WASHINGTON D.C. (September 14, 2026) — The Human Rights Foundation will co-sponsor the AI Hack for Freedom III in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 24 and 25. This AI-powered hackathon, the third of its kind this year, is designed to put world-leading human rights activists as captains of teams of engineers to build powerful new tools to scale the work of the people and movements challenging authoritarianism worldwide.
Over two days, 9 extraordinary pro-democracy activists from Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Ukraine, Kenya, North Macedonia, and beyond — all equipped with state-of-the-art AI personal assistants — will each lead teams of software developers and designers. The activists will identify their biggest pain points and then use AI to turn those needs into working solutions. The resulting tools could strengthen advocacy campaigns, help activists communicate safely, establish internal AI infrastructure for their organizations, and more.
HRF is co-sponsoring the event with the host, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Behind the scenes, the AI Freedom Lab — a team dedicated to ensuring AI tools serve individual freedom — is helping bring all the pieces together and make the hackathon into a reality. UMD School of Public Policy, another key partner, is cultivating student engagement in the hackathon and training the next generation of technologists to help advance democracy.
The hackathon will feature a $25,000 prize pool, paid out in bitcoin by the AI Freedom Lab. The first prize winner will receive $10,000; second place will receive $5,000, and third place $3,000. Each remaining team will receive $1,000.
AI Hack for Freedom III follows the first and second editions of this event series, which took place in Austin and Nashville earlier this year. AI Hack for Freedom IV will take place in San Francisco in collaboration with Presidio Bitcoin on December 3-4, 2026.
If you are interested in attending, join us on Friday, September 25, to hear the teams pitch their tools and the judges pick the winners. Register on the Luma event page here. For any additional questions or media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
The activists’ journey of using AI to supercharge their skills will begin before the hackathon. On Sept. 22 and 23, the activists will receive two days of intensive training in how to deploy the most cutting-edge AI tools. Finite, a company dedicated to making frontier AI accessible to everyone, will train participants to use a cutting-edge personal assistant. Equipped with software built on the open-source AI agent Hermes, they will learn how to accelerate research, create and edit documents, automate repetitive tasks, and build freedom tools. Just as importantly, participants will learn what information is safe to share with AI systems and how to better protect their privacy while using them. The activists will apply their new skills to lead software creation as team captains during the hackathon.
These capabilities were not possible even six months ago. As AI becomes more powerful, so, too, should the activists on the front lines. AI Hack for Freedom III is about ensuring that they do.
Meet the team captains
Carine Kanimba
Secretary General, World Liberty Congress
Rwanda
Carine Kanimba is a Rwandan human rights advocate and survivor of the Rwandan genocide. Her biological parents were killed in the violence, and she was adopted by Paul Rusesabagina, hero of Hotel Rwanda, who sheltered and saved over 1,200 people in Hôtel des Mille Collines. Rusesabagina was later imprisoned by Rwanda’s dictator, Paul Kagame, for his criticism of the regime, and Kanimba and her sister led a successful campaign to free her father. She has now committed to defending human rights defenders around the world through her work with the World Liberty Congress.
Kadir Yağız Çetin
Founder and CEO, CDR
Turkey
Kadir Yağız Çetin is a Turkish technologist building privacy-first technologies. He was previously a Hurford Fellow at NED, where he spent four months studying how members of Turkey’s parliament approach issues affecting the nation’s youth. He founded and now runs CDR, an independent technology organization focused on public policy in the United States and Turkey. CDR builds open, privacy-protecting tools focused on expanding civic participation and making policymaking more transparent and evidence-based.
Chemi Lhamo
Tibetan-Canadian Activist and World Liberty Congress Spokesperson
Chemi Lhamo is a Tibetan-Canadian human rights activist and a leading voice in exposing the Chinese Communist Party’s repression of Tibetans. Her parents fled Tibet after China’s occupation, and she was born stateless, in exile, and displaced from her homeland, which she has never been able to visit. Formerly the campaigns director at Students for a Free Tibet, she is now an advocacy manager at Tibet Action Institute, a Tibet-focused civil society organization, and a spokesperson for the World Liberty Congress. There, she works with frontline activists worldwide to amplify their voices, build collaboration across movements, and challenge authoritarian influences.
