SARRA HANNACHI
Responsible Tech & AI Advocate & Researcher in the Security Sector
Recent Activity
February 25-27 2025, I've had the chance to participate at my first ever RightsCon25 conference, in Taipei, Taiwan and connect with a powerful and inspiring community advancing human rights in the digital age!
Recently Published
During my Digital Rights and Inclusion Learning Lab (DRILL) experience with Paradigm Initiative, I've recently published a Digital Policy Digest: "Africa’s human-centric position on AI, robotics and other emerging technologies in security".
Colab with ME
In 2025, I am launching and working on multiple projects simultaneously. Check them out and reach out for a potential collaboration!
activity feed
Speaker: Service Design Network's #NextGen Con
April 2025
The Service Design Network Young Talent Board (SDN YTB) vision is to create a vibrant, global community of service design students and young professionals that are connected, inspired, and empowered to shape the future of service design.
My talk "Ethical and Inclusive AI-driven Service Design for Humanitarian Action" explores how AI can enhance service design in humanitarian settings—while ensuring it remains inclusive, ethical, and context-appropriate.The NextGen 2025 conference brings together emerging and expert voices in service design to share bold ideas and challenge norms in designing sustainable, inclusive and impactful solutions. #Dare to Impact💡
Speaker: Migration Youth & Children Platform's Webinar
March 2025
Migration Youth and Children Platform (MYCP) vision is to create space for young people’s meaningful engagement in decision-making on migration policy and to empower them to participate effectively, thus building a more inclusive world for migrants.My session "The Implications of AI Technologies in Migration Border Security" will examine the ethical and safe deployment of AI in migration control across the SWANA region. It will explore how border agencies implement AI in their operations, the transparency measures needed, and civil society’s role in protecting migrant human & digital rights and in influencing policy.
RightsCon 2025 Participation in Taipei, Taiwan
February 2025
RightsCon 2025 is the world's leading summit on human rights in the digital age, by AccessNow. My participation was a first in-person and it was a fruitful learning experience as well as networking opportunity that made space for strong collaborations. In the closing ceremony, AccessNow announced the next edition will be in Africa!
ASC 2024 Panel on open-source AI & policy frameworks
December 2024
The African Startup Conference is an annual international multi-stakeholder conference that promotes innovation in the digital African ecosystem. My panel intervention during the ASC2024 was on open-source AI's potential and challenges in Africa and it summarizes the key policy frameworks that either don't exist or suffer from serious gaps and limitations.
The open-source AI panel was organized by GIZ Algeria that allowed me, with my expertise, to highlight the topic from ethics and policy dimensions with a diverse audience of African entrepreneurs, technologists, innovators and policy makers!Take a glimpse of my intervention by watching the short video below:
Digital Rights & Inclusion Learning Lab (DRILL)
November 2024
🎉 Paradigm Initiative (PIN) welcomes its virtual 4th Edition of the Digital Rights and Inclusion Learning Lab (DRILL) focused on the African continent and India. Drawn from a pool of talented innovators, researchers, policy experts, and entrepreneurs, the participants are currently undergoing an intensive 4-month program designed to foster innovative learning, advocacy, capacity-building, and networking in digital rights and inclusion.
North African Internet Governance Forum (NAIGF 2024)
October 2024
Honored to participate in the North African School of Internet Governance (NASIG 2024) by the North African Internet Governance Forum (NAIGF) in Nouakchott, Mauritania. This has been an invaluable opportunity to foster visionary partnerships and engage with a variety of experts and changemakers on essential topics from data protection and broadband access to AI ethics and cybersecurity!
