Networks becomes AfricanDefenders

Visit our new website at www.africandefenders.org

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It was in April 2009, at the all African Human Rights Defenders Conference (Johannesburg +10), held in Kampala, Uganda, that the idea of the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network (PAHRDN) was born as an answer to the evident need for increased collaboration among human rights defenders across the African continent. Ten years later, it is time to give the organisation a new look, and there is no better way to start 2019 than presenting you our new identity.

Today,  PAHRDN becomes AfricanDefenders. Our pan-african shield remains the core of our logo, but our name becomes shorter, fresher, and better representing the essence of who we are: a network of African human rights Defenders.

At the same time, we are launching a new website. You will still find us at www.africandefenders.org, but what you will see will be easier to navigate and more informative. The website will allow you to easily stay up-to-date with our work, as well as the work of our member networks. In addition, it makes it easier for African human rights defenders to learn about how they can be protected and recognised for their work, through our periodic Shield Awards, the Defender ID Card, or the Ubuntu Hub Cities initiative.

We believe that these changes will enable us to further strengthen our network and our mission to protect and support all human rights defenders in Africa. I encourage you to have a look at our new website, to follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and to sign up for our updates, if you have not done so already. Let this be a year of many more positive transformations for the continent and all its defenders.

Yours in solidarity,

Hassan Shire

Chairperson, AfricanDefenders (the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network)Executive Director, DefendDefenders (the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)