2nd Edition - 2025

4D AWARD

DIGITAL RIGHTS BY DESIGN

Grants for democratic digitalisation projects
Grants for democratic digitalisation projects

// About the call

The application process to the 4D Call is intentionally quick and easy to encourage participation from anyone who has a project that might be eligible. If the project has possibilities, we will proceed to a detailed interview. In any case, we guarantee a response to each request received.

__GOALS

The goal of the 4D Digital Rights by Design Call is to provide support for the developments or initiatives focused on action in terms of digital commons and rights, such as:

Technological developments
Protocols to change institutional and/or general habits
Strategic litigation
Legislative amendments and advocacy
Surprise us with other types of solutions we cannot imagine

The central idea is to intervene so that digitalisation is democratic and/or digital rights are applied systemically (possibility of scaling with wide impact), by design and by default, in the public and/or private sphere. We’re looking for technologies, actions and/or action protocols, beyond theoretical research or reports.

__FINANCIAL PROVISION

The 4D Call offers two financial provisions of 15000 euros (*) to implement projects by European entities, consortia or individuals, whether either already running or already partially funded.

_15.000€
_For entities, consortia or individuals in Europe.

90% will be issued at the time of public presentation (October 2025) and the remaining 10% at the time of agreed completion with the recipient individual/entity.

All projects must include licenses which are not strict copyright. Priority will be given to those projects that use free-software and free licences. The use of more restrictive licences is accepted but requires justification.

* Taxation on this provision will depend on the legal status of the awarded proposal

{ TERMS }

until 25 May

_Call open until 25 May 2025

_Results of first screening: 30 June 2025

_Interviews from first screening: July 2025

Availability to present the project on 28 October 2025 in Barcelona in-person is required.

Complete the form in order to participate
# ABOUT US
We promote this call:
Accent Obert Logo
ACCENT OBERT

Accent Obert (formerly Fundació .cat until June 2025) is a private non-profit foundation whose mission is to defend our way of being in the digital world. It promotes an open and diverse internet where the Catalan-speaking community has its own voice, supporting initiatives that connect language, technology and society. Our areas of action include: the management of community infrastructure —such as the .cat domain—, the defence of the digital rights of the Catalan-speaking community, the promotion of digital talent in Catalan, and the development of tools that enable full digital life in Catalan.

XNET Logo
XNET, Institute for Democratic Digitalisation

Xnet is a network of specialists and activists that proposes advanced solutions in different fields related to democratic digitalisation, digital rights, and updating democracy to the 21st century, such as privacy, the use of data, AI and net neutrality; freedom of expression and information vs fake news, propaganda and disinformation; the defence of whistleblowers, leaks and anti-corruption; technopolitics and advocacy, updating democracy with the political R&D method, transparency and participation; free culture.

For more information or to suggest improvements, you can write to

[ REGISTRATION FORM ]

THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR THE 2024 EDITION CLOSED ON 05/25/2025

// FINALISTS

Data Detox Kit on AI
by Tactical Tech

The main goal of the Data Detox Kit has been to empower people and communities to rethink their relationship with technology and provide them with the knowledge and practical tools they need to regain control over their digital tools. The kit is available in more than 40 languages. Now it’s time to expand it to AI.

https://datadetoxkit.org

Netherlands
Attrap
by La Quadrature du Net

In France, prefects (local government representatives) have a great deal of power to take measures that restrict freedoms: they authorize surveillance drones, algorithmic video surveillance, ban demonstrations, create zones with expanded powers for law enforcement, and so on. The local administrative directives they issue are not easily accessible. Attrap is a crawler module that analyzes prefectural websites to automatically detect new administrative orders. These orders are downloaded, optical character recognition (OCR) is applied, and the text is extracted. This allows an easily searchable database to be made public.

https://attrap.fr

France
TruthAid
by Newtral

TruthAid is a digital first aid kit that provides organized and verified information to citizens during crisis or emergency situations.

