[…] A growing number of nongovernmental organizations are also dedicating themselves to Internet policy advocacy: informing the public about complicated issues that the news media often doesn’t cover well and lobbying governments to change or improve laws so the Internet can remain as open and free as possible. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Center for Democracy and Technology are just two of many such groups in the United States. Counterparts exist all over the world: the Open Rights Group in the UK, Bit of Freedom in the Netherlands, Netzpolitik in Germany, La Quadrature du Net in France, Jinbonet in South Korea, and many others. Other more globally focused organizations such as the South Africa-based Associated for Progressive Communications are working to coordinate policy strategy on a global level lobbying the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Internet Governance Forum, ICANN, the OECD, and other regional and international organizations.

[…] Take Back The Tech! is one example of this. A global collaborative campaign of the APC’s Women’s Networking and Support Programme, it takes place during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence and is a useful resource for women. The campaign is a call to everyone, especially women and girls, to take control of technology to end violence against women. Its website (www.takebackthetech.net) has a wealth of information and tips for women on how to be safer online.

[…] “Take Back The Tech!”, is one example of this. A South African collaborative campaign, it takes place during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence (25 November to 10 December) and is a useful resource for women.

[…] “Without a doubt information and communication technologies (ICTs) are changing the way we carry out our activism – in our neighbourhoods or globally – and women´s rights activists are in the thick of it.” AWID interviewed Erika Smith of the Association for Progressive Communications Women’s Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP) on women using ICTs to mobilize.

“[…] As the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) points out, the petition appeals to moral and ethical concerns but cites examples that aren’t backed up by facts. Coupled with the alarming citation of Saudi Arabia and China as effective models for internet governance, Pakistan’s approach to the internet has taken a dramatic turn unfitting of a democracy.”

As the country with the highest amount of Facebook users in the world, the Philippines are becoming increasingly tech savvy. But cases of cyber-harassment and cyber-stalking are now on the rise in the country and in the entire world. Kara Santos lists tips that women and girls can use to stay safe online.

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[…] Through grants given by the Association for Progressive Communications and the Foundation for Media Alternatives, various NGOs have launched projects that seek to empower women and children using ICTs. The grant winners were announced last December.

[…] Take Back the Tech (TBTT), a global campaign to end gender-based violence against women by reclaiming the use of ICTs (Information and Communication Technology), is about using technology to empower women (read more about TBTT in the archives on newslinemagazine.com) – and the digital storytelling format does that. In a digital story, the storyteller makes use of, and mixes “words, pictures, music” for impact, to narrate his/her story. Currently up for viewing is one such story titled ‘My body, My country.’ Blogs, which almost seem to be a traditional medium in comparison to the digital format, use the good old-fashioned tool – writing – for storytelling.

…While modern innovations have made lives easier for millions of women worldwide, they have also led to a rise in cases of electronic violence against women or ‘eVAW’… “Violence against women is mutating because of technology,” says Cheekay Cinco of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC). “The Internet has opened up private lives into new avenues of potential violence.”