ANNUAL REPORT 2022

The Sentinel Project: A Year in Review

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From Our FounderBuilding on success

This year was one of challenges and growth, seeing not just greater impact but also developing the Sentinel Project into a leader in its field. Last year we were able to deepen our engagement in regions continuing to face significant risks of violence. In 2022 we aimed to expand this programming, most notably in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, to meet previously unmet needs among remote and marginalized communities. We also developed new tools, methodologies, and processes which give the Sentinel Project and others in the humanitarian and development fields a broader range of instruments to effect change. Building on previous work, our early warning and mitigation programs continue to develop and we hope to deploy them operationally within the next year.

Of course, all of our efforts would not have been possible without the tireless work of our staff and volunteers, whose enthusiasm and energy propel our organization to fulfil its mission. Additionally, we are grateful for our financial supporters whose generous assistance make our endeavours possible.

It is with great pride that we look to 2023, confident in our work and eager to embrace the the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Sincerely,

Christopher Tuckwood

Co-Founder & Executive Director

Our Mission

Cooperation and Innovation Working directly with threatened communities and implementing new and effective ideas is more important than ever.

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Preventing Mass Atrocities

Working to prevent the outbreak of violence with preventive measures aimed at addressing the core drivers of conflict.

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Direct Cooperation With At-Risk Communities

Partnering with communities and individuals in order to obtain the most direct input on programming and assuring that those at greatest risk receive immediate assistance.

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Innovative Use Of Technology

Utilizing new technologies to facilitate better implementation, explore new ways to make an impact, and document crimes.

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Mitigating Active Violence

When violence does occur, we work to assist at-risk communities with evacuation and emergency planning.

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Peacebuilding

Bringing conflicting communities together, engaging is productive dialogue, and findings ways to address post-violence realities.

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Public Education

Making the global public aware of ongoing and historical mass atrocities, genocide and crimes against humanity.

Featured Milestones

Our major accomplishments in 2022

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Lessons Learned

Implementing programs is only half of the equation for long term peace and stability. Learning from project successes, failures, strengths, and weaknesses is pivotal to improving future initiatives.

Following the Sentinel Project’s misinformation management project in Sri Lanka, we undertook a comprehensive study of what worked and what did not. The findings have already helped inform current programming in other regions.

Kenyan Election Violence Prevention

Past election-related clashes in Kenya have left hundreds of people dead, hundreds of thousands of others displaced, and both private and public property destroyed. The magnitude of the violence has torn Kenya’s social fabric and left behind ethnically-divided communities that continue to live in suspicion of each other. The 2022 general election violence prevention initiative support communities who were at risk of violence and targeted by misinformation.

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Industry Insights

The Sentinel Project has placed a great emphasis on generating tools, research and insights from our programming so that others in the humanitarian and development fields are able to benefit.

Our team is particularly proud to contribute to the small but growing field which seeks to examine and comprehend the role of misinformation. This year we released a report outlining the lessons learned from our efforts to counter the destabilizing role of incendiary misinformation.

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Featured Projects

The projects and initiatives we are most excited about

Kijiji Cha Amani Expansion

First launched in 2017, Kijiji Cha Amani (Swahili for “Peace Village”) has found great success in addressing the role of misinformation as a destabilizing factor in ongoing conflict around North Kivu province. The first expansion of the project in 2018 emerged in response to one of the largest Ebola outbreaks in history and further expanded as the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in serious societal turmoil.

The project has continued to expand each year with growth into a larger number of areas within North Kivu, and with plans to reach populations in the neighbouring South Kivu province. Utilizing a wide array of both low-technology and high-technology capabilities, Kijiji Cha Amani’s impact is now reaching an all-time high and will continue to grow in the coming years.

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Using AI For Hate Speech Monitoring

The Sentinel Project undertook a research project funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to examine whether hate speech monitoring can be aided by new developments in artificial intelligence (AI).

The project investigated the potential applications and pitfalls of AI in the service of flagging online hate speech before it results in offline violence. Project staff developed sophisticated new algorithms to assess potential hate speech and proposed framework policies to guide how we utilize such technologies into the future.

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“I am proud to work with such a tremendous team of enthusiastic, energetic and selfless people. We see the impact of our work every day which continues to forge our resolve to make a difference. “

Drew Boyd

Director of Technology and Operations