News
Open source software an important political tool, says MayFirst/People Link
APCNews speaks to Jamie McClellan, director of member organisation May First/People Link about the political importance of using free and open sourse software.
Internet and the UN Human Rights Council: The good, the bad and the road ahead
It’s been a year of increasing debates about the internet and human rights among governments in the UN. Read this account of the main developments since 2011 and the challenges ahead.
Communicating research for influence: Strategies and challenges for bringing about change
Communicating research for influence is not easy. We designed this manual based on our success stories and challenges in communicating research for influence. We translated our knowledge and expertise into tips that other organisations or campaigners may find useful.
Ending violence online – focus on women's rights and safety online
Technology-related violence against women is increasing at an alarming rate – yet it expresses itself differently around the world. A new initiative by APC Women is helping women create safe and secure environments online in 7 different countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Find out more….
It’s OurTube: Religion-based censorship will only fuel hate speech
Bytes for All, Pakistan, strongly condemns hate speech on the Internet, however banning channels of communication, limiting access to information platforms, and steps to curtail free expression only serve to pave the way for politics-based control systems that curb the voices of individuals.
Digital Storytelling as a Feminist Practice
Digital storytelling provides a powerful way of using information and communication technologies to empower marginalised women. Digital stories are produced and distributed by digital media. In digital storytelling workshops, marginalized women and women’s rights activists develop a forum to tell their stories and share their experiences by producing short films about themselves.
Pakistan: Bloggers and journalists to duck digital threats
“Pakistan is among the world’s most dangerous places for journalists,” reads a report recently produced and published by Bytes For All, Pakistan. Based on a research survey commissioned by Internews, the report takes a hard look at the awareness Pakistani journalists and bloggers have of their own digital security.
Taking the highway to Grahamstown
Five years back, I took the highway to Grahamstown, South Africa. I had landed in Port Elizabeth before being picked up by a Rhodes University shuttle bus. This year, Highway Africa is taking place at Rhodes in Grahamstown for the 16th time and looking at the media’s coverage of Africa’s rising.
Victory for freedom of expression in South Korea
On the 23rd of August 2012, South Korean digital rights organisation Jinbonet won a long struggle. For the last five years, the APC member group fought an internet real name system regulation, ruled unconstitutional by the country’s highest court.
Help shape the dialogue for the LAC Internet Governance Forum
APC is currently preparing for the 5th LAC preparatory Internet Governance Forum, to be held in Bogota, Columbia on 24-26 September 2012. We invite all actors interested in ICT for development, ICT policies and internet governance issues to help shape the dialogue agenda by completing a short survey.
How the internet impacts human rights
Human rights play out differently on the streets than on the internet. This has been true for years, but today in age, not only are ‘internet rights’ are being promoted — they are also being violated at an astounding speed. David Souter has investigated the internet’s impacts on human rights. Also check out our infographic of his comprehensive research.
APC calls on ICANN to prioritise human rights when deciding on new top-level domain names
Women, mobiles and rural Uganda
Every six months, WOUGNET produces an informative newsletter on issues around internet, mobile phones and other ICTs and how they are using them to make a difference. This issue explores women and ICTs in rural Uganda, and questions whether mobiles are a luxury or a necessity nowadays.
New tip sheets help users "green" their use of technology
GreenNet has compiled a series 5 at-a-glance tip sheets to help everyday users and IT professionals use computers in a more sustainable way. Each sheet focuses on a different issue, like purchasing or disposing electronics, and more. We hope you’ll find them useful.
New guide: Digital Security and Journalists: A Snapshot of Awareness and Practice in Pakistan
B4A Pakistan has recently published new research on “Digital Security and Journalists: A Snapshot of Awareness and Practice in Pakistan”, which aims to help journalists and bloggers – especially women – better understand the dangers online, and provides them with tools to communicate online in a secure way.
Impact 2.0: New research on the use of web 2.0 for development
New research in suggests that web 2.0 and online social networking were most used to connect research and policy in public awareness campaigns. Coordinated by Fundación Comunica, and supported by APC and IDRC, the book looks at twelve projects in Latin America.
Macedonians under high (cyber) surveillance
Skopje is not exactly a landmark for free thinkers, social critics and other kinds of independent folks. However, that does not mean that discordant voices do not make themselves heard. A chronicle of media resistance in Macedonia.
New regulation threatens anonymity on the internet in Ecuador
The people of Ecuador are working together to get the government to change a new regulation that will allow the state to collect users’ personal data without a warrant.
2011 in review: APC Annual Report
APC’s work in 2011 was flavoured with many new challenges. Huge political shifts around the world brought new meaning to our work and placed internet rights and its various forms at the centre of it. Join us, as we review the challenges and successes we faced throughout the year.
Moving beyond the tool: ICTs in the Sustainable Development Discussion at Rio+20
Though Rio has a long history with ICTs, dating back to the original Earth Summit in 1990 when APC set up “communications centres” for the UN, there was very little reflection at the summit 20 years later. APC’s Shawna Finnegan and Lisa Cyr report on their observations at the conference.
