News: Global

MONTEVIDEO (KB and KAH for APCNews) -

At the first Internet Governance Forum (IGF), “access to the internet” emerged as an issue of common concern and priority to all stakeholders. At the second IGF the business, civil society and technical communities worked together to reach a consensus on what should be done to increase access to the internet across the world. “Reaching the next billion” is now one of the priority themes for the upcoming third IGF – with participants working together to move from debate and discussion to a manifesto for action. Find out more and where APC will be.

(APC) -

Going to the IGF? APC staff and members will be there, busy participating in workshops and panel sessions. Here you’ll find a ready-to-print list of events in which APC staff and members will be speaking and APC-organised or co-organised events. We look forward to meeting you face-to-face.

MEXICO (ES for APCNews) -

Whether its through community radio, posters, sms, emails, audiocasts or websites, creative and informed use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) helps get the word out on violence against women (VAW). We have to know about technology to best use it for our activism, we have to understand it to protect ourselves and others, and to keep shaping an internet for all. From 25 November to 10 December it’s time once again to “Take Back the Tech!” and use ICTs to end violence against women.

CAPETOWN (ES for APCNews) -

Skill sharing sessions on wikis, web 2.0, a tech hunt, and webcasts marked the first day of the FTX (Feminist Tech eXchange) Hub as part of the Power of Movements forum, from November 14 – 17 2008 in Capetown. The FTX Hub is a place to put those skills into practice – and to share ideas around how critical communications rights are to women’s rights with over 2000 women attending this forum, organised by the Association for Women’s Rights and Development.

MONTEVIDEO (KAH for APCNews) -

“The principles that I learned in the APC workshop helped me work in resource-constrained environments,” says Alex Gondwe, techie at the Baobab Health Partnership in Malawi. Alex is setting up wireless internet connections between health institutions to improve patient care and HIV/AIDS data collection and he shares his tips here.

MONTEVIDEO (LC for APCNews) -

On October 11 2008, internet privacy advocates will be meeting in over twenty of Europe’s major cities and capitals in the Americas to launch the Freedom Not Fear campaign, which protests mass-surveillance and mass data retention that many governments world-wide are undertaking. Together, they will promote democracy, free speech and human rights, and raise awareness on this issue through protests, art displays, flash mobs and parties. This event takes place shortly after the data retention meeting in Budapest on September 19 2008, where APC members Green Spider and BlueLink were among the policy experts, academics and activists that met to discuss the new European data retention policy that will take effect in January 2009.

CAPE TOWN (Jennifer Radloff for GenARDIS) -

The Gender, Agriculture and Rural Development in the Information Society (GenARDIS) Small Grants Fund is delighted to announce that twenty projects have been short-listed as possible GenARDIS grantees. The short-listed proposals come from sixteen countries in Africa and the Caribbean, ranging from the Dominican Republic and St. Vincent on over the Atlantic Ocean to rock-skip throughout western Africa in Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Congo. Eastern Africa and Southern Africa also have their share of representation with projects from Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Read the entire announcement

LONDON (APC for APCNews) -

“Access to the internet is a thousand times cheaper in Scandinavian countries than in my village,” says Nigerian activist John Dada, who specialises in information and communications technologies (ICTs) for development. In order to contribute to the discussion on what can make access to the internet real for people, specially the poor and marginalised, APC is launching a series on equitable access that includes papers and commentaries on the themes of business models, policy and regulation, tools and technologies and people, networks and capabilities. We ask for your comments.

SAPPORO (FD for APCNews) -

On July 29, free thinkers and open culture activists from around the world gathered on Hokkaidō island, Japan. What is so free and open about this venue, traditionally inhabited by the Ainu People? The fourth edition of the global ICommons ISummit, reply those converging on the island’s city, Sapporo. The summit is set to “grow the commons” until August 1 and beyond, as participants – among them APC members and staff – will advocate for open content, open education, do-it-yourself video, and academic research on free culture.
>>Read Natalie Brown’s blog post on linguistic diversity at iSummit 08
>>Watch Andrew Garton’s in-the-field video, asking the question, what is the commons?

SEOUL -

This is the statement issued by civil society, gathered at the OECD ministerial conference on the future of the internet, which ended on June 18. It says: “The policy goals for the Future Internet Economy should be considered within the broader framework of protection of human rights, the promotion of democratic institutions, access to information, and the provision of affordable and non-discriminatory access to advanced communication networks and services” [pdf format].

LONDON (FD for APCNews) -

A new online privacy and data protection consultancy firm called ‘80/20 Thinking’ is partnering with the internet rights network Association for Progressive Communications (APC) to support initiatives in developing countries that are working towards strengthening democratic processes and civil liberties.

JOHANNESBURG (Natalie Brown for APCNews) -

APC is supporting environmentalists’ calls to the South African National Committee of the IEC to vote against Clause 7 of IEC Standard 62368.
Clause 7 requires that large amounts of fire retardant chemicals be used in electronics production, despite the lack of reliable fire data showing a need for such chemicals. If passed, this clause will make it even more difficult and dangerous to recycle electronic waste, or e-waste, and may pose serious health risks to consumers.

GENEVA (APC) -

The first preparatory meeting for the next Internet Governance Forum (scheduled for December 2008 in India) was held in Geneva on 26 February 2008. APC issued a statement recommending the implementation of regional and national IGFs, using sustainable development as a key theme and advising on the format of working groups to address and follow up on key issues. APC also submitted a paper that identifies and documents the main areas of discussions and ‘recommendations’ that were generated under the access theme at the second IGF, held in Rio de Janeiro in November 2007.

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES -

The United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN GAID) has invited APC policy programme’s manager, Willie Currie, to participate in an ad-hoc group of experts on financing ICT for development (ICT4D). This group has been set up in preparation of the upcoming GAID Global Forum on Access and Connectivity in least developed countries and small island developing states in Asia-Pacific and innovative financing mechanisms for ICT4D, Malaysia, 18-20 May 2008 [link to UN GAID page].

NEW DELHI, INDIA (Anupama Saxena & Malathi Subramanian for APCNews) -

All of us are aware of the biggest maritime disaster the world has known: the sinking of the ‘unsinkable’ HMS Titanic. But what many of us may not be aware of is that the wireless operators on the Titanic had, in fact, received alerts from other ships about massive icebergs in the vicinity. But the operators, overworked with transmitting private messages of the ship’s wealthy passengers, failed to pass that vital information onto the bridge.

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA (Javier Sola) -

At a ceremony that took place last January, the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport presented a new information and communication technology (ICT) textbook that are to be used in all schools, universities and teacher training facilities in that country. The new textbook teaches the use of Khmer language free and open source applications, such as OpenOffice, Mekhala (Firefox) and Moyura (Thunderbird), which have been fully translated to Khmer language.

(APC) -

Watch the compact and straight-forward, fully subtitled video presenting the Association for Progressive Communications and some of the work of its members. This thirteen-minute film takes you from the beginnings to the current form in which APC pursued the goal of sustainable development and social justice through and with the use of information and communication technologies.

SAN FRANCISCO (Steve Zeltzer) -

The programme committee for the 2008 LaborTech conference is soliciting papers and suggestions for topics from labour and technology researchers, activists, workers, and educators. The conference will be organised under four themes, with each theme being explored through panel discussions, hands-on/training workshops, academic paper presentations, and participatory strategy workshops.