Madrid
Salus.coop

Salus.coop is a type of crowdfunding where, instead of donating money, we donate our health data. This data is used to support a cause in the form of a medical research project. What salus.coop does is guarantee that your data is anonymous and that no one other than those you authorize has access to it. It is currently working to integrate with the Catalan public health system, La Meva Salut.

https://www.salus.coop/

 

Catalunya
Transporta'm
by Anna Gómez Llauradó and David Cortés Toledano

An app designed and built by people who use public transport daily and are looking for improved information simply to navigate their journeys more quickly and without having daily commutes disrupt their daily lives. They’re doing what institutions should be doing.

https://transportam.cat/

 

Catalunya
Drip. Period & fertility app
by Martha Doerfler and Marie Kochsiek

Drip is an open-source menstrual and fertility tracking app that stores all intimate data solely on the user’s device, with no external tracking possible. In a global context where sexual and reproductive rights are threatened and women who have abortions are persecuted, Drip protects users by ensuring they can control their fertility and that no data can be used against them.

https://dripapp.org/

Germany
Gruf
by Versembrant

Gruf is specifically designed for learning hip-hop musical skills. It integrates the main instruments used in modern music production ( sampler , sequencer, synthesizer, mixer, etc.) to produce your own beats or create collaboratively as a community.

https://gruf.versembrant.cat

 

Catalunya
LibreWater
by Tom Dietel and Spyridon Nompliakis

LibreWater is an open-source, open-source, small-scale solar desalination system that distributes ownership and decision-making over the technology. Under the principle of “global design, local manufacturing,” the design is constantly evolving through the field experience of users, scientists, makers , entrepreneurs, and anyone who wants to contribute. Compared to other existing small-scale desalination plants, LibreWater aims to produce more water with less surface area, lower energy loss, and faster distillation rates by incorporating thermal design improvements such as optimized absorbent surfaces, more effective thermal insulation, internal convection flows, the use of solar concentrators (such as parabolic mirrors or Fresnel lenses), and the integration of sensors or valves to better manage heat flow, condensation, and water evacuation.

https://codeberg.org/LibreWater/

Greece and Germany
Davinci
by Vocdoni

Only governments and large organizations can afford the technology needed to ensure election security, leaving billions of people without a viable option for digital participation and without the ability to vote on a recurring basis. This outdated model weakens democracies. Davinci is a voting protocol designed for mass adoption, with maximum privacy and security safeguards. It enables frequent, low-cost elections while ensuring transparency, censorship resistance, anti-coercion , and integrity.

https://davinci.vote/

Catalunya - Switzerland
Center for Intimacy Justice

The Center for Intimacy Justice (CIJ) has documented that large tech platforms such as Meta, Google, TikTok, and Amazon systematically remove or censor information about women’s health, misclassifying it as “sexual content” or “for adults.” The affected topics include menopause, pelvic pain, menstrual health, endometriosis, contraception, reproductive health, and other intimate health issues, while massively allowing advertising for erectile dysfunction and male sexual health products, evidencing a clear prudish bias. CIJ has shown that 100% of the women’s health organizations analyzed had ads rejected by Meta, and 50% had their advertising accounts suspended entirely. Faced with this structural discrimination, CIJ seeks access to internal data from the platforms through the European DSA regulation to analyze inequalities, make them public, and demand legal changes that guarantee equal access to health information.

https://www.intimacyjustice.org/

France
Kaleidoscope
By AGORA – Agricultural Governance for Open and Responsible AI, Dr. Maria Francesca De Tullio

The project denounces the phenomenon of “ data grabbing ”, similar to “ land Land grabbing : Tech companies control data generated by farmers and use it to speculate on land, impose monocultures, and dispossess local communities. AGORA asserts that the right to land must include the right to data. To this end, it is creating a legal and technological protocol, mapping abuses, establishing standards for data portability and fair access, legal clauses, and producing practical resources so that rural communities can collectively defend their rights.

