
Our story
Who is Boniĝi
Globally, immigration detention is one of the most opaque and least accountable areas of public administration. Effective monitoring of conditions of immigration detention is vital. It opens up an otherwise closed and often dangerously secretive world. It increases transparency and accountability. It helps to make detainees safer and increases pressure on states to use non-custodial alternatives to detention.
It protects some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Quite literally, it can save lives. Imagine being able to use digital technology to monitor conditions more frequently, more systematically, and more efficiently.
Imagine being able to use that technology to capture, triangulate and show data more comprehensively. Imagine being able to provide official monitors with more structured alerts and insights into patterns and trends in detention practices.
Imagine being able to harness that data to change detention policies and institutional cultures. Boniĝi, established in 2017, is a social enterprise making this imagined future a reality.
Why Boniĝi?
Never has the use of immigration detention been so widespread. There is a serious need for data on immigration detention in many countries
The Global Compacts on Migration and Refugees highlight these data and detention deficits. The evidence of the human cost of immigration detention is undeniable. The transformative potential of digital technology is impossible to ignore. Non-custodial, community-based alternatives are a better public policy choice. Alternatives to detention are less harmful and a more responsible use of public funds

Monitoring human rights conditions in closed environments
Our story
Boniĝi’s Founding Director, Dr Eve Lester, is a public and international lawyer with more than 25 years experience as a legal practitioner, policy analyst, researcher, advocate, and scholar. She has worked on issues relating to immigration detention with the UN, with several leading international NGOs, as a legal practitioner and also as an independent adviser to governments. Eve has visited places of detention in many parts of the world.
Hayat Akbari
Hayat Akbari is a human rights advocate and a former refugee from…
Vanessa Lesnie
Vanessa is a social change practitioner and strategist with more…
Rasika Jayasuriya
Rasika has worked for over 15 years across the government, NGO,…
Philip Roberts
Philip is General Manager of CareFlight based in Darwin, the…
Matt Shanks
Currently Principal Digital Product Designer at Cogent, Matt has…
Carolina Gottardo
Carolina is a migrant lawyer and economist who has worked on human…
Bianca Moore
Bianca Moore is an accomplished professional with more than 20…
Amelia Crook
Amelia Crook has been building online products since the dot com…
Monitoring human rights conditions in closed environments
Meet the Australian Advisory Board:
Boniĝi benefits from the insights and wisdom of a talented and highly skilled Australian Advisory Board.
Monitoring human rights conditions in closed environments
International Advisory Group
Boniĝi appreciates the support, interest and engagement of its International Advisory Group, which includes some key stakeholders. Participating members or observers include the following organisations: