PROTEGE QV celebrates the 2008 internet day in Cameroon

analia — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:27:05 -0300

YAOUNDE (PROTEGE QV for PROTEGE QV) -

PROTEGE QV talks about the celebrations of the internet day in Cameroon. They were busy organising workshops, exhibiting new tools and helping young people how to find new jobs through the net.

Multimedia resource kit presented to radio broadcasters

frederic — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:10:51 -0300

YAOUNDé (Olga Balbine for PROTEGE QV) -

PROTEGE QV, APC’s Cameroun civil society group, released a multimedia kit late last year. Accompanied by full training of radio broadasters, this tool is meant to provide the general public and professionals with the means to exploit and use technology to create micro enterprises. Called the MMRK is increasingly being recognised as flexible tool which can be used in a variety of contetx, including rural.

Computer Aid International wins Nominet’s access award

webmaster — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 01:00:00 -0300

LONDON, ENGLAND () -

Access remains one of the greatest challenges facing the internet community in the developing world. The Nominet judges believe that the work of Computer Aid epitomizes what their access category represents. Computer Aid has enabled thousands of people in developing countries, who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity, to access to the internet. Computer Aid’s partners are also able to provide training, capacity building and routine maintenance, to ensure that the use of equipment is maximized.

Participatory web for development: Circling the point in a spiral formation

webmaster — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 01:00:00 -0300

ROME, ITALY (Brenda Zulu) -

Anriette Esterhuysen, executive director of APC, delivered a keynote address at the opening of the conference on Web2fordev at the Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome, Italy in late September. Her ideas around participatory web for development were reported on in the Web2fordev blog.

BaseBox is out! Free software tools for your nonprofit

webmaster — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 01:00:00 -0300

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA () -

Tactical Tech and APC-member Women’sNet are pleased to announce the web launch of the latest edition of NGO-in-a-box, the BaseBox. The BaseBox is a collection of tools for the day-to-day running of small to medium sized NGOs. It aims to make it easier to set up base, find the right software and learn how to use it. Targeted primarily at activist and advocacy organisations in developing countries, the BaseBox contains a set of peer-reviewed free and open source software tools, with associated guides and tutorials. The edition can be accessed online but it’s primary form is as a physical box set of CDs.

Metamorphosis, a think and do tank

webmaster — Wed, 09 May 2007 01:00:00 -0300

MONTREAL, CANADA (FD for APCNews) -

Metamorphosis is a think and do tank from Macedonia, gathering experts and activists devoted to the development of an information society, which we see as crucial element in bettering people’s lives. Most of the people currently involved rely on a background in the IT industry and the NGO sector, but in general, we favour an interdisciplinary approach and broad involvement of stakeholders. APCNews interviewed Bardhyl Jashari, director of this newest APC-member.

Ugandan women network launches a book about ICT-based entrepreneuship

webmaster — Tue, 08 May 2007 01:00:00 -0300

KAMPALA, UGANDA (Milton Aineruhanga) -

Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) launches Women’s ICT-based Enterprises Handbook and a CD entitled "A Guide to Promote, Initiate and Improve Women’s ICT Based Enterprises in Uganda". The APC-member WOUGNET published the multilingual document in English and two local languages.

Communication, a cornerstone of development policy

webmaster — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0300

GOA, INDIA (FN for APCNews) -

A study commissioned by UK’s international development agency lists the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) in the top ten organisations survey respondents identified as networks they find are valuable resources of information relevant to their internetional development work.

Going autonomous with wireless networks

webmaster — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0300

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (Karel Novotny) -

“TRICALCAR” is a Spanish abbreviation that stands for Weaving Wireless Community Networks in Latin America and the Caribbean. But much more than an abbreviation, it is in fact a project. It brings together ten partner organisations that are all dedicated to training Latin American computer network administrators in building and administering community wireless networks.

Web.net makes major contribution to Drupal

webmaster — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0200

BERLIN, GERMANY (FD for APCNews) -

With the WebFM module, APC-member in Toronto has made a major contribution at the end of 2006 to the open source content management system Drupal. With simple-to-use drag and drop and folder creation and deletion functions, WebFM is increasingly becoming popular as Web Network’s executive director, Oliver Zielke, himself states in the following interview excerpts.

