Highway Africa is the world’s largest conference for African journalists. This year’s three-day meeting called "Media making the information society" is attended by more than 350 people. The information and communication technology (ICT) focus will provide a platform for journalists to learn and report on information society issues. APC is running workshops on secure online communication workshops and ICT policy. Read news coming out of Highway Africa by visiting the site and clicking on the news box on the left.

The Fantsuam Foundation provides refurbished computers to civil society organisations and partners, runs computer training centres and offers the only internet connection for hundreds of miles around in rural Nigeria. All this in Kafanchan State where electricity is often unavailable and innovators power their computers using car batteries. The Foundation’s work is supported by a home-grown corps of ICT youth volunteers, the Zitt Geeks. The Geeks are already free software devotees and they are the first participants in Fantsuam’s business incubator which provides training, mentoring and funding to enable enterprising youths to become self-employed.

“We are constantly urged to make the case for gender and ICT,” said Karen Banks, former coordinator of the APC Women’s Networking Support Programme in her opening address to the APC WNSP’s first gender and ICT policy conference, “ICT policy makers, funders, governments and even civil society ICT advocates ask ‘why gender?’ and the women’s movement asks ‘why ICTs?’” Analysis of the debates that dominated the two-day meeting in Rio de Janeiro in June now online.

From 6-10 September 2004 in Johannesburg, South Africa, APC member Women’sNet hosted a southern Africa-wide workshop to build awareness of and demonstrate the potential use of free and open source software (FOSS) in the non-profit sector, and women’s organisations specifically.

Every year in the UK approximately 3 million PCs are decommissioned and are no longer in use. A great many of these un-used PCs are in fine working order. Yet, in the developing world 99% of schoolchildren graduate from high school not having seen or touched a computer in the classroom. APC member in the UK, Computer Aid has supplied over 35,000 refurbished PCs to Africa over the past six years and intends to send an additional 25,000 in the next year alone. In June, they signed a partnership agreement with AITEC Africa, Africa’s leading organiser of ICT exhibitions and conferences to provide a framework for co-operation between the two organisations to improve the supply of low-cost computers to African institutions.

Internet domains (such as .uk, .fr) are sold for a profit to any taker, even if the prospective holder does not have any legal binding with the corresponding country. Thus many ccTLDs are no longer identified with their countries on the Internet, having been sold to national or foreign companies for a profit – some are supposed to be identified with some specific sectors of activity instead of countries, just like some sTLDs (sponsored gTLDs, like .aero for example), but in practice accept any registrant from anywhere in the world with a valid credit card.

The acclaimed book from APC can now be browsed online. First published in soft-back in December 2003, the handbook is for people who want orientation about information and communications technology (ICT) and internet policies, who want to understand how the internet and markets work, the background on policy and regulation, and what’s at stake for ordinary citizens.

A major change for APC programmes occurred in July. Karen Banks has moved over to become APC’s Networking and Advocacy Coordinator and her former role of manager of the APC women’s programme (APC WNSP) will be taken on by well-known Philippine gender and technology advocate, Chat Garcia Ramilo.

The SisBIM helps decision-makers in local governments make informed decisions regarding planning for development by providing a series of key indicators and essential geo-information. It also serves as a ‘sustainable development observatory’ where citizens can find basic development information and importantly hold government accountable. The system has been developed by APC member Colnodo and coordinated by the Ministry of Environment, Housing and Development.