CAshraf (WMF)

Cameran Ashraf, Ph.D.

Human Rights Lead, Wikimedia Foundation

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere." - Eleanor Roosevelt

About me

Cameran Ashraf is the Wikimedia Foundation's first Human Rights Lead.

He is also assistant professor of new media and global communications at the Department of Public Policy, Central European University, and co-founder of AccessNow, one of the largest international human rights organisations defending human rights on the internet. In 2010 AccessNow was short-listed by the European Parliament for the 2010 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the European Union's highest human rights honour.

Cameran has been invited to speak at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UC Berkeley, European University Institute, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and as an invited expert for the Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age. He holds a Ph.D. from UCLA on the geopolitics of Internet censorship and cyberconflict and previously served as Deputy Director of the Open Society Foundations Internship for Rights and Governance, helping to prepare the next generation of human rights defenders.

My work

I am responsible for the promotion of human rights in the Wikimedia Movement. It is a privilege to do this work.

My work in human rights is informed by my very deeply held belief in human dignity.

Disclaimer: I work for or provide services to the Wikimedia Foundation, and this is the account I try to use for edits or statements I make in that role. However, the Foundation does not vet all my activity, so edits, statements, or other contributions made by this account may not reflect the views of the Foundation. The legal team can only represent the Wikimedia Foundation on legal matters, so we are unable to give legal advice to others, including community members, editors, or contributors. Communications with members of the legal team are not consultations and do not create any confidential relationship.

Contact me

Twitter: @cameranashraf

Web: https://www.cameranashraf.com/

Curriculum Vitae