Invitation To Tender - Hong Kong Censorship Website

Amnesty International UK tender to contract a technical bid writer for an educational website on Hong Kong censorship and curating archives. 

ABOUT US 

As a global movement of more than 10 million people, Amnesty International is the world's largest grassroots human rights organisation. We investigate and expose abuses, educate and mobilise the public, and help transform societies to create a safer, more just world. We received the Nobel Peace Prize for our life-saving work. Amnesty International UK (AIUK) is a national section of this global movement. We have around half a million supporters, members and activists in the UK. 

 

PROJECT BACKGROUND & CONTEXT 

Under Hong Kong’s national security legal framework which came into effect in 2020, countless films, articles, books and artworks have been censored and removed from public access. This restriction of freedom of expression is erasing the history of Hong Kong human rights activism; and valuable assets for human rights education are disappearing from the public record forever. Despite the massive effort of the Hong Kong diaspora to preserve and archive the materials, it is still a challenge to create a secured yet easily accessible space for people to make use of them.  

AIUK is planning to build a new website which will capture and store both this history and a body of now censored materials. The website is intended to document the socio-political legal environment that allows and accelerates censorship in Hong Kong, which should provide a reference for activists, scholars, educators and members of public. 

Additionally, we are interested in exploring options to create a secure digital space that stores and curates censored (or likely to be censored) materials concerning human rights in Hong Kong, making them more accessible to people all over the world.  

We are seeking a consultant to develop a full technical brief that we can take out to web design agencies to carry out the project. 

 

OBJECTIVES 

Our key objective for this project is to design and build a website that can fulfil the needs specified below: 

Essential functionality/criteria: 

• Ability to present interactive timeline, infographics, texts, pdf files, website links, videos & audios and photos (Reference: https://unsilenced.amnesty.my/) 

• Ability to support switch of language between Traditional Chinese and English 

• Compatibility on all modern operating systems and web-bowsers, with a prioritisation to mobile view. 

• Value for money  

• High level of digital security infrastructure against cyberattacks and privacy data leaks - his website may be targeted by state sponsored APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) groups  

• Compliance with UK data protection regulations 

• Disaster recovery plan / automatic time-machine backup function to minimise data loss from online attack. 

• Embedding a Search Engine Optimisation strategy 

• Meet accessibility standard WCAG 2.1 Level AA 

 

Desirable functionality: 

• A working archive, available to the public, of systematically categorised information and archived materials 

• Possibility of external users uploading and downloading digital files to and from the website, without the risk of exposing the identity or digital footprints of original file uploaders or downloaders 

• Secured storage of data that can support the above functions and scalability of storage capacity 

• Interactive features which enable comments, feedbacks or active participation in an immersive and dynamic experience for the users of the website. It can take many forms, such as games, quizzes, personality tests, polls, and more.  

 

ABOUT YOU 

We are seeking an individual/consultancy that can help us turn this draft vision into a useable technical document that will enable us to tender for the full project. 

It is also important to us that anyone we work with shares AIUK’s values and understands the opportunities and challenges inherent in being a movement of people. 

 

The successful consultancy will: 

• Have the knowledge, skills and experience required to provide insights and identify opportunities, in assisting us to set out our technical requirements. 

 

CONSIDERATIONS 

We will consider applications from individuals or firms based anywhere in the world but do get in touch if you are considering pitching for the work from outside of the UK as there may be data protection and taxation considerations. 

Please note, the successful tender will be required to enter a contractual arrangement for a supply of services. This will not constitute employment for tax purposes, and the agency, consultant or freelancer will not be entitled to our employee terms and conditions. 

 

SUBMISSIONS / TIMELINE 

We are very open to having virtual pre-meets (via Microsoft Teams) with interested parties to discuss the brief and answer any questions you may have before compiling your response. If this would be of interest, please contact hkprogramme@amnesty.org.uk to find a convenient time.  

We ask that written submissions (in Word or PDF format) are received by 27th March. We intend to shortlist these responses the following week and invite selected prospects to present before making a final decision and awarding the contract.  

 

We would like the initial written responses to address the following areas directly:  

Preparation and presentation of ideas 

A thorough outline of your proposed approach, including: 

• Technical solution 

• Implementation methodology  

• Timeline, including key project stages 

• Detailed budget breakdown, including running costs, hosting, licensing and other costs  

• Identification of any challenges/ barriers to the project that you foresee, and recommendations on how to overcome these  

• Experiences and references for similar projects 

 

SUPPORTING RESOURCES / FURTHER READING 

• Project bid: Enabling access to information and censored materials on Hong Kong and Hong Kong human rights (only available for view upon request by interested parties)