Let's face it, peacebuilders and third-sector workers in fragile states aren't always digitally savvy, and mechanisms need to be put in place to make PeaceTech more human-centric. The PeaceTech Alliance aims to do just that, but collectively, giving peacebuilders the opportunity to set the agenda.
We unite diverse stakeholders to co-create projects and host events that connect policy, technology, and grassroots peacebuilding efforts.
We embrace open-source technologies to foster transparency, innovation, and accessibility, empowering communities to enhance peacebuilding tools.
We craft compelling narratives that influence policy and guide organisations in creating policies that promote lasting peace and technological progress.
We harness cutting-edge technologies to deliver sustainable, scalable solutions that advance transparency and drive peacebuilding globally.
community first. peacebuilder first. technology second.
PeaceTech should be shaped by people, not profit. Technology increasingly touches diplomacy, humanitarian coordination, conflict analysis and peacebuilding — but much of it is still built for commercial, security or defence settings before being adapted for peace work. The PeaceTech Alliance exists to help make sure the people closest to the realities of conflict have a genuine say in how these tools are designed, governed and used. Here's how we try to do that:
Our approach is grounded in human-centric design, data sovereignty and local ownership, ethical governance and transparency, community influence and shared decision-making, and the principle of Do No Harm. We're intentionally cautious about technology-first and market-led approaches that risk prioritising scale, visibility or funding over the realities of peacebuilding practice — sometimes called "peacewashing," where the language of peace gets attached to projects that don't genuinely reflect what affected communities need.
We create space for research, dialogue and collaboration through workshops, events, roundtables, publications and open data — including peer-reviewed research grounded in the experience of peacebuilders across the Global South. We also contribute to wider international conversations across the EU, OSCE, UN and the peacebuilding community, including engagements connected to the Austrian Forum for Peace and the UN Cyber Hub in New York.
There's no cost to join the Alliance, and no fixed outputs or commercial obligations. Organisations get involved through a values-based Memorandum of Understanding, contributing as much or as little as fits — from joining a roundtable, to co-authoring research, to organising their own PeaceTech events with our support.
why it matters
Without the right governance, PeaceTech can become extractive, inaccessible, or shaped by assumptions that don't reflect the realities of peacebuilding practice. The Alliance keeps returning to one question: does this technology genuinely support peace, trust, local agency and the people doing the work?
of local peacebuilders lack access to training on digital tools.
Source: CSPPS – Building Back Better in the Digital Era
of peacebuilders report unreliable internet or digital infrastructure.
Source: UN General Assembly (2023) – Digital Divide
digital tools involve local peacebuilders in their design.
Source: Berghof Foundation & USIP – Digital Inclusion in Mediated Peace Processes
of AI training data comes from Europe and North America, while 83% of conflicts occur in the Global South.
Source: MIT Technology Review (2024); SIPRI Yearbook (2024). See also our Geography of AI for Peacebuilding dataset.
collaborate with us
Membership is currently by invitation, but we're always glad to hear from Austrian universities, government entities and peacebuilding organisations interested in joining our coalition as institutional supporters. This isn't a financial partnership — it's a chance to help co-shape a growing ecosystem of human-centric PeaceTech.
Supporters may co-design training, contribute to research, organise events, or build networks across Austria. Together, we ensure PeaceTech stays rooted in real-world needs — guided by those working for peace.
Enquire about Becoming a Supporter
The PeaceTech Alliance is an Austria-based, not-for-profit collective, launched at the International Digital Security Forum (IDSF) in Vienna following two years of consultation and collaboration across the country. It was created in response to a growing concern: that conversations about technology, conflict, AI and security are increasingly shaped by commercial interests and technology-first thinking, often without meaningful input from the peacebuilders and communities most affected.
The Alliance is not a single organisation's project. It is collectively shaped by universities, peace organisations and not-for-profit partners across Austria, promoting a peacebuilder-first and community-first approach where affected communities are treated as co-designers of digital systems, not passive users of them.
The PeaceTech Alliance is hosted in Vienna by the Center for Digital Safety & Security at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria's largest research and technology organisation. AIT provides the Alliance with a physical base, staff time and institutional resources — but the Alliance is community-led and is not owned, controlled or directed by AIT or any single institution.
Within this model, AIT acts as a host and active contributor alongside the wider network of universities, peace organisations and civil society partners, and holds no greater influence over the Alliance's direction than any other participating organisation.
AIT's own motto, "Tomorrow Today," reflects why it invests in initiatives like this one: building the trustworthy, human-centric digital infrastructure that peace, security and society will depend on tomorrow.
a growing network
Universities, peace organisations and research institutions across Austria collectively shape the direction of the Alliance, including the Austrian Institute of Technology, the Austrian Centre for Peace, Gaia-X Hub Austria, the Open Knowledge Foundation, the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, the University of Graz, the University of Innsbruck, Danube University Krems, and the International Institute for Peace.
Meet our SupportersLatest Publications
PeaceTech Alliance / Austrian Centre for Peace
With the Open Knowledge Foundation
PeaceTech Alliance talk at the OSCE