📒 This year's content and sessions are all about fostering shared insights, supporting North Africa’s digital transformation, and driving a secure, inclusive digital innovation. I was especially inspired by the focus on multi-stakeholder engagement and the push for greater youth involvement in Internet governance and responsible AI applications in various fields, particularly justice, peace and global security.Take a look at the AI ethics simulation in the justice sector that I presented at the end of the North African School of Internet Governance (NASIG 2024):
Launching "AU-EU Youth Voices Lab" as Youth Advisory Board Member
September 2024
It was such an honor to contribute to the Kick-off ceremony in Addis Ababa and launch the AU-EU Youth Lab as a Youth Advisory Board member with AU-EU Youth Voices Lab - Power of the Collective, along with my fellow board members, Youth Action Lab and Youth Sounding Board!
🎯 The AU-EU Youth Lab is a an African Union & Council of the European Union co-created initiative that serves as a youth potential generator, whether via providing a platform and tailored guidance for youth voices advocating for crucial causes in the Africa and in Belgium, the EU hub or via providing community projects grants and implementation mentorship opportunities in these regions!
🌐 The Launch was also an opportunity to connect different representatives and networks from policy-makers, youth board members, EU youth delegates and key organizations in the AU-EU Youth Lab structure. The key consortium organizations consist of Restless Development, Youthmakers Hub, ComDev Africa, Search for Common Ground and Oxfam International while other organizations also took part of the launch process!
About
Sarra is a dedicated data activist and research enthusiast with a strong passion for social impact and human rights advocacy. She specializes in evidence-based research and tech policy to address unethical applications particularly in migration border security, war and armed conflict contexts. Through research, conflict analysis and human-centric policy analysis, she draws on extensive knowledge and experience in the MENA region & Africa.
Sarra is a Tech & Society Fellow with Mozilla Foundation and a member of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research who has collaborated with non-profit, non-governmental, and international organizations to advance human rights, peace and security with ethical use and policymaking of AI & emerging tech. This is through consultancies, policy analysis and strategic recommendations on responsible AI use in security settings. For youth representation and empowerment, Sarra is acting as a AU-EU Youth Lab Advisory Board Member with the AU-EU Youth Voices Lab initiative.
Published
Policy Brief - Sudan: Strengthening the resilience of psycho-social interventions for war-affected school-age children
Siyasat, March 2025
The policy brief examines different psycho-social impacts and educational implications of the Sudan war on school-age children who were affected since the conflict started in April 2023, especially in protracted conflict areas. The objective of the brief is to bring to light these findings and to provide relevant key recommendations for the humanitarian sector to support children’s education, protection and MHPSS response plans during and after the war.
Digital Policy Digest - Africa's human-centric position on AI, robotics and other emerging technologies in security
Paradigm Initiative, January 2025
A Digital Policy Digest untangling different dimensions of AI and tech applications in security settings in Africa, all while examining the ACHPR's role in understanding them, governing them and promoting responsible AI, AI ethics and emerging technology in applications varying from border control to military!
Freedom or Facade? Tunisia’s Civil Society Remains in Repression
HuMENA for Human Rights & Civil Engagement, August 2024
Tunisia’s sugar-coated freedom of expression and assembly is once again exposed in the events of May 2024, when Tunisian authorities arrest and accuse a group of human rights activists, lawyers, and journalists of treason for their public and solid expression about Tunisia’s politics as well as their ongoing commitment to defending Sub-Saharan migrants’ rights in the country.
Colab
In 2025, I am launching and working on multiple projects simultaneously which all intersect in the Tech and Security nexus. Some of these initiatives and projects are part of my fellowship with the Mozilla Foundation, some are independent research, some are session proposals and some are contributions to other organizations' and think tanks' work.Check the list below and contact me if you'd like to collaborate with me on something in particular or propose a whole new idea (I'm all 👂🏼). Thanks for showing interest!
Research on the implications of AI-powered tech applications in border control and security in the Mediterranean (case study: Palermo, Italy), followed by policy-oriented recommendations targeting (1) decision makers and (2) civil society.
Roundtable session proposal for the Africa IGF (May 2025) regarding safety measures and guidelines for Military AI in Africa.
Content Creation about different AI safety concepts, applied in the Military Domain.
Follow me on LinkedIn & BlueSky to stay tuned with these activities' updates!
Contact
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