Drupal usability report made available

webmaster — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 01:00:00 -0300

TORONTO, CANADA (Oliver Zielke) -

Web Networks’ report on the usability of the content management system Drupal is now available on drupal.org. APC Canadian member Web Network has developed this detailed and professional report with the support of APC’s ActionKit project. Says, the report summary: "the overall conclusion of this report is that the tools Drupal provides to accomplish the most common administrative tasks associated with managing a website are all usable."

Building a vulnerable children's service in Nigeria

webmaster — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 01:00:00 -0300

GOA, INDIA (APCNews) -

APC’s member in Nigeria, Fantsuam Foundation, has launched a vulnerable children’s service as part of its rural HIV/AIDS programme. This innovative project is meant to tackle prevention gaps head-on, with the help of multimedia.

Latin Mosaic

webmaster — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 01:00:00 -0300

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL (Luísa Gockel) -

With the objective of producing and disseminating relevant content on the Latin American reality from civil society’s perspective, Rits, in partnership with another eight South American organisations, launched the Social Mosaic information portal on July 5.

Hello, hello... spotlight on how the poor use their phones

webmaster — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 01:00:00 -0300

DHAKA, BANGLADESH (FN for APCNews) -

What kinds of phone connections do the poor use? How much do they spend on telecom services? Are they willing to spend more? How do they choose their phone connection? What do they use phones for? And, what difficulties do they face while doing so? Many questions here… but the hints of possible answers come up in a South Asian study that looks at telecom users in India and Sri Lanka who have monthly incomes of less than USD$ 100.

Wiki part II: Find your wiki at the bazaar

webmaster — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 01:00:00 -0300

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (Strategic Use and Capacity Building Programme for APCNews) -

“The word wiki is a shorter form of wiki wiki (weekie, weekie) which is from native Hawaiian, in which it is commonly used as an adjective to denote something ‘quick’ or ‘fast’,” says Wikipedia, the world’s most important collaborative online encyclopaedia. Fast and quick, they are. But did you know they were free and open? While shedding light on the larger context of free and open source software (FOSS) developed tools, this second article on wikis looks at the concrete experience APC’s Strategic Uses and Capacity Building (SU&CB) programme made with wikis. It delves into the MediaWiki and the TikiWiki.

Wiki part I: Progressive communications, wiki style

webmaster — Tue, 30 May 2006 01:00:00 -0300

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (Strategic Use and Capacity Building Programme) -

APC staff started playing with wikis internally four years ago, and started using this online tool seriously about a year later. Collaborative work can normally be documented with the help of a drawing board or some tape recorder in the corner of a room. At the Association for Progressive Communications, people’s collective space is not a room. Instead they work from home, some in small offices, others in affiliated organisations, all over the world. But what is a wiki anyway? How does it differ from other online tools APC uses? How can it support the way we work at APC? This first out of two pieces looks at these questions by rooting the answers in APC’s global working dynamics.

e-Learning module developing electronic communities

webmaster — Mon, 08 May 2006 01:00:00 -0300

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (Ann Tothill) -

The Information Management Resource Kit (IMARK) steering group announces the release of its newest e-learning module ‘Building Electronic Communities and Networks’. The module is designed to help users develop the strategic, interpersonal and technical skills required to establish and sustain electronic communities. It provides an overview of the benefits and opportunities offered by online communities for facilitating knowledge and information exchange.

So near yet so far: Bangladesh awaits a smoother ride to cyberspace

webmaster — Thu, 04 May 2006 01:00:00 -0300

DHAKA, BANGLADESH (FN) -

So near, yet so far. Bangladesh is keenly looking forward to having an easier, more affordable and smoother ride into cyberspace, as APCNews staff writer Frederick Noronha finds out. In the eighth most populous country in the world (population 144 million), voices from civil society, the media and industry are increasingly surfacing, as this piece – filed from Dhaka in late April – demonstrates.