News
Online censorship in South Africa: Protecting or policing?
The Spear is a painting that depicts the South African president Jacob Zuma in a rallying pose, with genitals exposed. It has caused controversy and been defaced. Images of the painting have gone viral on internet. In late May 2012, the South African Film and Publications Board classified the painting, as not suitable for people under the age of 16. But in a country where one in four women is raped, who is the ban supposed to protect?
New report: "Mobile Southeast Asia 2012: Crossroads of Innovation"
Southeast Asia has been a trade hub for thousands of years and is a digital crossroads for internet and mobile innovation now as well, according to the new report by Mobilemonday, “Mobile SouthEast Asia 2012: Crossroads of Innoivation,” available online
Internet improves access to health care for sex workers in the Olympics area of London
The 2012 Olympic Games are already having quite an impact on sex workers in London. The Open Doors team of nurses has for years relied on its knowledge of East London brothels to provide critical sexual health advice, checkups and free condoms. In the run up to the Olympics, police have closed a number of brothels over the last 12 months.
Website to overcome challenges to providing services to sex workers in the Olympics area of London
The challenge of doing sexual health outreach work in East London has been transformed by police action in the run up to the Olympics. APC member GreenNet answered Open Doors Sexual Health Clinic’s request for a new website that could speak clearly to east London sexworkers with advice and resources.
Juba, the world's first open source city?
In the age of social networks, citizen media and digital collaboration, #OSJUBA seeks to apply the means and tools of creative open source culture to post-conflict development. #OSJUBA hosts their first event on June 21, 2012 in Berlin to mobilise free culture, accessible technologies and hacktivist communities in creating a vision for the new capital of South Sudan.
UPR of South Africa: Connecting the right to communication to women's rights
South Africa’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression and has been interpreted to include the right to community media and to creative journalistic content. However, online media and its regulation fall short.
Green-my-tech tip sheets
GreenNet has compiled a series of at-a-glance tip sheets to help everyday users and IT professionals use computers in a more sustainable way. We hope you’ll find them useful.
Nancy Hafkin: 30 years of building Africa's networks
After more than 30 years of working to promote information and communications technology in Africa, Nancy Hafkin was inducted into the Internet Wall of Fame. In an interview with APCNews, she shares the history of her work and that of communications technology in Africa, her interest in Africa, obstacles and achievements.
Going online is the same as going out to a rally
Thirty people from six continents met at the APC “Dialogue on digital security and women’s human rights defenders” to discuss regional and global trends on digital security, freedom of expression and freedom of association, and their impact on women’s human rights defenders. Katerina Fialova and Sonia Randhawa interviewed two of the participants.
Open spectrum for development launches website
APC’s initiative “Open Spectrum for Development,” which analyses spectrum regulation in Africa, Asia and Latin America, has its own website to feature materials produced from the project.
20 years later: APC to push for a more sustainable use of ICTs in Rio
As international organisations, civil society, governments and the private sector gather in Rio for the UN convention on sustainable development and the People’s summit, APC staff and members, too, will be live tweeting and reporting on the event, holding workshops and speaking on panels.
Bytes for All calls for civil society participation in drafting cyber crime legislation in Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is working to revive and restructure the cyber crime law, which lapsed in 2009. Stakeholders who are being consulted are corporations such as telecom operators, ISPs, and governmental organisations. However, no representative civil society organisation holds an opinion even though it is a globally accepted norm that governments use a multi-stakeholder process to ensure active participation by civil society.
Making government accountable to citizens in Uganda and the region
Lillian Nalwoga from the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) coordinated research on open governance data in Uganda as part of APC’s Action Research Network project. “Citizens, academia, the private sector and civil society need to be more involved in the implementation of open governance,” says Nalwoga in an interview with APCNews.
Malaysia: Bad laws won’t stop cyber crime
The recent amendments to the Malaysian Evidence Act, passed without debate at Parliament on May 19 2012, clearly signal the government’s intention to increase censorship on the internet.
Developing countries utilise cost-effective option to bridge access gap
APCNews interviewed Ermanno Pietrosemoli from EsLaRed and Russel Southwood from Balancing Act on some of the issues covered during a workshop organised by APC at the recent WSIS Forum in Geneva. Both agreed that workshops on TV white spaces sensitises stakeholders to deal with spectrum allocation from an important perspective that supersedes commercial interests.
APC statement on the review of Ecuador's Human Rights record
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC), Centro Internacional de Estudios Superiores de Comunicación para América Latina (CIESPAL) and Radialistas Apasionadas y Apasionados welcome the openness of the government of Ecuador towards exploring the implications of human rights online.
Freedom of expression and the Internet: How to reconcile practice and principles?
Watch the full (and very dynamic) discussion that took place in Geneva on May 17. Five seasoned human rights defenders faced off on the specific right to freedom of expression and how it relates to the internet. How to reconcile practice and principles when it comes to freedom of expression on the net? Anyone?
Must read: The internet, human rights and the UPR
This must-read Q&A is a great resource on how the internet and human rights are related. This short catch-all article summarises the “why” behind APC’s efforts to have the internet recognised as a very powerful enabler of human rights. It’s the one article you should read to dig into what’s happening at the UN in Geneva this week.
Federal Minister for IT Slaps Nationwide Twitter Ban on Pakistani Citizens
On Sunday, 20 May 2012, APC member Bytes for All (B4A) reported that “once again, Government of Pakistan has managed to block yet another social networking website Twitter.” Service to the website was restored the same day, yet civil society must “reject this oppressive slap on citizens basic human right to democracy, freedom of expression and access to information.”
Feminist talks on internet, economic justice and women's rights at AWID Forum
This GenderIT.org edition reflects on the feminist politics and practices of technology within the broader debates around economic justice and women’s rights at the 12th AWID Forum. These talks make a strong contribution to internet governance: if women do not sit at the discussion table, they will be on the menu.