Italy
Let's Go Together
through the La Intersección

They’re fed up with toxic social media, so they’ve moved to a new neighborhood: the Fediverse. They invite you to join this community, where they’re committed to a more humane, free, and collaborative internet.

https://vamonosjuntas.org/

 

Madrid
Freedom of Information by Design
by Creative Ideation Hub

It seeks to automate and democratize access to public information in the United Kingdom. The project makes it easier for citizens to generate, send, and track public information requests to public institutions.

UK
Lupai
by Lohana Berkins Popular Education Center and Aureka

Inspired by community solidarity. Powered by AI. Lupai is a tool that answers questions about the legal and administrative frameworks for migration and employment in Germany. Answers are based exclusively on reliable sources curated by experts, and it connects users with professionals, initiatives, and organizations that support those in every situation.

https://lupai.de/

Germany
GeoNotary
by Luis Pulgar Gamereu

Certified and notarized evidence using blockchain. In the administration of justice, evidence is the most important element. Without objective and reliable evidence, the process is reduced to persuasion and influence. However, fact manipulation is a common problem: witnesses falsify their version in favor of one party and experts design their reports to suit their needs. This project stems from the professional experience of its creator, who has worked as an expert witness for several decades.

https://www.geonotary.com

 

Madrid
International Press Archive Institute: Section on the History of Women in Technology
by International Press Institute (IPI)

The International Press Institute (IPI) was founded in 1950 as the first global network dedicated to press freedom. For 75 years, IPI has investigated, documented, and exposed threats to independent journalism around the world, and its archive is invaluable for understanding history at the intersection of journalism, human rights, politics, and social change. This material is currently in boxes. This project will transform it into accessible digital presentations and data visualizations showing the evolution of technological innovation in media. A dedicated section will focus on gender and women in technology and will be displayed to mark the 75th anniversary of the International Press Institute.

https://ipi.media/about/history/

Austria
Pantube
By Association Pancontinental Communication

A collective of creators, because another internet is possible.

https://pantube.tv

Catalonia
Silos Breaker
by Data Rights, Lori Roussey, Eliot Bendinelli

Silos Breaker helps people move their data between digital services securely and freely, without being trapped in monopolies. At the same time, it pushes large platforms to comply with European laws and open their data to more respectful alternatives.

https://www.datarights.ngo/interoperability-vs-monopolies

 

France, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland
Reviu, a digital platform for an ethical and transparent rental market.
by IDRA, Barcelona Urban Research Institute

A portal for leaving your anonymous review of an apartment or real estate agency. Every detail can help someone about to move. Find out if the real estate agency will treat you well before signing the contract.

https://reviucasa.com/

Catalunya
Censorship Map
by Grup de Periodistes Ramon Barnils

The Censorship Map is an initiative of Observatori Mèdia.cat—sponsored by the Ramon Barnils Group of Journalists —which, since 2015, has been collecting incidents that restrict the work of journalists or that may restrict freedom of expression or citizens’ right to information in Catalan-speaking territories.

https://mapacensura.media.cat/

Catalunya
STOPVMO
by ALIA, Cultural Association of Gifts for Research and Action / Donestech / Fem Bloc

Self-defense kit. Because neither the macho world , nor hatred, nor misogyny will make us abandon the digital world.

https://stopviolenciesmasclistesonline.cat/

Catalunya
FörderFunke
by Benjamin Degenhart and Ben Gläser

Benjamin and Ben are two young people shocked by the fact that, at a time when Silicon Valley is fantasizing about Artificial General Intelligence, it is still so difficult to access information about basic rights granted to citizens by the state and that could make a substantial difference in their lives, instead of a proactive state that cares for its people. Even when presenting FörderFunke to people in the administration, they were met with concern that if many more people suddenly claimed their rights, the social welfare system would be overwhelmed. In Germany, there is a serious problem of “non-application”: €12 billion in home care benefits are lost each year, and 60% of people entitled to basic benefits for the elderly do not receive them. Many EU countries have similar figures. FörderFunke aims to proactively inform citizens about the social benefits to which they are entitled.

https://foerderfunke.org/

Germany
__With the support of