News: Strategic use of the internet, Global

Speakers at a discussion in Dhaka on September 17 asked Bangadesh’s government not to sign any agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to protect the country’s interests. APC-member VOICE demanded transparency and accountability on the part of the government.

APC-member in South Africa, Ungana-Afrika, is in the middle of a rural connectivity initiative that targets legal advice centres. Communication capacity is being beefed-up in the rural area of South Africa. Ten advice centres are already on Ungana-Afrika’s eRiders roadmap. And they’re moving fast.

The South African non-governmental organisation net (SANGONeT) is known for being at the forefront of South Africa’s civil society, especially in matters related to information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the internet. How that came to be and how SANGONeT is using technology is discussed with SANGONeT portal editor Fazila Farouk here.

In the midst of an armed conflict, organising an audiovisual communication workshop for youth does not tend to be a priority for groups working in the area. Nevertheless, for the International Peace Observatory (IPO), a Colombian organisation that was a finalist for the Betinho prize in 2005, it is essential that small farmer communities – who are the first victims of the war – be able to tell their stories. APCNews spoke to Laura Lorenzi, president of the IPO, about how new technologies can become arms in the struggle against the war.

The Harambee project coordinators are announcing a small grants facility to provide a number of sectoral based networks and

communities in Africa with funding for the development of greater collaborative capacity.

We are, with great pride, very close to certain social movements, especially those that fall within the context of tactical media.

The MetaRecycling movement is sustained by solid philosophical pillars. One of the basic concepts consists in treating computers as artisanal products.

The Metarecyclers consider that computers are craft artifacts that must be creatively manipulated. They not only have displayed a natural vocation for experimentation, the finalists of APC’s 2005 Betinho Prize also populated recycling centres all over Brazil. APCNews reports on this open, free and self-organised movement from Brazil.

First it was radio, then the internet. First women’s organisations, then the community. The story of CEMINA, a Brazilian communication and gender organisation, is one of growth, change and openness. Its radio telecentre work captivated the APC Betinho Prize jury in 2005.

APC members took an active part at the Asia Commons Conference, a first-of-its-kind event held from June 6 to 8 2006 in the Thai capital of Bangkok. Some expected more concrete action could come out of it. But this meet was a great start to building links and planning ‘common’ action at the Asian level.

Latin America is undergoing a historic process of regional integration. In the meantime, what is going on with civil society? The joint working experiences between social movements from different Latin American countries are rich and have a long common history. The synergy is far from running dry: regional integration initiatives are on the rise and being consolidated. Rits.lac, a new project from Brazilian APC member, RITS, is following this exact tendency.

Ermanno Pietrosemoli, of Venezuelan APC member EsLaRed, has been exploring the possibilities of wireless technology for years. From technical experiments to working with grassroots organisations, the firm belief of the irreplaceable possibilities of this type of connection to provide access in remote and scarcely populated regions has driven his work. A new wireless connection world record was set in April, which became the point of departure of this long-distance conversation with APCNews.

The annual coordination meeting of IFIwatchnet took place March 7th-9th in Montevideo, Uruguay. The meeting was organised by the project’s current coordinator, APC member, ITeM (Third World Institute). The members of the executive committee and regional outreach coordinators participated in this encounter.

Web Networks has recently completed a working prototype of a unique online tool to deliver literacy, as part of its "In Your Language – En tu Idioma" family of products. "Yodigo" incorporates the "Conditional Cash Transfer" approach to development funding within an interactive, video-based learning environment that can be provided online or on DVD. You can see www.yodigo.tv for more information and to try out the demo, and contact Oliver Zielke (oliver @ web.net) if interested in participating in piloting this tool in the field. Watch for more information next month about the En tu Idioma project and APC partners in Latin America.

Does it make sense to monitor information about women that is published or transmitted through by the media? Is the image that media construct of women important? In what way does it influence our social imaginary for women to almost always appear in the news as victims and rarely as experts on subjects of political, social and economic relevance? The WACC made the results of its media monitoring known on February 16th, 2006 and thus launched three action weeks to raise awareness on the treatment that women receive in the media and the information disseminated about them.

APC member SANGONeT holds its "ICTs for Civil Society" conference on March 7-9, 2006 at Johannesburg, together with its South African NGO Web Awards 2006. A number of speakers from organisations doing interesting work have firmed up participation in the event, and over 300 participants are expected. In store is an exciting event with much opportunity for learning, debate, information-sharing and networking.

Women’sNet’s training co-ordinator Elizabeth "Liz" Araujo writes that the recent Africa Source 2 event was set "against a beautiful Lake Victoria island backdrop, replete with sandy beaches, and fishing boats", and turned out to be a "smashing success". Held from January 8-15, 2006, the skills-packed practical workshop was aimed at introducing and exploring free/libre and open source software (FOSS) for non-profit organisations and local African communities. She says that what made this camp radically different from other technology-focused workshops was the almost natural seeming integration of novice, occasional user and high-end techie.

‘Mainstreaming ICTs: Africa Lives the Information Society" is a contribution towards efforts to bridge the "policy-practice" divide. The book is amied at development practitioners and ICT innovators interested in inventive technology applications for social justice and development. It contains 10 case studies reflecting on the innovative and creative ways information and communciation technologies (ICTs) have been used to promote people-centred development in a number of Sub-Saharan African countries. The book was compiled and edited by Women’sNet with the assistance of a Southern African editorial group including Toni Eliasz, Ria Greyling, Benter Okello, Muroro Dziruni, Ashraf Patel, and Natasha Primo. The project was supported by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA).

IMARK is a suite of distance-learning resources, tools and communities on information management. A new website has just been launched. Modules are now available in French and Spanish. APC is part of the IMARK steering group together with UNESCO, FAO and others.

Out of college, at a time when most young people would like just to have a good time, Rudi von Staden (27) is onto something vastly different. He believes his tech skills can really make a difference to those working for social change in southern Africa. This representative of an APC member organisation shares his vision and mission with APCNews editor Frederick Noronha.