APC Talk

This section is a space where APC's staff, members and readers can open up conversations on topics that are of interest for the ICT community. It is a space where authors get to be themselves – sometimes to express opinions and challenge the readers on issues and topics that are close to them, sometimes to share their personal experience on an event or a current debate. The views expressed in this section do not necessarily reflect the views of APC or its network, but that does not make them any less valuable.

Beyond deterrence: Understanding the chilling effects of technology-facilitated gender-based violence 17 April 2023 Amrita Vasudevan for GenderIT.org

In response to the violence they face online, women censor themselves, stepping back from conversations online and sometimes exiting online spaces entirely. At times, however, they continue to speak and exist online but alter their speech and behaviour to comply with perceived social norms.

Seeding change: Community-driven solutions to developing a repair ecosystem in India 13 April 2023 Maja Romano

With mounting global pressure to keep up with the latest technology, the scale of our digital demand is resulting in staggering amounts of environmental waste. DEF responded with an inspiring pilot project to tackle the problem of e-waste in two communities in India.

Universal service funds as a financing mechanism for community networks in Kenya
Universal service funds as a financing mechanism for community networks in Kenya 12 April 2023 Josephine Miliza

In the COVID-19 era, community networks became increasingly important in meeting the rising demand for affordable connectivity. In Kenya, where community networks are growing in size and number, there was a positive regulatory change in 2021. Read more in this piece from KICTANet.

How the global internet governance movement began and evolved in the last two decades
How the global internet governance movement began and evolved in the last two decades 11 April 2023 Carlos Afonso

How did the world begin to establish the internet's basic governance rules and try to enable universal access? Carlos Afonso, director of Nupef and co-founder of APC, offers a historical look at the uneven global internet governance movement, from the 1998 I...

Why feminist research is necessary to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence: Recommendations and way forward
Why feminist research is necessary to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence: Recommendations and way forward 07 April 2023 Srinidhi Raghavan for GenderIT.org

In spite of expanding awareness on online and technology-facilitated gender-based violence, there has only been an increase in the violence online in the last decade. Feminist research points to ways to address this ongoing challenge.

Inside the Digital Society: The future is another country
Inside the Digital Society: The future is another country 05 April 2023 David Souter

New applications like ChatGPT based on AI and large language models are likely to be transformative, a step change in technology like the internet was 30 years ago, but much faster. The technology is now out of the bag and can't be uninvented, and we should move swift...

Diversity in telecoms policy and regulation advocacy spaces
Diversity in telecoms policy and regulation advocacy spaces 04 April 2023 Josephine Miliza

Women have historically been underrepresented in the telecommunications policy and regulation spaces, but there has been a recent push to increase diversity in these fields, as Josephine Miliza of APC member organisation KICTANet reports.

Democracy is dying in digital darkness
Democracy is dying in digital darkness 03 April 2023 Vasundhara Sirnate and Gaurav Jain

Last year saw the highest number of internet shutdowns ever recorded. Such enforced digital darkness is a slippery slope of easy authoritarianism that we see spreading globally, one that countries like India, with the world's highest number of shutdowns, are using to gain undemocratic co...

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