Leonardo Trechi
CEO, VPItv
Venezuela
Leonardo Trechi is a Venezuelan-American media executive and advocate for free press with over 20 years of experience. Throughout his career, he has focused on expanding independent coverage of democracy, human rights, and public affairs in Venezuela. He founded and now runs VPItv, a leading independent digital news organization covering the country. Trechi also serves as president of the Free Media Foundation, through which he defends global press freedom, and president of the Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce of the United States, where he promotes entrepreneurship in the Venezuelan-American community.
Biljana Spasovska
Partnerships Manager, Tech To The Rescue
North Macedonia
Bilijana Spasovska is a democracy and civil society leader with over 15 years of experience advancing civic space, democratic resilience, and international cooperation across the western Balkans and the world. She serves on the board of CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organizations, and works at Tech To The Rescue, an organization helping social impact groups use AI to scale proven solutions. She recently completed a fellowship at NED, exploring how AI can strengthen democracy.
Olga Aivazovska
Chairwoman, Civil Network OPORA
Ukraine
Olga Aivazovska is a Ukrainian civil society leader who has spent over a decade advancing electoral reform and democratic governance in Ukraine and abroad. She represented Ukraine in negotiations over a 2016–2018 conflict in eastern Ukraine and co-founded the International Center for Ukrainian Victory and the Center for War Crimes Documentation in Warsaw. Today, she serves as head of the board of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors, a global network supporting citizen-led election monitoring, and chairwoman of Civil Network OPORA, a Ukrainian civic organization focused on elections and political accountability.
Caroline Gaita
Executive Director, Mzalendo Trust
Kenya
Caroline Gaita is an accomplished governance and civic engagement leader with over 20 years of experience strengthening democratic institutions and citizen participation across Africa. She currently serves as the executive director of Mzalendo Trust, Kenya’s premier parliamentary monitoring organization. She is also the civil society lead for the Open Government Partnership in Kenya, sits on the Futurelect Advisory Council, is a member of the Community of Practice on Money and Politics in Africa, and is co-founder and chair of the African Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations Network.
Akash Shrestha
Director of Strategy and Development, Samriddhi Foundation
Nepal
Akash Shrestha is a Nepali activist and policy expert who has studied and written policy papers on the country’s economic policies, focusing on reforms that advance individual liberty and growth. He is the current director of strategy and development at the Samriddhi Foundation, an organization that advances civil, political, and economic freedom in Nepal through independent research, public policy recommendations, and educational programs. In his role, Shrestha leads strategic partnerships, program development, fundraising, and efforts to strengthen the organization’s teams.
Evan Mawarire
Pastor and Founder of #ThisFlag Movement
Zimbabwe
Evan Mawarire is a Zimbabwean pastor who founded the #ThisFlag Citizens’ Movement, which mobilized millions of Zimbabweans to peacefully protest corruption, hyperinflation, and repression under Robert Mugabe’s dictatorship. For his activism, Mawarire was charged with treason, imprisoned multiple times, tortured, and escaped assassination attempts. Now living in exile, he continues to advocate for democracy, human rights, and freedom in Zimbabwe and around the world.
Nicolás Díaz Cruz
Executive Director, Extituto de Política Abierta
Colombia
Nicolás Díaz Cruz is a Colombian political scientist who has worked for nearly two decades to advance democratic reform across Latin America and beyond. A university professor, researcher, and author, he focuses on citizen participation and building more open, inclusive democracies. He holds executive and board leadership on several international and regional organizations, and is the founder and executive director of Extituto de Política Abierta, an organization advancing democracy across Latin America.
