Kerala-Based Citizen Digital Foundation Wins Honorary Mention at Prestigious Prix Ars Electronica 2026

Trivandrum ( June, 2026) : In a proud moment for Kerala’s technology and innovation ecosystem, Citizen Digital Foundation (CDF), a Thiruvananthapuram-based non-profit working in digital safety and responsible technology, has received an Honorary Mention in the Digital Humanity category at Prix Ars Electronica 2026, one of the world’s most prestigious media arts competitions.

The winners were announced by Austria-based Ars Electronica, which has been organizing the globally acclaimed awards since 1987. CDF was recognized for its prototype platform ‘Margi’, selected from 754 entries in the Digital Humanity category. The platform will also be showcased at the Ars Electronica Festival 2026, themed “Negotiating Humanity,” scheduled to be held in Linz, Austria, this September.

Margi has been envisioned as India’s one-stop platform against online harms, bringing together preventive resources and support systems for victims of cybercrime. The platform aims to create a community-driven ecosystem that maps free and open-access services addressing online harassment, financial fraud, scams, privacy breaches, manipulation, sextortion, child sexual abuse, and non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII). Designed with accessibility in mind, Margi enables users to find local or national support in their preferred language within just a few clicks.

Beyond offering assistance to individuals, the platform also plans to curate media and information literacy resources for educators, researchers, and the wider public. According to CDF, the organisation is currently seeking partners to expand Margi into a comprehensive, community-powered digital public infrastructure for online safety across India.

The recognition comes at a time when cybercrime continues to rise significantly across the country. According to data from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), cybercrime cases in India increased by 24% during 2025, with financial losses exceeding ₹22,495 crore due to online scams. Online crimes targeting women and children also witnessed a 118% increase between 2020 and 2024, highlighting the urgent need for accessible digital safety initiatives.

CDF stated that Margi is being developed as a free, open-source, open-access digital public good, governed collaboratively through an editorial cooperative. The organisation also noted that the platform is intended to remain independent and will not accept funding from large technology companies.

Reacting to the recognition, Nidhi Sudhan, Co-founder of Citizen Digital Foundation, said the award celebrates ideas that preserve creativity, agency, and alternative futures in an increasingly technology-driven world.

“Prix Ars Electronica preserves what is fast disappearing from today’s world—agency, dissent, and art in its most raw, renegade form. Especially amid the homogenisation of everything fundamentally human by one-dimensional technologies and narratives. It is an incredible honour to find a mention among some of the world’s most creative imaginations of dissent and alternative futures,” she said.

The current Margi prototype was developed by a two-member team comprising Pranav Jerry, a free software enthusiast and Wikimedian, and Farzana Simran Anzarudeen, a linguist and communications expert, under the guidance of CDF Co-founder Nidhi Sudhan. The initiative has received support from Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore, one of India’s leading startup incubation centres.

Citizen Digital Foundation works with government agencies, private organisations, researchers, and communities to promote information literacy, responsible innovation, and digital safety. The international recognition for Margi further reinforces Kerala’s growing contribution to building technology solutions that address critical societal challenges.

For more information about Margi and the Citizen Digital Foundation, visit www.margiindia.in and www.citizendigitalfoundation.org.