IGF Hackathon Winner · Digital Safety & Certification
Diri Uganda
Diri puts digital safety training, assessment and certification into the hands of every young Ugandan — whether they have a data bundle, a smartphone, or a screen reader.
// The Problem Digital Rights Talk, but Nobody Actually Listens
Internet governance decides how Uganda's digital world is run — who gets access, who is protected, who gets a say. But the conversation is written for policy experts. The language is dense, the material is buried in PDF documents, and the platforms carrying it never reach the people it was meant for.
So a nineteen-year-old in a rural district hears about cybersecurity once, in a school assembly, and never again. A young entrepreneur building their first app cannot find a plain-language answer about data rights. A young woman using the internet for the first time has never been told what online harassment is or where to report it.
The gap is not knowledge. It is access. The people who most need digital safety training are the least able to reach it — no smartphone, no data, no Wi-Fi, no accessible interface, no reason to trust another platform asking for their details.
// The Payoff One Pathway, Four Ways In
Learn → Train → Assess → Certify → Verify
A single pathway whether you learn independently or attend a physical session. The same learner account, the same certification route, one record that never splits.
Accessibility Built In, Not Bolted On
A screen reader, adjustable font sizes and a high-contrast mode ship with the platform — so a learner with a visual impairment is not an afterthought in a digital safety programme.
A Chatbot in the Chat They Already Use
No app to install, no link to memorise. A multilingual WhatsApp bot brings the lessons to wherever young Ugandans already talk — and keeps answering in the language they asked in.
USSD for No-Smartphone, No-Data Users
An embedded USSD simulator makes the content reachable on a feature phone without an internet connection. Nobody gets left out of the conversation just because they cannot afford data.
Certificates Anyone Can Check
Every issued certificate carries a unique number and a QR code, and any employer, university or funder can confirm its live status from the public verifier. Issued only after qualification and approval — never on payment alone.
Training Where People Already Are
Request a physical DIRI session at a workplace, school, university, NGO or community centre. Online and offline participation land in the same learner record.
// How It Works Five Steps From First Lesson to Verified Certificate
Learn
Create or activate one Diri account and work through practical digital safety content — online, at your own pace, in whichever language you prefer.
Train
Continue independently, or request a Diri training session at a workplace, school, university, NGO or community group. Both routes count toward the same certification.
Assess
Complete the required quizzes. Physical participation and online results are recorded against the same entry, so no one has to prove their learning twice.
Certify
Qualifying learners are reviewed and approved before a Diri Digital Safety Certificate is issued. The certificate fee is UGX 50,000 — payment never guarantees approval.
Verify
Enter the certificate number or scan its QR code to see its live status. If it is not in the Diri system, it is not a Diri certificate.
// Who It's For Anyone Who Should Have Been Taught This Years Ago
Digital Safety Should Reach Everyone
Diri is live now at diriuganda.online — start learning, request a training session, or verify a certificate. Built with React and Supabase, alongside partners including the Internet Society Uganda Chapter, Wota Creators, Tech Journal and St. Basil Palliative Home Care Promotion.