Over the past three months, The Engine Room and Puentes have been exploring how to nurture connection, online and beyond the screen, in a world where division often seems to be the norm. What emerged from this collaboration was a deep reminder: building collective digital care and digital resilience isn’t just valuable, it’s essential.
We set out to explore which resources were worth creating to strengthen the collective fabric while protecting ourselves online. We began by identifying urgent themes in our current context, then moved on to mapping digital joy, and finally designed materials that could resonate with people deeply involved in digital security, as well as those who are just beginning or focused on other priorities or forms of activism.
The first piece we created offers basic tips to open up conversations about how and whether we engage with mainstream or alternative platforms in a safe way.
Available in Spanish, English and Portuguese
You can download it here.
We also took a moment to reflect on the things that unite us in digital spaces: accounts that occasionally make us smile, offering a bit of unexpected joy like a breeze on a hot summer day. The key was not to dwell solely on what hurts or divides us, but to build from what excites, energizes, and moves us, even if we’re not all dancing to the same rhythm.
We also took a moment to reflect on the things that unite us in digital spaces: accounts that occasionally make us smile, offering a bit of unexpected joy like a breeze on a hot summer day. The key was not to dwell solely on what hurts or divides us, but to build from what excites, energizes, and moves us, even if we’re not all dancing to the same rhythm.
We celebrated the end of the collaboration with a space dedicated to community care. We came together to share food, laughter, and hugs, gathering around the fire of the radio. There, we talked about online resilience, digital protection and security, self-care and collective care in digital environments, exchanging experiences and personal projects around these themes. Fifteen activists from Cali, Palmira, and Buga—including trans, women’s, and anti-racist collectives—gathered with the aim of connecting, reflecting, and building basic tools for resilience.
From that gathering, came this audio piece voiced by our community: We whisper to one another how to take care for ourselves, and each other, online and offline.
Available in Spanish
You can download it here.
Puentes Community & Services Coordinator Alejandro Gamboa says connecting digital care with joy, community, and strategic power is essential if we want to build movements that can thrive in digital spaces without losing their political essence. “What I take with me is the diversity of initiatives, the powerful ways in which each one brings hope to their communities, and most of all, the value of spaces like Espectra, where the gathering took place. These places don’t just host workshops, they weave relationships, nurture care, and make everyday connection possible,” she says.
And lastly we created an audio piece that gathers basic tips to protect our devices (computer and cellphones). Listen here for a review on easy steps to keep your devices protected.
Available in Spanish, English and Portuguese
Download it here.
MORE VOICES, MORE TERRITORIES
Over the course of the project, we recorded, edited, and produced audio pieces, featuring voices from Nicaragua, Mexico, Argentina, Guatemala, and Colombia, as well as those who joined us in Cali. We’re deeply grateful to everyone who contributed their sounds, textures, and sonic landscapes. Their presence enriched this collective creation reminding us that digital security is deeply tied to joy, presence, and community.
To accompany the audio pieces, we also put together a written guide where you can find related resources. You can check it out in Spanish here.
SHARE AND CONNECT
We invite you to share these materials in your communities and networks, so more people can access tools to build collective digital resilience.
If you’re planning to use these materials in a workshop or share them on your social networks, we’d love to hear about it—please write to us at nathaly@theengineroom.org. And if you’re working on audio content about digital care, protection, or digital rights, let us know—we’re mapping organizations creating with sound, to help amplify their work across our community.
If you or your organization would like personalized support, you can book a light support call with The Engine Room. We also invite you to join Puentes’ training and narrative platforms.
And remember: here, those who dance win—but so do those who pause, recharge, and return to the rhythm as we continue strengthening our self- and collective-care strategies.
This Matchbox collaboration and its contents were made possible thanks to Nathaly Espitia Díaz, Olivia Johnson, Jen Lynn, and Patricia Musomba from The Engine Room. This pluriverse was co-designed with Brian Alvarado, Alejandro Gamboa, Cristina Vélez, and Rubén López from Puentes, and Leo Prieto, as a consultant for sound design and visual identity. With guidance from Paola Mosso and communication leadership of Sisanda Ntshinga. Special thanks to Espectra in Cali for hosting us in the in-person gathering.