As part of its Human Rights Technology Initiative, EngageMedia facilitates the distribution of Outline VPN access keys through the DRAPAC VPN Project. This free VPN service is backed by a group of human rights organisations to protect human rights defenders across the Asia-Pacific region from digital surveillance and online censorship.

In many parts of Asia-Pacific, internet users face increasing restrictions on their digital freedoms. The DRAPAC VPN Project ensures that grassroots activists, independent journalists, academic researchers, and other human rights defenders can maintain secure and unrestricted access to the internet. The project leverages Outline VPN by Jigsaw to provide secure, decentralised VPN access to human rights defenders working in restrictive digital environments. Unlike conventional VPN services, Outline offers a blocking-resistant solution built on the Shadowsocks protocol, effectively disguising VPN traffic as regular internet activity.

The DRAPAC VPN Project is supported by EngageMedia, Reporters Without Borders, eQualitie, Digital Defenders Partnership, and SAFEnet. These organisations contribute by running and maintaining Outline servers, ensuring reliable and secure access for users in need. Additionally, they, along with other strategic partners, help screen and onboard users who require VPN access.

EngageMedia began providing access to Outline VPN in May 2023 as a resource for human rights defenders attending DRAPAC23 Chiang Mai. The support continued for participants of DRAPAC24 Taipei in August 2024. In September 2024, Reporters Without Borders and EngageMedia initiated the DRAPAC VPN Project as a pilot initiative to support a select group of journalists in the Asia-Pacific region. During this phase, the project focused on refining the user interface, improving performance and security, scaling infrastructure, and expanding server availability. These enhancements ensured a more user-friendly experience, greater reliability, and increased accessibility for those in need. Today, the project continues to evolve with the addition of new servers, expanded partnerships, and enhanced security measures tailored to the unique needs of human rights defenders.

Key features of the DRAPAC VPN Project

• Resistance to blocking – Designed to circumvent sophisticated censorship techniques, allowing internet access in high-risk environments.
• Trusted network – Backed by trusted human rights organisations and grassroots community groups hosting servers and managing user access.
• Decentralised infrastructure – Supported by a distributed, highly-scalable pool of VPN servers, ensuring reliability and security. 

Human rights defenders who require VPN may request access may by completing a needs assessment with EngageMedia at drap.ac/vpn/engagemedia or contact any of the DRAPAC VPN partners.

Organisations with the capacity to run and maintain Outline servers are welcome to contribute to the project through the DRAPAC VPN Partnership. For more information, email [email protected].