Africa
Uganda passed one of the world's strictest anti-homosexuality bills this year, raising a legal spectre that goes back a decade in the making. This law weaponises hatred fueled by digital misinformation in a society that must reckon with not just its homophobia but its larger fear of any 'difference'.
In this edition we can see many examples of community-centred initiatives flourishing in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Welcome to the 61th monthly round-up of developments impacting your local access networks and community-based initiatives.
MAJI in Nigeria recently co-hosted an #EcoThursday Twitter discussion on deploying open data and low-cost technologies for monitoring air pollution and creating evidence-based advocacy. This photo essay captures their journey in holding oil polluters accountable.
In many parts of East Africa, lack of connectivity has a big impact on education, especially among the most vulnerable. Addressing this is the goal of Kenya-based organisation Arid Lands Information Network, whose latest project provided teachers and schools with open educational resources.
Organisations and independent experts from six Sub-Saharan African countries that share French as one of their national languages have developed an approach for assessing the level of respect for human rights online by their governments: the African Index of Internet Rights and Freedoms.
The Universal Service Fund – created precisely to subsidise the promotion of universal access to telecommunications services – should include community-led models, as recommended by ITU on several occasions, and advancing in countries such as Argentina, Malawi and Kenya.
A forum organised by the Communications Regulators' Association of Southern Africa brought together its member states to discuss the importance of community networks in providing universal services, and the policy and regulation measures needed to support them.
E-governance models are leaving women and gender minorities behind in Kenya, despite the Kenyan government's increasing focus on digitising delivery of government services. Due to this, there remains a challenge of who gets to access these services through technology.
Community networks in Kenya are happy to lead the way with Africa's first-ever association of community networks. The association unites community networks in Kenya, amplifies their voices, and prioritises their needs in policy dialogues, fostering a favourable environment for their development.
This research aimed to address the challenges faced by persons with disabilities when accessing government websites and digital services in Kenya.
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) 2022
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