Willie Currie expressed APC’s support for the world’s only existing global debate space on the future of the internet which could come to an end once its five year mandate is over next year saying “The IGF is an innovation in multi-stakeholder internet governance, it works, it is evolving and should continue” but stressed that it should evolve to be more than a dialoguing space and produce concrete outcomes. Read APC’s statement to the IGF.

A new report that reveals how vulnerable the internet as we know it is, has just been published by two global civil society organisations. The annual report, called Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch), was released today by APC and Dutch funder Hivos. GISWatch 2009 is entitled “Access to online information and knowledge – advancing human rights and democracy”.

A poster promoting a new book called "Access Controlled" was removed by the IGF's organisers who claimed a sentence in the poster violated UN policy. The sentence in question reads "The first generation of Internet controls consisted largely of building firewalls at key Internet gateways; China's famous "Great Firewall of China" is one of the first national Internet filtering systems."

APC staff and members will be in Sharm El-Sheikh, in the fourth meeting of the Internet Governance Forum. We'll be running two workshops and launching two publications. Here's a quick review of our activities. We'll be providing on-site coverage for those of you following the IGF remotely.

Privacy advocates and experts from the academic, consumer, digital rights and labor communities will discuss on November 3rd 2009 in Madrid with public officials and the business sector how to raise privacy awareness in the global community; and how better include civil society in the decision making processes for better global privacy and data protection standards. The conference “Global privacy standards in a global world” is being held by the Public Voice, an international coalition of civil societies. Find out how to register.

After eleven years, a direct relationship of accountability between the US government and the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is now over. This is a step forward although civil society commentators are clear that this does not mean that ICANN is entirely independent of US control.

The Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) opened new accountability measures for public comments. Willie Currie, APC's policy manager, said in his submission that “The community still does not have the power to dismiss the Board [which] is a signifier of a lack of accountability and democratic procedure that cannot be cured by the current proposed amendments.”

“The post WSIS clock is ticking and many challenges remain,” said APC executive director Anriette Esterhuysen at the opening of the twelfth session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSDT). Among these challenges, she talked about WSIS principles related to human rights: “In many countries from the developed world and the developing world there is still a sense that freedom of information is perceived more as a threat than as an enabler, as a driver for learning and innovation and for more transparent and accountable governance.” CSDT is reviewing progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) outcomes at the regional and international levels.

“The IGF has embodied the WSIS Principles – that internet governance should be multilateral, transparent and democratic, with the full involvement of governments, the private sector, civil society and international organisations – in its practice as a space for policy dialogue. [...] There are however areas that need improvement. Participation of civil society, and in some cases also of developing country government and private sector stakeholders, is hampered by insufficient financial resources”, said APC in its response to the IGF 2008 review, submitted to the Secretariat.

“Training in ICT skills gets the community to start thinking differently and to consider the sources of income available to them more clearly. From a commercial standpoint, they become aware of the fact that their products have to meet certain standards of quality in order to be sold at higher prices,” says Aura Elena Plaza from Villa Paz, an Afro-Colombian community in the Cali region. Dafne Plou reports for APCNews on her first-hand experience of the impact access to information has had on the lives of people in remote villages in Mali, Africa and Cali, Colombia.

APC women’s Feminist Tech Exchange (FTX) is training a key group of women’s rights advocates particularly those living in the developing world in essential internet, audio and other technical skills to enable them to use technology to most effectively document abuses, build knowledge, disseminate information, mobilise support and amplify pressures for change.

The Asocio de Verduloj Esperantistaj (AVE), an Esperanto organisation in Germany has translated the APC Internet Rights Charter into Esperanto. This takes the number of languages the charter is available up to twenty. Thanks, AVE!

The APC women’s programme looks at the current climate internationally regarding “harmful content” on the internet and explains the raison d’etre of their current exploration into the world of sexuality online.

“Throughout history, humanity has been able to challenge the most rigid power structures with its creativity and with the urge for freedom that is inherent to the human spirit. This has brought us here – we’re a result of human hope, solidarity and tenacity. We’re here to discuss internet Governance structures and policies and, in this third meeting of the IGF, we must move forward, building upon the relevant work that has been done by this forum so far,” explained APC member RITS’ Graciela Selaimen at the opening ceremony of this year’s IGF in Hyderabad on December 3rd. As a part of the inaugural panel discussion, Graciela stressed that the IGF can also be a space for deliberation and participative decision-making.

How do we ensure access to the internet is a human right enjoyed by everyone? This is one of the critical questions asked by an annual publication that highlights the importance of people’s access to information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure – and where and how countries are getting it right or wrong, and what can be done about it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.